It's a doeling! Help please...

[bcadybug]

My first little girl this year! She's a real cutie.... but.... I'm worried!

Her mother is a FF and not real attentive, I thought for a little bit I might have to bottle feed her, which SCARES ME! I want to bottle feed so badly but I'm afraid I won't do it right. Any-who...

I make sure that she nurses while I'm out there with them and she does nurse vigorously. She was born yesterday about 11:00am, seems to be happy, healthy and hop around like I would expect.

BUT, here's my biggest concern.... She sounds raspy/gurgly when she breaths. Is there anything I can give/do for her? I don't wanna lose her... this is my first Lamanch doeling born here.... HELP PLEASE.

Val

[Backfourty,MI.]

Sounds like she might have got a little birth goo in her lungs. Sometimes it takes them a day or so to get all the gunk out. If she's acting normal, eating good & not running a fever keep a close eye on her a day or so. If you think she starts acting at all Off then I'd start her on antibiotics, Nuflor(RX) if you can get it.

[bcadybug]

Thank you Katie for the quick response!!!!!

I'm worried sick... so far she's acting normal.

This is going to be the longest work-day ever..... I wanna get home and check on her! grrrrrr.....

Thanks again,
Val

[bknthesdle]

She is just a doll!! <3

[Sherry in Iowa]

What a little cutie she is! congrats..

I think Katie is spot on. Enjoy that little girl!

[Bearfootfarm]

I want to bottle feed so badly

You wouldn't say that if you had ever done it
Just keep them in a small pen for a couple of days and they will figure it out

[Pony]

Yeah, keep an eye on her. If the temp drops or rises, get on it, but from what you've shared, she's probably fine.

And as Bearfootfarm noted, bottle-feeding is fun at the beginning. Then, it gets old. Then, it becomes a chore.

Then it's a royal pain in the patootie.

As soon as Nick gets the lambar set up, we'll put the kids on cow milk. Until then, they're on the dam, and we'll just sneak some "shares" of the milk.

[motdaugrnds]

What a beauty she is!

You're getting good advice in here...as usual with our goat people.

[backwoods]

She's a real cutie! Good luck,& I totally agree with what the others said about bottle feeding. It really becomes a PAIN. The kids get SO attached to you (and vice versa) that when you go to work, it's like leaving a toddler at daycare. They don't really seem to fit in as well in the herd either, I guess they don't really learn how to be a goat!

[Cyngbaeld]

My bottle babies fit with the herd fine. They do glom onto me for the first few months but then so do all the herd. Can't walk without tripping over a goat or dog or goose or chicken around here. I like bottle feeding because, though it seems a bit more work at first, you do know how much the kids are eating and you are able to keep a really close eye on them. You know they didn't get separated from mom on a cold night or left in a thicket somewhere. (My goats range over a large brushy area.) The biggest thing is they are so tame when you need to do something for them, the entire rest of their lives, that it is easy to work with them. They train faster for milking and trust you to help with kidding. Unless you have enough time to sit and play with them every day, then feeding them tames them faster than anything.