# New Mother goat won't nurse kids! HELP!!!



## heinola honey (Feb 20, 2003)

Ok all you who have had experience with this....Please help me with suggestions and or ideas.

I have a Nubian doe that I never new too much about (history) since we purchased her 1 1/2 years ago. We had a buck in with her the first fall that we had her and she never was bred. This fall we had her in with a buck and as a result she had two little kids this A.M. much to my surprise as the only sign she was close to kidding was her udder started bagging up. No mucous or anything as of 8pm last night. I went out this morning late because of phone calls and there they were one on one side of the barn and the other one at the other end.
We let the goats come and go out of our "barn". Mother Annabelle was out in the small winter pasture with the rest of the does, without a care in the world.
So I got the babies all dried off Idonied the belly buttons put sweaters on them cuz the temp here today is 27 and the barns not heated. Then I got mom back in the barn and shut out the rest of the goats. Well Mom is more worried about the other goats than her babies. I Had my Nephew come over and help me hold her as I have nothing really to tie her up to and we were able to get the babies to nurse for about five minutes before she got upset at my dogs barking their fool heads off at someone coming down the drive. 
Ok so my question is this: should I try milking her or get the kids back on her so she gets used to it or? I did milk about 3oz out of her before we put the kis on her.
Thanks in advance...
Ruht


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## Milking Mom (Oct 2, 2004)

It depends on whether you want bottle babies or not. If you have a milk stand put her on the stand and in the head gate with some grain and set the babies upon the stand to nurse. Do this several times a day until Mama gets the hang of it. If you want bottle babies just milk mama and use her milk to feed the babies. Did she clean the babies up? Usually by cleaning them up, licking them off and eating the placenta that will make her "take" the babies. Did she not clean them up at all? Just dropped them and walked off? Hmmm You can take some of the placenta goop and smear it on the mama's nose and on the babies and try to get her to clean up the babies. I have got a mama cow to take a calf this way.


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## debitaber (Jun 6, 2003)

I have a doe like that, she just drops them, and goes about her business, I milk her out, and feed the babies. she could care less. last year she was eatin at the fence, she stopped long enough to walk about 20 ft. have her little boy, and walked away, te dogs, and I cleaned the baby. so this year, I am really watching her, she is due, and her bag is much fuller than yesterday, so I will keep a close watch on her. she just isn't good mother material. but likes to be miked, and then back to the girls, no fuss, no muss girl. she just doesn't want to be bothered, by babies.


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## heinola honey (Feb 20, 2003)

Well when I got out to the babies this morning they were wet and cold to the point their ears were kinda crunchy sounding when i was drying them off. I went back out there alittle bit ago and she is still staying away from them! How much milk will they need and how often? Was that five minutes of nursing they got earlier of any value. 
Thanks again, Ruth


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## mpillow (Jan 24, 2003)

At first they need 4-6oz every 4-6 hours, at about 1 week old they should sleep all night and increase to 8 oz 3times daily...keep increasing up to about a quart a day per kid by a month old. You can go down to two 16oz feedings if necessary around 3 weeks but 3 feedings a day is better for their tummies.

You should bring them inside if temps are below 40 degrees...the milk should be real warm 105 degrees when fed.


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## marytx (Dec 4, 2002)

I also have one Nubian, bottle fed herself, who will just walk away from kids like that and never tend them. I try to be close when she kids, and just take over. I give the little newborns a bottle 4 times a day for the first week or so. I never have gotten up to bottle during the night, and they have always done fine. When they can take 8-10 ounces at a time, I cut back to three times a day, working up to a pint. This last time, I quickly cut back to a pint and a half twice a day when my schedule no longer worked with three times. (Now, at 9 weeks, they are down to one pint bottle a day, and will soon be weaned! yeah!)
From what I have read, everyone has their own way to do this, some giving more or less, or keeping them on bottles much longer, or less long. 

DO, by all means, warm the bottles each time, 95-105 degrees, or they'll get tummy aches.

btw, a big plastic tub works well for keeping them inside, at least for the first couple of weeks til they start climbing right out! Then you'll wish you'd left them out! lol
mary


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## Milking Mom (Oct 2, 2004)

I would try to get them to eat some more. Hold Mama or put her on the milk stand and put the kids up there to nurse. If you can't get them to nurse you'll need to milk the mom out completely and pour up your bottles. Use pop bottles with some nipples on the end. YOu could use a regular baby bottle until you get some nipples from the feed store if you don't have any. You'll need to milk the mom at least twice a day to keep enough milk for the babies.


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## Ross (May 9, 2002)

Did the doe pass the after birth? If not she may need some oxytocin and after passing whatever is left may indeed bond with her kids. I've even used a milk let down dose of oxytocin to encourage bonding and it has a notable if not wholely reliable track record of working. Will the milk come readily when you hand milk her or does it take some effort? She may be starting a mild fever if she has retained the after birth too, so take the doe's temperature.


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## Milking Mom (Oct 2, 2004)

Ross what dosage of oxytocin... a one time dose of 1/2cc? Would it be too late to give the oxytocin since it has been approximately 8-10 hours since the babies were born?


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## heinola honey (Feb 20, 2003)

She passed her afterbirth....no milking stand(and my DH is a pipefitter by trade  ) the "barn" is an old fairly large brooder house we sorta modified but haven't completed yet. She will stand with a treat or grains but only for short periods of time and the kids do suck off her. I have done this about six times today. I am gonna go out now and see if I can't get her to stand long enough so I can get her milked out. I have two saanen does, one thats a good mother which will be kidding soon and another that will be a first time mom.  Hope she will be a natural good mother.
All your answers are very much appreiciated!.
Ruth


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## heinola honey (Feb 20, 2003)

Well Annabelle actually stood for along time this last time with the kids on her....so long infact the kids quit nursing themselves, then she was licking and paying abit of attention to them. I did put my two other does in there for the night and its kinda actually warm in there. I will go check on them every couple of hours to see how they are doing 
Again thanks for all the help!
Ruth


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## Guest (Feb 11, 2005)

Sometimes, if you aren't around to watch, the doe will nurse and otherwise ignore the kids. Perhaps she is nursing them when you aren't there. I have a pygmy doe who nurses her kids, but otherwise avoids them. Also, an old farmer told me years ago, that if you force a doe to nurse, as soon as the kids poop after nursing, the doe will recognize the smell and accept them. Good luck


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## debitaber (Jun 6, 2003)

THe babies were cold, and wet, take the babies in the house. milk her out dry, both sides, devided the milk between the babies, they should get about 4 oz a piece , every 3 hrs, for the first few days, since they are having a rough start. the yneed all of the colustrum that they can get out of her now. make sure the milk is about 100 degrees. once a new born chills, it is hard to get them warm, you are going to have to rig up a way to tie her, and milk her twice a day, for those babies. and it looks like you will have kitchen babies for a while. the y need a shot of BOSE, and tetnis right now also. Iwould probably give them nurti drench right now also. these babies are going to die, if not warmed and fed. sorry top be so blunt, but that is the way of it. you might have to put a towel over a heating pad, and turn it on low, and let them lay on that. or hold them. crunchy ears, don't sound good, sounds like frost bite. 
but you can safe them , I know, just milk the doe, and feed it to the babies, and the little that they got last night was a good thing. good luck and keep us posted.


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## debitaber (Jun 6, 2003)

I guess I should have kept readiong, so she is nursing now? well that is great. and I am really happy about that. good luck.


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## Ross (May 9, 2002)

I will leash a ewe on a short line to let the lambs suck but I don't know about a goat tolerating that idea for long! The dosage for oxytocin will vary by weight and I'm not sure if there are different strengths so a call to the vet is in order. Typically a milk let down dose for my sheep is 2ccs (20iu strength) and to start contractions is double. Goats may be VERY different, so do ask a vet. 8-10 hours would seem a little long to try a double dose but it really depends how much the cervix has contracted.


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## heinola honey (Feb 20, 2003)

Just got back in from the barn where I pretty much woke all the goats up!  Mother and babies doing fine. They had gotton there bose and tetnus yesterday but I held off nutridrenching them because of lack of experience in tubing and such. My Dh who has been a farmer all his life until late of course is out of town for work. He's the one that always keeps me calm in stressful situations. Anyway I put a outdoor thermometer in there last night and it hovered around 43-44 all night. Those does sure can throw off the heat!.
Did I mention our "barn" is about 14x20 with a low ceiling? just about the only decent builing on the site when we moved here. 
Back to the babies I watched them nurse for quite a while again this AM and they seem to be doing great! Oh one little doe and one little buck. Sire is a percentage boer. Man are the cute! 
Thankyou all for all your help!!!! Hopefully the rest of kidding season will be a smooth one!
Ruth


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## Milking Mom (Oct 2, 2004)

Good job. Glad she got the hang of it.


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