Sick Nubian babies

rockinr · #1 01/21/13, 06:41 AM

We brought home 5 Nubian babies. They were all born Jan 1st thru 3rd. We have one that is running 105.7 fever. He is taking his bottle, but he is a little leghargic. So we gave him a 1/2 cc. of excenel last night. We also have one that is having runny poop. Help please

mammabooh · #2 01/21/13, 01:56 PM

Are you feeding them goat's milk, cow's milk, replacer? Are you heating it to right around 100 degrees?

I don't know much about bottle feeding...hopefully, someone else will come along and help.

**mygoat** · #3 01/21/13, 02:12 PM

Did they recieve colostrum?

What are you feeding, how much, and how often?

The one with a fever does NOT have diarrhea? I would bet pneumonia. Keep up with a strong antibitotic for a few days - at least 5, maybe 7.

After the treatment, be sure to give probiotics for a couple days. You can mix it in the bottle post-warming (if you warm milk in the microwave).

They're also right around 3 weeks of age, so I would do their first round of coccidia prevention - using dimethox, albon, baycox etc. Treat everybody ever 3 weeks until 'well grown'. I usually stop around 50lbs. You can mix these right in their bottle and trust me, cocci prevention is one thing you will want to do. You will probably want to start dworming them when they're 6 weeks old.

Were the does vaccinated for CDT? Clostridium perfringens types C and D is a vaccine given to dams about a month pre-kidding. When given a month pre-kidding, the colostrum imparts passive immunity for 'over eating disease' or 'enterotoxemia' to the kids. Very important. If you're not sure or don't know if they recieved quality colostrum, or if their dams were vaccinated, I'd vaccinate at 3, 6, and 9 weeks. Generally I suggest 4 and 8 weeks of age for kids out of known vaccinated dams.

Scours in young kids can be a couple things. Coccidiosis, worm load (usually accompanied by 'bottle jaw' or edema under the chin as well as anemia, most common in older kids though), or bacterial scours. Bacterial scours caused by E. coli or Salmonella is usually due to failure of passive immunity aquired from recieving quality colostrum in a timely manner after being born, preferably within the first 1-2 hours of life, and best before 4 hrs.

With a fever and diarrhea, I'd assume bacterial scours. Did you take the temp of the kid with scours?

If it doesn't have a temp, it is probably feeding issues. Most people suggest feeding goat's milk to goats kids, whole cows milk form the store, or in a pinch a SPECIES SPECIFIC replacer. Do NOT get 'unimilk' or 'all species' replacer and expect them to do well on it. I think those all species replacers are generally crap, and shouldn't be fed to any species. Problems also arise with not feeding enough or regularly.

rockinr · #4 01/21/13, 03:22 PM

the one with the fever does not have diarrhea. They were nursing on the mother when they were born, then put on goat milk and goat milk replacer. 50-50 mix. The lady that I bought them from sent me home with what she was feeding them. I have no access to goat milk so I am slowly switching them over to whole milk and goat milk replacer. I want to slowly take them off of the milk replacer, but didn't want to to both at the same time. I will have to check to see what vaccine the dams had and when.
Thanks for the help

trnubian · #5 01/21/13, 03:30 PM

If you go straight to whole milk it will not hurt them. They might actually do better. I have been able to switch from goat milk to whole cow milk and back with no problem.

Sounds like typical pnemonia to me. The excenel for 5 days should clear him up. If you could get some banamine for his fever in him 1/4 cc he will feel much better. Watch your other kids for this as well as it tends to run through the group.

I also second the coccidia prevention starting at 3 weeks and continued every 3 weeks. Worm at about a month and start CD&T at about the same time.

Good luck!