Aboutgoatlady Expertise Specializing in New Goat Owner understanding of goat physiology, goat anatomy, goat care and herd management. *I am not a veterinarian, any advice and information should be verified by your veterinarian before administering to your goats.
Experience 17 years experience of raising goats and herd management. Active hands on experience with goat herd and research with various Caprine University Research and Extension Centers nationwide. 15 years dedicated to helping other goat breeders/owners with goat anatomy, goat disease and goat health care issues via phone, published goat care articles and internet interaction.
Organizations 5 year active member of International Veterinary Information Service
Publications United Caprine News, Homesteaders Magazine, Columnist for Goat Magazine, Owner and Author of GoatPedia™
Education/Credentials Graduate Programs in Medicine, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Stanford University
Expert: goatlady Date: 5/13/2008 Subject: Problem with weak kid
Question QUESTION: I live in GA and a month ago my 75% Boer doe gave birth to twins, male and female. My doe had no interest in them so we took them inside to care for them. The little doe was very weak and died the next night. Her brother was fine with a little wheezing (I treated him with Penicillin because they were left outside the night they were born for any resp. infection). They were born early Sun morning, by Tuesday he was very weak and now he is unable to walk. I started giving him Vitamin B complex shots. He is now a month old and is still unable to walk. He stands but is very wobbly and weak and doesn't hold out for long. He can move his legs fine. I am really concerned about what to do for him. I am also concerned that he may have been born a little premature because he's very small for his age. Another doe we have gave birth two days ago and the kids are a couple inches bigger than his is, even though he has grown since he was born. Any help or advice at all is appreciated very much. Thanks.
ANSWER: HI Jessica,
I'm very sorry of your loss-
What are (were) you feeding the baby who died and the brother? How much and how often? Are you in a selenium deficient place? I think I would try some BO-Se (Selenium /vit E combo) He can take NO steps on his own?
What medications did mom get while she was pregnant? Get back to me with this and more info about this if you have it.
goatlady
Goat-Link.com
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QUESTION: I was feeding them both milk replacer mixed with the mother's milk. Their mother was/is unable to produce enough milk for us to use as a sole source of nutrition. We feed him quite often. As for the selenium I really would have no idea. He can't stand up without our help and seems very hesitant to take any steps even while we support him. Very early in his mom's pregnancy I was having a lot of problems with worms and had to take her to the vet. At the time I was unaware she was pregnant. I lost several goats during that time as well. Today he seems worse off and can barely hold his head which until now has been no problem. Were could I get the BO-Se at? I live in a rural town with a feed store that is prehistoric and doesn't have much of anything.
Answer Hi Jessica,
Bo-Se is a prescription from the vet. You don't mention how much he is eating. but I can tell you I would remove the replacer from his diet- regular cows milk from the grocery is a better choice than the replacer- and a good rule of thumb feeding schedule is as follows:
Guideline for Bottle Baby Dairy Goat Feeding Schedule
Pygmy and Nigerian Goat Baby Amounts in []:
* * Day one- 2-4oz. [1-3] (per feeding) colostrum, every 2-3 hours.
* * Day two- 3 oz. [2-3] (per feeding) whole milk, 6 times a day
* * Day three- 4 oz.[3] (per feeding) whole milk, 6 times a day
* * Day four- 6oz. [4-5] (per feeding) whole milk, 5-6 times a day.
* * For the next 2 weeks-6-8oz.[4-6] (per feeding) whole milk,5 times a day.
* * For the next 2 months-10-12 oz.[6-8] (per feeding)whole milk, 4-5 times a day.
* * For the next 1 month or 6 weeks-10-12 oz. [6-8] (per feeding)whole milk, 3 times a day.
* * 10-12 oz. [8-10] (per feeding) once a day for the next 2 months.
This is JUST a guideline- Adjust as needed - start with the recommended amount and feel the baby's tummy- Stop when it feels full but not tight- measure what is left in the bottle and feed what the baby ate- as the baby grows add to that amount according to size.
How is his poop? Any scouring? (diarrhea) - What is his rectal temperature?
I am assuming low (below 101.5) normal is 101.5 to 103.5 - When you had the doe dewormed- what dewormer did he use? Valbazen used during pregnancy can have a fetal defective problem if the doe is medicated with it during her first trimester of pregnancy. He sounds more weak and anything else- was the kidding difficult? According to this schedule is he getting enough to eat? too much?
At this point I think if he were mine I would get him to a vet- Sounds like there may be multiple problems going on here and for me to try to figure them out from the information I have to go on and not being able to see him we may be wasting precious time that a vet could be treating him -
