The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Goats => Topic started by: Belladonna01 on April 15, 2019, 09:10:54 am
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Being a first timer a little advice would be appreciated, I had a kid yesterday morning now 24hrs. he is not very enthusiastic to suckle , when i pit him under the udder he can't be bothered to suckle , I have opened his mouth and put the teat in but he doesn't really respond by suckling. he does sometimes suckle if i put him under but then only for a few seconds. he also spends almost all the time lying down, is this norma? I imagined he would be running round and bouncing .thanks
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When you say lying down - how is he lying? Is he laying flat out on its side in the middle of the pen, or is he curled up against one of the sides? I don't worry too much if they are curled up, but if laying flat out on their sides you need to step in and act fast. Maybe milk some colostrum for them goat and try bottle feeding or you could take the colostrum to a vet and ask them to show you how to stomach tube it in.
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thanks for replying, yes both teats are letting milk through, have seen him suckle but for very short periods, as you say it may not want large amounts?. did spray with antiseptic, and a farmer called to give a mollasis based boost to him, I'm going to keep a close eye on him today but feel I'm intervening too much by putting him to the udder, hopefully he's feeding while I'm not there, reassuring to know they don't bounce around for a few days, Diolch
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he is lying more like crouching like a cat would seems content and comfortable, but not grasping the teat when i put him to it
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Some are quite lively at 24hours and some get really drowsy. If he is getting up and suckling for short periods, you know she is producing milk, and she is not walking off or kicking him off, and he looks comfortable, than he is probably ok. If I am not sure a day old kid is getting enough (the belly should feel like a little hot water bottle after a feed) I would give 30 to 60ml from a bottle or tube it at the end of the day to give it an energy boost and help overnight. Sometimes they can be a bit congested and this makes them reluctant to suck. That is more obvious if you try from a bottle and it takes a while but you can effectively dribble 30ml plus in that way a few times.
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thanks all for your views, he is more percy this afternoon walking more, did suckle a few times with my help , I'm guessing he's feeding when I'm not there