bethh Life on the Funny Farm

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They will fight the bottle for a while. they will fight a "different" milk. BUT you will hold him and keep at it! Instead of a dry formula, try just heating whole milk. He's eating hay, that will help. If you have a doe in milk....use that milk. In another month, you will be able to work him off of milk as his rumen will be more developed.. Hindsight -- I have a large enough freezer to keep some frozen colostrum and some frozen milk. This can be a saving Grace for these situations we don't want but sometimes have. Even if you mix milk real goat milk with powdered to transition him with taste & body workings. :hugs
 

bethh

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They will fight the bottle for a while. they will fight a "different" milk. BUT you will hold him and keep at it! Instead of a dry formula, try just heating whole milk. He's eating hay, that will help. If you have a doe in milk....use that milk. In another month, you will be able to work him off of milk as his rumen will be more developed.. Hindsight -- I have a large enough freezer to keep some frozen colostrum and some frozen milk. This can be a saving Grace for these situations we don't want but sometimes have. Even if you mix milk real goat milk with powdered to transition him with taste & body workings. :hugs
Thanks. This is my first kidding season and if I weren’t so stubborn, it’d be the last. I don’t have any milk reserves. Our first doe kidded early and all 3 were stillborn. Dixie was the second and it’s been only problems. I think she would have been a good producer but not this season. Tipsy hasn’t kidded. She has about 3 more weeks.
 

bethh

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I’m posting this here and will also post a separate thread. Poor little Dash pretty much refuses the bottle. He is hoarse from crying. He will eat the chopped hay and drink water. I’ve tried baby bottle, Pritchard nipple, dish. Replacement formula and cow’s milk. Thoughts?
 

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How stressful. Maybe tube feeding him? Although I'm not experienced with that at all.
Maybe try a different bowl for the milk? My Friend told me she had a Doe that rejected one kid so she put her on the milk stand and tied her legs so the kid nursed 3 times a day. I sure hope the little baby figures out how to eat better soon. Probably has a tummy ache from not eating well.
 

bethh

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How stressful. Maybe tube feeding him? Although I'm not experienced with that at all.
Maybe try a different bowl for the milk? My Friend told me she had a Doe that rejected one kid so she put her on the milk stand and tied her legs so the kid nursed 3 times a day. I sure hope the little baby figures out how to eat better soon. Probably has a tummy ache from not eating well.
Mom can’t feed him. She didn’t reject him. She had been sick since he was born and we found out she has a liver issue. The vet at the medical college advise that she not nurse or be milked so that she can recover. In my separate post, @Ridgetop responded with great advice. He actually took the bottle last night. Headed out in a few to take care of the animals which includes feeding Dash. Hope that he remembers last night and cooperates this morning.
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Dixie and Dash
 

chickens really

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Mom can’t feed him. She didn’t reject him. She had been sick since he was born and we found out she has a liver issue. The vet at the medical college advise that she not nurse or be milked so that she can recover. In my separate post, @Ridgetop responded with great advice. He actually took the bottle last night. Headed out in a few to take care of the animals which includes feeding Dash. Hope that he remembers last night and cooperates this morning. View attachment 76138
Dixie and Dash
That's fantastic for both of you. He is so adorable ❤️🐐
I hope he remembers as well. :fl
 

bethh

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:weeeDash has figured out the bottle.

Dixie was looking better but she seems to be looking thin again. I’ll see about follow up bloodwork for her. I’m not sure what else we can do for her if something shows up. We’ve followed all the recommendations from the vet, no grain just hay/forage and weaned Dash plus no milking. Not to sound callous, the ball is in her court.

Tipsy is due in roughly 2 weeks. We don’t have a firm breed date for her. When we thought she was bred, it didn’t take. Hopefully, we are right about the dad. We plan to let her milk the kids.

We have 20 silkie eggs in our new cabinet incubator due to hatch 8/5 and 8 Easter egger eggs under a broody due to hatch 8/2-3. I forgot to mark the calendar. So much going on around here I can hardly keep up Or keep it straight.

Grandkids that I’ve had since mid March are supposed to start school on the 10th and 13th. Part of me is relieved because I will get a break but the grandma in me is very concerned because the numbers here continue to grow.

As if we didn’t have enough happening around here, we decided to remodel our master bathroom. We started a month ago and it’s a work in progress. Well, I guess that’s enough rambling for now.
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