First goat baby.. need advice

iris_surreal_euphoria · 08-13-2006, 12:03 PM

Ok, so this morning Starseed, my goat had her baby and it's about three weeks early! When we got to it she had just had it and had only cleaned the afterbirth off it's face. We cleaned it up and have got it nursing.
This is my first time in having a new born goat. Is it normal for it to keep laying down and sleeping? It's been in this world a few hours and won't get up to nurse unless I wake it up! Of course it's all wobbly and needs help finding the nipple. It has drank alot but I'm worried because it's so small. Starseed the momma is worn out. She's eating and drinking but she's drained and doesn't seem to be paying enough attention to the baby. Any advice would be appreciated.

The babies name is Naveed and it's a little girl!!! Here's a couple of pics, the lighting in the barn is bad but you can see her... she's so tiny. Oh, yeah, does anyone know the best thing to feed a new momma goat? It's her first.

[IMG]http://i97.photobucket

Drafty · 08-13-2006, 12:06 PM

What a cutey! Sorry, my goat gets a handful of goat food twice a day no matter what, so I can't really help you with feeding advice.

Range · 08-13-2006, 07:56 PM

Cutie pie! Do you have any idea which direction the baby came out? Head first or butt first? Could be some aspiration issues. I feed my mama goats about 1 pound of grain a day along with a flake of alfalfa in the morning and at night. As far as the weakness is concerned, I would take the baby to the vet. I had two kids last year born after a very tough birth. They were very weak and the one had aspiration pneumonia. The vet gave me some neat stuff that gave them a great boost in energy. Now, mama goat should really be paying more attention to the baby. You might end up bottle feeding this kid after she's gotten all her colostrum. In fact, it wouldn't hurt to do some supplemental bottle feeding now if you don't feel she's getting enough.

Is mama friendly? Maybe she's just leaving when you come out and mess with the baby?

Weak kids need to be protected from extreme heat as well. A nice shady area should be sufficient. It's also possible the baby is getting up and nursing without you being aware of it. Kids only nurse for about 5 seconds at a time. And yes, the babies do sleep a LOT.

iris_surreal_euphoria · 08-13-2006, 08:11 PM

Oh, it's not looking good! I don't know what to do. The baby will drink a little and go right back and lay down. All she wants to do is sleep. I don't know how much milk she should be taking. When I get her up she'll stand up and hit her mama's teats and suck alittle, shake her tail and then she's done, she'll go back and lay down. She's so tiny, should she be more active? There's no vet available today at all! Absolutly no way to get one, and to top every thing off tomorrow is my first day of college!
I'm at a loss! The mama is very friendly, in fact she has been licking me and the baby. She is crying for it to nurse because she is so full of milk. The baby sucked her down once today. I milked a little into a bottle and force fed her but she acts like she's just not hungry. It just scares me because she is so inactive. Help! I don't want to drown her with milk.
I don't know what is normal behaviour and what is not.

pennyrain · 08-14-2006, 01:05 AM

Does the baby's tummy feel full? The doe will produce more than enough for one kid if she is a dairy goat. If the kid is getting up on her own, nursing, and her tummy feels full she is probably ok. It does sound like your doe needs to be completely milked out. You can freeze the extra colostrum to keep on hand for future needs( I've had more than one person knock on my door begging for colostrum for some new baby or another).
Sometimes does aren't very hungry right after they kid, especially if they consumed the afterbirth. I would expect the doe's appetite to increase over the next day or two. If your doe acts comfortable and is taking care of the kid I'd relax a little and give them time. Usually ,like some one said the newborns sip and sleep. The does usually fuss over them and will paw them to get up and nurse. With only one kid, really watch out for that udder, they seem to be more suceptible to mastitis and have more serious bouts in the hot weather.
With only one baby I'd plan on milking her out at least once a day and if the kid only milks off one side I'd do it twice a day. I currently feed my milking does Purina goat chow. theywill consume a 3 pound coffee can full while being milked out. Big Gain also has an excellent goat feed, as do several of the local elevators.
Good luck with your goats and let us know how things turn out.

iris_surreal_euphoria · 08-14-2006, 05:16 PM

Thanks for the advice. Good news is that they both made it through the night and I made it to class! Oh, what a long night though. We got up every couple of hours to make sure the baby was nursing and that mama's sack wasn't too full. The baby is great today but dispite milking starseed her sack has hardened. So.... here come the med bills... couldn't take her into the office because of the heat and fear it would stress her too bad but the vet told us to put med. up the udder hole and inject it. After that we had to massage, milk, massage, milk and baby couldn't drink for two hours. Next came med. in Mama's water and an antibioc in the hip for the next four days.. Keep your fingers crossed both pull through!

Oh yeah, the vet said thier was NO WAY the baby could have been 3 weeks premature, she would be dead. Well, I guess I have a miracle baby cos her lungs are find and her heartbeat is strong.

Pray for Starseed and Naveed!

ShowJumper246 · 08-14-2006, 05:18 PM

Aww! How cute!

By the way I'm 18!
<note from Annie. Lying about your age is NOT ok. Your account is being closed right now. We do not make exceptions to our minimum age rule. >

muttduck · 08-14-2006, 06:00 PM

I hope that everyone is doing well this evening. Naveed is extremely cute!!

Just curious...
How long was her mommy pregnant? Did you buy her already bred?

iris_surreal_euphoria · 08-14-2006, 06:55 PM

I did the math... Starseed is two weeks early. We got a buck in March. I know I will NEVER let them kid anytime close to August again. We were aiming for Semptember babies. Starseeds mother, Daisy is pregnant but she's doing great. It looks like it'll be a while before she kids even though she was bred before Starseed. I hope she has no problems cos Daisy is not a friendly goat like my little Starseed! Dispite her udders being so sore she let us milk at them all day, licking us like we were her babies. She is a sweet goat, I'm so worried about her.

Naveed:

Range · 08-14-2006, 07:18 PM

She looks like she's doing great! Keep up the good work. It's so hard with the little ones that are not rambunctious, one always wonders if you're doing enough.

pennyrain · 08-14-2006, 11:35 PM

When you milked your doe, did you strip her completely? Are you getting out thick stringy clumps? watery milk?
Usually if they get completely stripped out soon after kidding, like within 12 hours they are less prone to infection. the bacteria are feeding off the milk stuck in the udder. Dry animals can pick up bacteria and then develope mastitis when they freshen so it's always best to make sure they really get emptied out after the baby has nursed and mom has started to relax. Dairy farmers will milk out their cows right after giving birth, I've seen them stagger into the milk ing parlor. I asked a vet about it once and he said it was definitely for the best.
Naveed looks Nubian, is she purebred?
I do hope your little doe recovers ok. It is hard work dealing with mastitis,so keep up the good work. It sounds like your vet has given a nice agressive approach and you are following through diligently. Keep us posted on her progress and the best of luck!

08-13-2006, 12:03 PM
iris_surreal_euphoria Long Yearling Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Somerset, Kentucky Posts: 1,117	First goat baby.. need advice Ok, so this morning Starseed, my goat had her baby and it's about three weeks early! When we got to it she had just had it and had only cleaned the afterbirth off it's face. We cleaned it up and have got it nursing. This is my first time in having a new born goat. Is it normal for it to keep laying down and sleeping? It's been in this world a few hours and won't get up to nurse unless I wake it up! Of course it's all wobbly and needs help finding the nipple. It has drank alot but I'm worried because it's so small. Starseed the momma is worn out. She's eating and drinking but she's drained and doesn't seem to be paying enough attention to the baby. Any advice would be appreciated. The babies name is Naveed and it's a little girl!!! Here's a couple of pics, the lighting in the barn is bad but you can see her... she's so tiny. Oh, yeah, does anyone know the best thing to feed a new momma goat? It's her first. [IMG]http://i97.photobucket __________________ If wishes were horses this room would need a good mucking! Visit our website: http://www.freewebs.com/lazziassacres/

08-13-2006, 12:06 PM
Drafty Coming two Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 1,563	What a cutey! Sorry, my goat gets a handful of goat food twice a day no matter what, so I can't really help you with feeding advice. __________________ "The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated." - Mahatma Gandhi Breeding solid paints is like breeding spotless Appys - just plain wrong!

08-13-2006, 07:56 PM
Range Kid Safe Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Back of Beyond Posts: 6,739	goat baby Cutie pie! Do you have any idea which direction the baby came out? Head first or butt first? Could be some aspiration issues. I feed my mama goats about 1 pound of grain a day along with a flake of alfalfa in the morning and at night. As far as the weakness is concerned, I would take the baby to the vet. I had two kids last year born after a very tough birth. They were very weak and the one had aspiration pneumonia. The vet gave me some neat stuff that gave them a great boost in energy. Now, mama goat should really be paying more attention to the baby. You might end up bottle feeding this kid after she's gotten all her colostrum. In fact, it wouldn't hurt to do some supplemental bottle feeding now if you don't feel she's getting enough. Is mama friendly? Maybe she's just leaving when you come out and mess with the baby? Weak kids need to be protected from extreme heat as well. A nice shady area should be sufficient. It's also possible the baby is getting up and nursing without you being aware of it. Kids only nurse for about 5 seconds at a time. And yes, the babies do sleep a LOT. __________________ "Be careful what you wish for, because you just might get it all... you just might get it all, and then some you don't want." Chris Daughtery

08-13-2006, 08:11 PM
iris_surreal_euphoria Long Yearling Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Somerset, Kentucky Posts: 1,117	Oh, it's not looking good! I don't know what to do. The baby will drink a little and go right back and lay down. All she wants to do is sleep. I don't know how much milk she should be taking. When I get her up she'll stand up and hit her mama's teats and suck alittle, shake her tail and then she's done, she'll go back and lay down. She's so tiny, should she be more active? There's no vet available today at all! Absolutly no way to get one, and to top every thing off tomorrow is my first day of college! I'm at a loss! The mama is very friendly, in fact she has been licking me and the baby. She is crying for it to nurse because she is so full of milk. The baby sucked her down once today. I milked a little into a bottle and force fed her but she acts like she's just not hungry. It just scares me because she is so inactive. Help! I don't want to drown her with milk. I don't know what is normal behaviour and what is not. __________________ If wishes were horses this room would need a good mucking! Visit our website: http://www.freewebs.com/lazziassacres/

08-14-2006, 01:05 AM
pennyrain Yearling Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: minnesota Posts: 783	Does the baby's tummy feel full? The doe will produce more than enough for one kid if she is a dairy goat. If the kid is getting up on her own, nursing, and her tummy feels full she is probably ok. It does sound like your doe needs to be completely milked out. You can freeze the extra colostrum to keep on hand for future needs( I've had more than one person knock on my door begging for colostrum for some new baby or another). Sometimes does aren't very hungry right after they kid, especially if they consumed the afterbirth. I would expect the doe's appetite to increase over the next day or two. If your doe acts comfortable and is taking care of the kid I'd relax a little and give them time. Usually ,like some one said the newborns sip and sleep. The does usually fuss over them and will paw them to get up and nurse. With only one kid, really watch out for that udder, they seem to be more suceptible to mastitis and have more serious bouts in the hot weather. With only one baby I'd plan on milking her out at least once a day and if the kid only milks off one side I'd do it twice a day. I currently feed my milking does Purina goat chow. theywill consume a 3 pound coffee can full while being milked out. Big Gain also has an excellent goat feed, as do several of the local elevators. Good luck with your goats and let us know how things turn out.

08-14-2006, 05:16 PM
iris_surreal_euphoria Long Yearling Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Somerset, Kentucky Posts: 1,117	Thanks for the advice. Good news is that they both made it through the night and I made it to class! Oh, what a long night though. We got up every couple of hours to make sure the baby was nursing and that mama's sack wasn't too full. The baby is great today but dispite milking starseed her sack has hardened. So.... here come the med bills... couldn't take her into the office because of the heat and fear it would stress her too bad but the vet told us to put med. up the udder hole and inject it. After that we had to massage, milk, massage, milk and baby couldn't drink for two hours. Next came med. in Mama's water and an antibioc in the hip for the next four days.. Keep your fingers crossed both pull through! Oh yeah, the vet said thier was NO WAY the baby could have been 3 weeks premature, she would be dead. Well, I guess I have a miracle baby cos her lungs are find and her heartbeat is strong. Pray for Starseed and Naveed! __________________ If wishes were horses this room would need a good mucking! Visit our website: http://www.freewebs.com/lazziassacres/

08-14-2006, 05:18 PM
ShowJumper246 Newborn Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Georgia Posts: 3	aww Aww! How cute! By the way I'm 18! <note from Annie. Lying about your age is NOT ok. Your account is being closed right now. We do not make exceptions to our minimum age rule. >

08-14-2006, 06:00 PM
muttduck Kid Safe Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Central Kentucky Posts: 6,957	I hope that everyone is doing well this evening. Naveed is extremely cute!! Just curious... How long was her mommy pregnant? Did you buy her already bred? __________________ Custom stall signs and pet portraits, Wood Burned by hand with your equine's (or pet's) image: www.WoodburnedPetPortraits.com Self Defense Supplies, Stun Guns, Pepper Sprays: https://selfprotectionsupplies.com/

08-14-2006, 06:55 PM
iris_surreal_euphoria Long Yearling Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Somerset, Kentucky Posts: 1,117	I did the math... Starseed is two weeks early. We got a buck in March. I know I will NEVER let them kid anytime close to August again. We were aiming for Semptember babies. Starseeds mother, Daisy is pregnant but she's doing great. It looks like it'll be a while before she kids even though she was bred before Starseed. I hope she has no problems cos Daisy is not a friendly goat like my little Starseed! Dispite her udders being so sore she let us milk at them all day, licking us like we were her babies. She is a sweet goat, I'm so worried about her. Naveed: __________________ If wishes were horses this room would need a good mucking! Visit our website: http://www.freewebs.com/lazziassacres/

08-14-2006, 07:18 PM
Range Kid Safe Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Back of Beyond Posts: 6,739	baby She looks like she's doing great! Keep up the good work. It's so hard with the little ones that are not rambunctious, one always wonders if you're doing enough. __________________ "Be careful what you wish for, because you just might get it all... you just might get it all, and then some you don't want." Chris Daughtery

08-14-2006, 11:35 PM
pennyrain Yearling Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: minnesota Posts: 783	When you milked your doe, did you strip her completely? Are you getting out thick stringy clumps? watery milk? Usually if they get completely stripped out soon after kidding, like within 12 hours they are less prone to infection. the bacteria are feeding off the milk stuck in the udder. Dry animals can pick up bacteria and then develope mastitis when they freshen so it's always best to make sure they really get emptied out after the baby has nursed and mom has started to relax. Dairy farmers will milk out their cows right after giving birth, I've seen them stagger into the milk ing parlor. I asked a vet about it once and he said it was definitely for the best. Naveed looks Nubian, is she purebred? I do hope your little doe recovers ok. It is hard work dealing with mastitis,so keep up the good work. It sounds like your vet has given a nice agressive approach and you are following through diligently. Keep us posted on her progress and the best of luck!