Kid who is not growing properly

[TheAlpine]

Hello,
I have a almost 3mos old goat kid who is not growing like his sister.
When they were born, the mother would not let him eat, she only let the doe eat. I tried forcing the mother to let the baby boy suckle, but she kept pushing me down. I tried using a milk replacement powder, but he wouldn't except. He is now eating small foods such as, grain, hay, grass and leaves along with drinking water when he is thirsty. But he still tries to drink milk every now and then, but every time he tries, he mother head-butts him till he is flat on the ground.
I have been tying to force the mother again for about 20 or 30 minutes, and it has been successfull. He is also being head-butted by his older siblings, and his older brother keeps biting his ears. But I am more worried about his health. In the moring, you can see his rib cage. I don't want him to starve to death, and I also do not want to have to put him down.
Can any of you help me with this problem? My dad is currently trying to build a milking stand, but he has been really busy lately.
~TheAlpine
PS, I will get photos of him, especially one of him beside his sister. (Only about a minute apart.) But it is dark outside at the moment

 

[babsbag]

You need to tie the doe to a fence and then press up against her and hold her there so he can nurse. I have done this a few times. He is really old enough to be weaned but the extra calories would be good for him. If you can get a good goat feed I would separate him and let him eat that. I don't know what you have in Canada as far as brands, but I am not talking just a sweet grain, find something that is a complete goat chow. Here I would suggest Purina as it is easy to find.

Not much you can do about him getting picked on, that is hard to fix. Do you have a separate pen for him? Poor little guy has had a rough start.

Have you checked him for worms and cocci? That could be why he is having a hard time growing.

 

[TheAlpine]

The grain that I feed my goats with is sweet grain dairy goat ration from our local feed mill. this morning I saw he was alone in a corner watching everyone else eat because they wouldn't let him eat. So, I grabbed a few handfulls of the grain, put it on a plate and brought him outside the run and he ate by himself.

I do not have a separate pen, although, I do have another pen that is small and it originally had meat chickens in it, and now the laying hens are walking around in it. I'm not sure if the chicken poop will be bad for him, or if the pen is too small. But I usally let him run free outside of the run and he goes around eating weeds from the gardens, and eating leaves on the grass. But, his family always gets jealous of him being out, so they start bleeting like crazy. Tomorrow I will definitely take my old dog's leash and collar and tie the mother up and force her to feed him. That way, my feet won't get stepped on

 

[babsbag]

Let them bleet and let him stay out..get some ear plugs for you.

The chickens aren't a problem, I have some that sleep on my hay feeders all of the time. They have a different coccidia so they won't spread that and he probably won't even notice the poop. If you can put him in the pen just to eat that would be a good idea, and then let him out.

I have had a couple of does that were like yours. I would fasten their collar to a fence and then just lean on them so they can't move. If you can put her head in a corner that can help too; they have no where to go.

Some kids will drink milk from a bowl, like they do water. If you can milk her that would be best, but the next best thing is just cow's milk like you get at the store. Don't bother with the replacers; cows milk works as well and they seem to like it more. If you warm it up he might be more inclined to try it.

I have a lot of goats and it isn't uncommon that one will stand off and watch the others eat; I guess someone has to be at the bottom of the totem pole. I just try and have plenty of room at the feeders and if that doesn't work I will toss a flake of hay on the ground for them. Many times that goats at the feeder will run for the new hay and then the shy one will just go to the feeder. It is goat version of musical chairs.

 

[TheAlpine]

Thank you, I will try to buckle the collar to the fence and just hold her up againsed the fence. If worse comes to worse, I will heat up some cow's milk and put it in a bottle.
We previously had kids that needed to be bottle fed, so I have some bottles I can use.

 

[animalmom]

I second the use of just a bowl for his milk. Since he is drinking water from a bowl/bucket then he should have no problem drinking milk from a bowl. Bowls are much easier to deal with and clean, which means a little less work for you.

Go ahead and put him in the little pen for feeding. I have my extra roosters in my goat pens and don't have any problems with the goats and roosters. Your little guy needs to have time to eat at his pace. And yeah, sometimes you just need to put in some ear plugs cause those goaties will put up a ruckus if they think someone is getting something better than what they have.

Good luck with your little guy. Given time he should grow into someone very special to you. Oh, and don't forget the pictures, please and thank you.

 

[TheAlpine]

That is Buddy happily eating,

 

[animalmom]

YEAH!!!!!!!!!!

 

[TheAlpine]

And here is Buddy beside his sister, Reese. They are only about a minute apart, but Reese was allowed to eat.

 

[babsbag]

If he hasn't been on a bottle at all at this age "good luck". Glad to see that he got something to eat from mom, he is a cute little guy. Normally he would nurse off and on all day for just a few minutes, if that. I don't know how long he was able to nurse or if mom even has the amount of milk he needs in one or two nursings. But some is certainly better than none.

When she kids next time and only likes one or two of the kids I would lock her up with all of them at first and then take away her favorites except for feeding time and see if she will bond to the one she doesn't favor. Sometimes it works.