My Patches, 2 years old, just had her first kidding on the 4th of July. 3 came out well, and the last came out dead with placenta. She is a first time mom. Kids are not thriving, very sleepy, not seeming to eat much. They are pooping, bright yellow. When they suck, they seem dopey and unable to find the teat, then when guided, suck a few sips and stop and go back to sleep. I run a summer camp and don't have time to bottle feed, not sure what to do. I'll probably run out soon and grab bottles to keep them alive. Might have to find someone who has time. Any tips?
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Thank you :) Another good day, our campers are all in the goat pen visiting, so thrilled to see the beautiful kids, one group is painting a mural on the goat shed. Happy kids all around :)
Glad to hear they're doing better! I don't understand why, but I have noticed that when the temperatures get into the 90s, newborns seem to get super lethargic. Hope everything is smooth sailing for them now!
So glad to hear things are so much better! Having QUADS as a first freshener is just crazy hard on the doe and kids too! I hope I never have that situation! It sounds like things are on track to be okay although triplets are not easy for a FF either. You did the right thing giving them the extra help they needed and hopefully everyone will make it. Congratulations!
They are doing very well now, thank you. Deborah, yes it was very hot the other day, over 90 yes, we are in MIchigan. We did have to take the babies in and bottle feed them for a day, but brought them back and forth to the doe, Patches. We gave them a shot of Nutridrench, and as much colostrum as we could get in them. After a day of that, they started to jump and show signs of curiosity. We were then able to leave them with mom from then on, with periodic bottle feedings. They now have the energy to knock the teat hard enough to drink, so no more bottles today so far. Thank you for your advice and care :)
How are they today?
Try not to keep them away from mom for too long, or you will have some permanent bottle babies on your hands.
Is it really hot where you are? Anything over 90 degrees seems to be as bad for newborns as below zero. If their bellies seem empty, then you need to get some of mama's colostrum/milk into them. Depending upon their weight, you probably won't be able to get them to take more than 2 ounces at a time. You probably just need to get milk into them, and once they're over the hump, they'll be fine.
Thanks for the replies. Deborah, yes, I am not there enough to know what is really going on. I am walking in and waking them up, but they are sleeping in positions that look very unnatural. Their heads are very low and not curled up, but hanging as if they are near death. When they nurse, they suck a few times, give up, then go and lay back down. They fall over a lot, have a hard time getting up again, and stand and stare at the wall. By this day, my kids are usually jumping and having fun. They haven't showed any 2 day old energy when I have been here. But then again, they could be up at other times. Their bellies are very empty, and they seem lifeless. Astrud, no I didnt give the Bose shot, but never have before and havent had problems. But perhaps they are selenium deficient. I had a goat friedn come help and she brought me Nutri Drench, which we have to mom and kids. We've been trying to use syringes and bottles in the last 2 hours to give them enough energy to keep going. They are now all inside, sleeping in a laundry basket. We are waking them every hour to give them a little colostrum from mom. Mom doesnt seem to mind much that they are gone, but bleats every now and then.
When you say they are weak, do you mean they can't stand up and walk to the teat? They should be walking around when they're hungry and like Deborah said, sleeping a LOT. If they can't stand up on their own you may need to intervene.
I'm not entirely sure that what you are describing is abnormal. Kids do sleep a lot the first few days, and they only nurse for a minute or less each time. However, they nurse very frequently -- like every 15 to 30 minutes. Unless you are there with them for hours at a time, you wouldn't know how often they're nursing. Bright yellow poop is good and means that they have consumed enough milk that they have passed the meconium, which is black and tarry. If you are walking in the barn and waking them up to nurse, that's probably why they seem "dopey." They were sleeping and their bellies are full, so they aren't interested in nursing. How many hours are you spending with them? I'm having a hard time figuring out a scenario where they would die at day two. If they don't get enough within the first few hours of birth, they are dead by 12-24 hours of age. Can you describe any additional things that have you concerned?
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