weak kid

My doe had triplets early yesterday evening. She is 9 and an experienced mother. The kids weighed, about 4 lbs 3.75 lbs and 3 lbs The smallest just could not get the idea of nursing despite the doe and I encouraging him. I milked some colostrum and fed him with a 3ml syringe. Not much but he protests. I tried a bottle and he protests even more. I got about 6ml into him this morning. The difference between him and sisters is getting more noticeable. I want him to catch on, but now I am concerned. Should I just start trying in earnest with the bottle. I have had goats kid the last 3 years but never had a bottle baby. How long do I hold off? If I bottle feed, how much should I milk out for him. He protested so much, I can see I wil need tips to get him to take a bottle.

 

Help! and thanks for any advice.

 

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  • Awesome, thank you, Marin. I figured it was probably an easy fix, but since this is the only one I've got for the next few days I wanted to make sure that I didn't destroy it before my backups arrived in the mail. I've re-inserted the ball, and I'm sure it will be fine. Thanks again!

    Marin Waddell said:

    We've had the ball come out when we've pulled the gasket out to clean the nipple. As long as we don't lose the ball we've always been able to put it back in, then put the gasket back in and it works fine.
  • We've had the ball come out when we've pulled the gasket out to clean the nipple. As long as we don't lose the ball we've always been able to put it back in, then put the gasket back in and it works fine.
  • I'm so sorry for reviving and old thread, but I've been looking all over the internet to see if it's a possibility to put that ball back into a Pritchard nipple. Funny that I was lead right back here. Perhaps I should have asked here in the first place!

    Anyway---has anyone successfully re-inserted the ball to fix the leakage issue, or is the only alternative to hold your finger over the hole to prevent leaking?

  • There is a little metal ball behind the hole that you see on the collar (the part that screws onto the bottle). If that little ball gets unseated, the nipple will leak. If that little metal ball gets lost, you may need to hold your finger over the hole unless you have a kid that sucks really fast.


    Melissa Johnson said:

    what is the deal with pritchard's leaking so bad? I have to really adjust and readjust to keep it from leaking - tightness on the bottle.

  • what is the deal with pritchard's leaking so bad? I have to really adjust and readjust to keep it from leaking - tightness on the bottle.

  • Wonderful!

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  • Thank you Margaret and Deborah,

    Tried with a bottle yesterday and he was fighting it all the way, but got a little in him. Then I had a friend who grew up on a dairy farm come try with me the next time. She showed me a few tricks, but he was still fighting it but got some in. Yesterday afternoon just before I was going to try again he finally took 3 or 4 sucks from his mom and did it again one hour later. When I went to close them up at 6:00. I saw him nurse again briefly. So I decided not to try and supplement him. This morning he is more bouncy and I saw him nurse a little again. He is 36 hours  old and when I weighed him he was the same as his birth weight. I am not sure he got enough colostrum in him, but he definitely  got some and has now caught on to how to get milk from his mother.  I will watch him today to make sure he feed multiple time and weigh him again tomorrow morning to see if he has started gaining.

     

    He seems like a perfectly health little guy but at this point (36hrs) seems 24 hours behind his sisters in behavior and eating.

     

    Deborah, SO good to know about Pritchard teats. I have both baby bottles and a Pritchard, but just grabbed the baby bottle because it was easier to fill the bottle. If I think if he needs more milk I will certainly try the Pritchard next time.

     

     

     

  • Sorry I'm reading this a little late. I do hope you got some colostrum into him. They need 10% of their body weight within the first 12 hours; and 5% of their body weight should be within the first 6 hours. So, if he was 3 pounds, that's 48 ounces, so he's need 4.8 ounces of colostrum within 12 hours or 2.4 ounces within the first 6 hours.

    The Pritchard teat works very well for reluctant kids. It is nice and long, just like a doe's teat. Human baby bottle nipples are very short, and after trying to help out someone recently who only had a human baby bottle, I think that the nipple makes a huge difference. We switched to the Pritchard teats 7-8 years ago, and it makes a huge difference with newborns! An older kid will suck on anything, but some of the younger kids catch on much quicker with the Pritchard.

    And yes, Margaret, goats can have a cleft palate. If you ever see milk coming out of a kid's nose, you should definitely check the palate.

    If a kid has no sucking reflex, it can often be because of hypothermia, which is why the little ones seem to have more trouble. A smaller goat gets chilled easier than a larger one.

  • Joan, he needs more colostrum asap, period, one way or the other. I wouldn't give up on trying to get him to nurse but if you have to give him a bottle too, then by all means, do it! I know Deb always says they need 20% of their body weight in so many hours. You are looking at about 10 ozs. But I can't remember off hand how many hours that is.I think 12 or 24. I am sure someone will tell us soon. What I do know is that I would want to get at least 2 or 3 in him right away! If you can get 3 or 4 in him every 3 or 4 hours for right now I believe he can hold his own long enough for you to get him nursing or attached to a bottle at least. Just remember that just because you give him a bottle is NO reason to take him from mom as long as she is caring for him and he is in good shape. If he can stay with her the chances of him starting to nurse will be a lot better. Along with other benefits. Do make sure you use HIS mothers milk.

    Does he show any signs of anything else being wrong with him? Any reason that he may not want to nurse? Check to see if the inside of his mouth looks normal? Don't know if goats ever have any kind of cleft problems, but it never hurts to make sure things look right. Does he appear to have a sucking reflex or not? Using a syringe can have more risk of aspiration. I would use a bottle!

    Sorry, I can't give you a quick fix. I know how frustrating it can be. I guess I need to do a photo shoot of the best way to hold them for bottle feeding. It seems to make all the difference in the world. And fortunately I learned that one when I was young and it has always worked for me!

    I hope you get him taught soon, hopefully to nurse on mom and things work out ok!

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