Orphaned or not...

I had a Nigerian dwarf give birth about 40 hours ago. The babies seemed healthy after day one but today the mother has seemed to neglect one for the other. The other was very week and seemed to have little or nothing in its stomach. The mother definitely tends towards the bigger, more healthy sibling, too. Is this a case of an orphaned baby or am I too quick to diagnose?

 

This site is so helpful, thank you already before I even post.

 

 

Jamey

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Replies

  • That's very interested about syringe feeding.  I would have never thought of that.  Our first little goat we had to syringe feed for days because he was so sick then he ended up with a respiratory infection I wonder if they are related? He is healthy now, but through everything we learned a lot about caring for very sick babies!!
  • If he is unable to suck, I would tube feed. Otherwise, I would just keep trying to bottle feed. They do catch on.

    I urge caution with a syringe, as they can aspirate. I still have guilt from my early years with goats of leaving my inexperienced daughter with a kid I was trying to feed by syringe. She aspirated and I came home to find may daughter in tears and the baby dead.

    James Samuel Sturgill said:

    I think the kid is lacking his instinct to nurse. I have put the doe in a stanchion and he puts his face next to her udder but won't nurse. I am force feeding him with a syringe. I force fed him milk from the mom Wednesday and Thursday. Could I feed him regular cow's milk now? I haven't yet began milking his mom and it is driving her mad so I would rather let her and the healthy kid be.

     

    Thanks again.

  • Cheryl, sometimes Mom's are like that LOL.  I have a doe that targets her sister - when she is mad about me separating her kid at night - she gets into a head butt fest with biting included.  I had to separate them the other day - cause she wouldnt say uncle - she was breathless - she is the only biter.  Thank God, it is not a frequent activity.  She has on occasion tried to nip me through the stanchion headgate - lucky for her I'm in love.
  • This kid is a permanent bottle baby. I now lock her up with her brother at night and give her supervised time with all the goats. She was starting to be too human-bonded. She was the mascot at work--the hit of our 10 year anniversary party. She is very sweet, but her mom thinks she is a demon.

    Cheryl K. Smith said:
    This isn't really a reply to this discussion but it does involve an orphaned goat. I have a Nigerian doe, now 3 weeks old, whose mother not only wouldn't nurse her, but seeks her out to butt and bite. She is part house goat now, mom will let her nurse when she is eating on the milk stand, but otherwise obsessively dotes on her son and actively hates her daughter. Because the little girl is tiny (a lb at birth), I don't feel safe keeping her with the other goats without supervision. Has anyone ever encountered not just abandonment, but active aggression from a dam toward a kid?
  • I would help the baby try to nurse regularly, and see how the mother treats the little one. If she allows it, it may need some help to get going and get in there. I would also give some nutridrench to get the littler one some more energy to get motivated. Unless the mother is purposely not letting that one nurse, I wouldn't say she is an orphan.

    Another option is to help her nurse on the mom and then also supplement with a bottle. I have done this until they get established. There is no reason the mom shouldn't be able to feed the two.

  • If you're asking about my blog post, yes, she did learn to nurse! In fact, she's still here at age three, and she and her mama are very close. I should put a P.S. on the blog post. Thanks for asking!

    Jackie K said:

    Did you ever post a f/u to this story? Did the doeling learn to nurse correctly? I need to know the end of the story! 



    Deborah Niemann-Boehle said:

    If the mom walks away when the kids starts to nurse, it could be that the kid is not nursing correctly and is causing her teats to be sore. I have a blog post and pictures here:

    http://antiquityoaks.blogspot.com/2008/06/sucking-disorder-in-goat-...

    If the kid is not taking the initiative to nurse, it could be a problem with the kid.

  • just thinking - did you give the kid a little skirt of NutriDrench or Goatade?  it is a great boost for appetite

    James Samuel Sturgill said:

    I think the kid is lacking his instinct to nurse. I have put the doe in a stanchion and he puts his face next to her udder but won't nurse. I am force feeding him with a syringe. I force fed him milk from the mom Wednesday and Thursday. Could I feed him regular cow's milk now? I haven't yet began milking his mom and it is driving her mad so I would rather let her and the healthy kid be.

     

    Thanks again.

  • sounds like you will be bottle feeding.

    Cheryl K. Smith said:
    This isn't really a reply to this discussion but it does involve an orphaned goat. I have a Nigerian doe, now 3 weeks old, whose mother not only wouldn't nurse her, but seeks her out to butt and bite. She is part house goat now, mom will let her nurse when she is eating on the milk stand, but otherwise obsessively dotes on her son and actively hates her daughter. Because the little girl is tiny (a lb at birth), I don't feel safe keeping her with the other goats without supervision. Has anyone ever encountered not just abandonment, but active aggression from a dam toward a kid?
  • Did you ever post a f/u to this story? Did the doeling learn to nurse correctly? I need to know the end of the story! 



    Deborah Niemann-Boehle said:

    If the mom walks away when the kids starts to nurse, it could be that the kid is not nursing correctly and is causing her teats to be sore. I have a blog post and pictures here:

    http://antiquityoaks.blogspot.com/2008/06/sucking-disorder-in-goat-...

    If the kid is not taking the initiative to nurse, it could be a problem with the kid.

  • This isn't really a reply to this discussion but it does involve an orphaned goat. I have a Nigerian doe, now 3 weeks old, whose mother not only wouldn't nurse her, but seeks her out to butt and bite. She is part house goat now, mom will let her nurse when she is eating on the milk stand, but otherwise obsessively dotes on her son and actively hates her daughter. Because the little girl is tiny (a lb at birth), I don't feel safe keeping her with the other goats without supervision. Has anyone ever encountered not just abandonment, but active aggression from a dam toward a kid?
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