How can I tell if they are getting enough milk?

Yesterday, my goat, Starberry gave birth to triplets. However, she only bonded with the first one because the second and third were born at the vets via sticking his arm inside and pulling them out. We took them home, rubbed goo all over them to get her to lick them, but it just didn't work. Anyway, she knows the first kid and obviously loves her. She isn't sure if she likes the boy. The boy looks just like the first girl, so I don't know if that has anything to do with it? But the second girl she doesn't like at all and will head butt her if she gets near her head. I was able to give them colostrum from a bottle for their first feeding because I couldn't get them to nurse. After that, I have been going in there every 4 hours and putting the kids on her to nurse. She actually tolerates it which I am so thankful for. I imagine she lets the first kid nurse her when I'm not there, but I can't see the other two going over to her to nurse on their own.

My question is how can I tell if they are getting enough? The boy doesn't really nurse for very long. The girls nurse a bit longer. I have been trying to bottle feed the two after they nurse to make sure they get enough, but they don't want anything to do with it. I don't push it because they are nursing, but I'm still worried they aren't nursing often enough. I feel their stomachs and they all seem to feel the same. The first kid might feel a bit bigger.

Replies

Anna Cummings February 25, 2011 at 1:57pm

I forgot Fiasco farms had regular size goats. That makes sense. No wonder it seemed off!

Thanks guys!

If it's only an ounce or two per feeding, then they are probably getting enough to eat when I put them on the mom to nurse.

How quickly should they gain weight?
Deborah Niemann-Boehle February 25, 2011 at 11:30am

That is way too much for a newborn Nigerian. FiasCo Farms has standard size goats. For newborns, I just feed them whatever they'll take every three or four hours, which is usually no more than an ounce or two. After the first 24 hours, they can usually go eight hours overnight. Yesterday at the vet hospital I learned that they need 10% of their body weight in colostrum the first 24 hours. No wonder my bottle kids always do so well. They get way more than that. They should max our at somewhere between 18 and 24 ounces in 24 hours. They usually hit that by 2-3 weeks, and then they always act like they're starving, but don't let them talk you into more, or they'll get diarrhea.
Anna Cummings February 25, 2011 at 10:27am

How long do I have to feed them round the clock? I saw fiasco farms schedule, but they have the babies eating like 6 oz of food. That seems like so much?
Deborah Niemann-Boehle February 25, 2011 at 10:14am

Their tummies, which are right there where the ribs end, should feel firm and sort of protruding -- not huge and fat, but definitely not concave either. It is often not easy to get a kid to take a bottle, but you really need to do it until you're sure they're nursing off mom.

Just heard a goat on the baby monitor, so gotta run. I have six due now.

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