Bottle baby Pygmy not eating!

[Josh Simpson]

Hello, new to the forum and need some help/advice. I already had a couple 1yr old dwarf Nigerians a weather and a doe I bought from a friend who held until weaned. So I recently found some bottle baby Pygmys both does and drove a couple hours to get them. It wasn’t until I left and was home that the seller told me they hadn’t actually been on a bottle yet and had been with the mothers until just before I arrived. So we are doing our very best but one of them just doesn’t want to eat much, now they are small and I used a formula I found online to figure out how much I should be feeding them. They both weigh in at about 5 pounds, the one in question is 17 days old and just doesn’t have a suck reflex. I have tried multiple nipples and bottles, we stopped using the kid milk replacer and switched to whole milk with a little more success but we only get 3-5oz in her per day. I had hay in with them and they seem to be eating it but I’m not sure if that was bad or not as the seller told me they had already been eating some. We have tried probiotic paste, and I can get her to take about an ounce of goat electrolytes out of a bottle but she more or less just chews it out instead of sucking. Her little stomach always seems full when we finish but I’m just know she isn’t getting enough. We are feeding or attempting too 4 times a day. Not sure what else I can do?

 

[MiniSilkys]

Have you tried a regular baby bottle? If her belly is always full then it seems she is eating. Have you weighed her? Check her weight every couple days. They should be steadily gaining. When you feed her how are you holding her? I have pygmys.

 

[Josh Simpson]

She seemed to eat a little better today from a baby bottle and now that the hay has been removed. She ate probably 7-8oz total today. I weighed her yesterday and she came in at 4.6lbs. I had tried a bottle with a Pritchard nipple and baby bottle before but she really didnt like either one. I have her stand on the ground between my legs and take the bottle for a while, then she wants to stand on my lap while I hold the bottle. She still doesn’t suck on the bottle like her sister, she just more or less chews it and it takes more than double the time to eat as her sister. I will weigh again on Saturday and see where we are.

 

[MiniSilkys]

I think that as long as she is getting some milk through the day that she will eventually get the hang of it. If she gains weight, then all is good. If not then she is not getting enough nutrients. You might try to get some Nutridrench and some Jumpstart plus. I give jumpstart to all my new kids. You can get them both at tractor supply. Also, you might try a little feeding trick. I did this with a n orphan we found. it may look and feel funny or weird but it works. And I have the feeling you want her to survive. Hold her on your lap while leaning down towards her. Hold the bottle against the side of your neck with the nipple kind of pointing under your chin. With one so young that has been drinking from mom, they are used to feeling for the warmth of her udder. She may search your neck and chin, especially if you have a beard. lol. Once she finds it she may even butt your chin. They shake their tails when they are getting milk.