Doeling not feeding

[RockyToggRanch]

Well she's stressing the heck out of me! If there's one thing I've learned from my goats in the last month, it's not to take anything for granted. Not to assume that everything will go smoothly.

and that everyone who told me that goats are "easy" to raise should be slapped.

I'm an empty nester and these are my children (kids) now. Sometimes I think I worry more about them than I did my real children.

I really hope it was as simple as a tummy ache..

 

[Mea]

I just did the lunch time feeding and she gobbled down 18 oz like there was never anything wrong! and wanted more! I really wanted to fill her bottle up again, she acted so hungry. But I didn't..I know better.

I'm thinking the baking soda and nutridrench worked? Maybe she ate something in their yard that disagreed with her.

I'm not going to assume that she is "cured". I'll keep a close eye on her. Do you think I should still treat her for anything or wait and watch? I'll check her temp again this afternoon.

I'm so happy that she ate

Thank you all for suggesting the baking soda water.


I can't believe that at 11:00 I couldn't even force the nipple into her mouth...and now she's acting starved.

Doncha 'love' how they can drive us nutz ?! We've had some that simply 'go off' for a feeding then come right back. We've also had some that needed a different course of action for a day or two, Then they bounce back. Changes in the weather can set them off. ( in case You needed more things to take into consideration. )

Sometimes, and this is for myself as well, i have to take a step back and wait and observe a bit, rather than going after them with Everything at my disposal. Baking soda is where i start, then i watch and watch and... go from there.

A possibility of blood in the stool could be a sign of coccidiosis. We add CalfPro to the milk twice a day to help control that problem. Baby animals of any sort are so prone to cocci. !

I am putting myself way out on a limb here, but 18 oz. 4 times a day sounds like a Lot of milk to me. We also are feeding 4x a day, but figure about 12 oz per kidlet. But that's us, and YMMV.

Glad to hear she is doing better !! Mea.

 

[RockyToggRanch]

I was wondering about the weather change too. It was 80 for a few days then back to 30 last couple of nights.

They are fed 3xday and get 18oz per feeding. They haven't had scours or any problems at all until this. As soon as I see them gobbling grain I'll go to 2xday. I didn't expect bottle babies. We both work full time although usually opposite shifts. My husband actually took a vacation week to do the 2pm feeding last week. We were both scheduled days.

I'll watch her closely and hope it was minor.

 

[Mea]

I was wondering about the weather change too. It was 80 for a few days then back to 30 last couple of nights.

They are fed 3xday and get 18oz per feeding. They haven't had scours or any problems at all until this. As soon as I see them gobbling grain I'll go to 2xday. I didn't expect bottle babies. We both work full time although usually opposite shifts. My husband actually took a vacation week to do the 2pm feeding last week. We were both scheduled days.

I'll watch her closely and hope it was minor.

My apologies... i read Your initial post and took the 8 hours and came up with 4x a day...( all by myself :/ ). 3x a day is a lot less milk.

Sometimes our DHs are wonderful. Mine is retired, so twice during the day...HE gets to fight his way thru the starving goatie mob with the 'sucky-bucket'. ( have to admit... i do like bottle babies ! They cuddle ! )

 

[RockyToggRanch]

Sucky bucket? lol. cute

 

[Mea]

Sucky bucket? lol. cute

That's what we call the Lam-Bar milk feeder pail that we use. One of the Grandkids could not remember 'Lam-Bar' and came up with that name for it. We refer to the group of kid (goats) as the "Sucky Bucket Gang"

 

[Roll farms]

Yes, the meds will keep (I've been on the same bottle of scour halt for 3 years) and it's one of the things I always keep on hand.
The scour halt and neomycin sulfate are both oral antibiotics.
B vitamin is injected, into the muscle.
Probios is oral.
Actually, I keep the B vit and the Probios on hand all the time, too....

Did she eat tonight?

And yeah, I heard, "Goats? You just turn them suckers loose and let them fend for themselves."

HAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHA! Don't I wish.

 

[RockyToggRanch]

Just gave them the 10pm feeding. She's acting like nothing was wrong. I'm really breathing easier now. She sucked down her bottle in no time at all. She's also loud again. Maaaa! happy...

 

[Roll farms]

Good!

 

[RockyToggRanch]

Fine at breakfast too.

I don't think our feed is medicated. It's from a local mill. I'll check with them. Is there something I should topdress their feed with to prevent cocci?