Hi all I have a beautiful brand new Nigerian dwarf doe that was born unassisted late Saturday night or very early Sunday morning. All seemed well she was trying to nurse when I first saw her and was pretty much already licked clean by her momma when I first seen her at 2:30 am Sunday morning. Checked on her a couple times in the morning and seemed fine but checked back about 1:30 in the afternoon and she was breathing pretty hard. It had gotten pretty warm and she was laying between her momma and the stall corner so thought maybe she got to hot so made them get up. She walked around wagged her tail baa a little bit so I went and checked her a hour later and was still the same so decieded it was time to do something so grabbed a kid bottle and milked some out of her mama and got some down her she wouldnt nurse thru the bottle so just was able to open her mouth and let some drip in and she seemed to not breath as hard so went out a couple hours later and did the same thing and after I was done she went over there and tried to and finally did nurse for about 10 seconds. She seems to be struggling getting the teat in her mouth to actually suck she will baa and punch the bag and if she does look like she is getting some out of it she only does it for a few seconds. I went out and checked on her this morning before work and she was actually sucking for a few seconds but didn't seem to be breathing hard so I thought OK all is well. Came home to check on her right before noon and she was breathing hard again. And by breathing hard I mean really fast so got my bottle out got some milk from her momma still cant get her to take the bottle but could get some dripped down here and she would drink it. Then when I would put her down she would go over and try to nurse and finally get the teat in her mouth all the way then suck for about 5 or 10 seconds and be done but the 2 times I did the so far so would go try to and suck for a few seconds. So I guess my main question is should I be concerned about this or is she just not thirsty and hungry enough to go do it and I'm just paranoid or keep doing what I'm doing? If I need to bottle feed her any tips on getting her to take the bottle? She has probably hasn't even had a ounce from how I'm doing it so starting to get pretty concerned. Thanks in advance for replies
2 day old Nigerian dwarf labored breathing
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Check the mothers teats to make sure the waxy plug is out and you can squirt milk. Then check the roof of the kids mouth to be sure it doesn't have a cleft palet, and she can get good suction.
If the mother is standing for the kid to nurse, hold the kid to the teat so she can suck...
Kids are not going to suck on the teat for several ounces at a time like they would on a bottle. They naturally nurse many times a day for just a short period.....as long as the milk flows and the kid is able to suck, all should be well
Congratulations on your new kidand welcome to BYH from Florida
Hey thank you for your reply just went out to check on her again and she started walking over to me and she stopped and took a humongous good clear pee then she found the water bowl and finally got the hang of drinking out of the bowl so that made all the heavy breathing and panting stop praise God so hopefully we are doing good. Again thank you for them reply if I knew how to post pics I would post you one lol
B&B Happy goats
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Awesome !
...to post a picture go to the bottom where it says upload a file ....push that and choose your option to pick from...
So happy for you, and your new kid,...
frustratedearthmother
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I'd take that baby's temperature ASAP! Hot weather and newborns don't always go well together...and a newborn drinking water and having respiratory distress will always prompt me to get a temp.
Hope I'm being overly cautious and that she's fine - but it's simple enough to check a temperature and ease your mind.
Hope I'm being overly cautious and that she's fine - but it's simple enough to check a temperature and ease your mind.
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I'd take that baby's temperature ASAP! Hot weather and newborns don't always go well together...and a newborn drinking water and having respiratory distress will always prompt me to get a temp.
Hope I'm being overly cautious and that she's fine - but it's simple enough to check a temperature and ease your mind.
Thank you for the reply. How far would I stick the thermometer in since she is so small? Sorry for the dumb question but doing a google search is just telling me 2.5 inches just want to make sure I don't hurt something in the process. I know I need to put some ky jelly on it before I insert it and I recently looked at our local farm and ranch store and didn't see any thermometer there. Could you recommend me one I could get at a Walmart or a Walgreen's preferably a digital
frustratedearthmother
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I think about an inch would be enough... I'd just get the cheapest digital one I could get - and cover. I like the disposable thermometer covers.
She's CUTE!
I'd just get the cheapest digital one I could get - and cover. I like the disposable thermometer covers.She's CUTE!
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B&B Happy goats
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What a doll , thank you for sharing her picture
, thank you for sharing her picture- Thread starter
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Hey all just wanted to give a update and thank everyone again for the quick responses and good advice. She has been up hopping around pooping and peeing and sucking on momma off and on about every time I've been able to check on her today. Still doesn't suck for very long but I guess if she does it often enough she will be just fine.
B&B Happy goats
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She sure looks nice and healthy,
Thank you for the update, sure hope you stick around here
