We have a 3 week old doe kid named Ruthie who has been weak since birth. Since her mother wasn't producing enough milk for her and her twin sister we began bottle-feeding her a week ago. She took to the bottle with much enthusiasm. Things were going great until yesterday when we gave her something to prevent pneumonia because she was getting a cough. This morning she is fine with no signs of any illness. However, she has refused to take a bottle since we forced her to take the medicine. She is nibbling on hay and sweetfeed but has utterly refused to drink anything. Its been about 24 hours since her last feeding. Although she is still alert, bright-eyed, and walking around. She has been underweight since she was born so she does not have much reserve to fall back on. So we want to jump on this before she goes downhill or gets weaker. All ideas or advice will be welcome. Thankyou.

-- Gdog Gd Gdog G (Gdog G@volstate.net), March 20, 2001

Answers

Will she suck your finger ? Have you tried a pail?

-- Patty {NY State} (fodfarms@slic.com), March 20, 2001.

take some honey about 1/2 tsp and put it in her mouth,do this 2 or 3x's a day it makes them hungry. I had triplets 2 died 1 is fine and bottle fed to get him hungry the honey worked well.

-- renee oneill{md.} (oneillsr@home.com), March 20, 2001.

What kind of medicine did you give and how was it administered? Kids can sometimes go off their bottle for a feeding after something like that, but not for a whole day. Do you know how to tube feed? If you will be raising goats I highly recommend you get your vet to teach you how. It's an important skill to have. Basically, you slide a feeding catheter down their throat. If it slides down easily and you hear or feel no breath through the tube, you are probably in the stomach and not the lungs. Once you are certain the tube is in the right pipe, just administer the milk with a syringe.

We often have stubborn nursers. We hold them between our knees, pry the mouth open and hold the bottle in their mouth while trying to get them to suck. With your thumb and forefinger gripping the bottle at the neck, wrap the palm of your hand and other fingers around the lower part of their muzzle so they can't spit the nipple out. With your free hand, massage the back of their head or neck and throat to stimulate them to suck as the mother would if they were nursing.

-- Skip Walton (sundaycreek@gnrac.net), March 20, 2001.

THANKS EVERYBODY!!! Ruthie is eating great as of this morning. We still are not sure why she quit taking the bottle but this morning she started back on with no hesitation. Our only problem now is that she doesn't want to live in the barn with the other goats. She likes sleeping with our 14 year old daughter and playing with our younger children. Can you house-break a goat??? Ha.Ha. Thanks again for being there for us, Countrysiders!

-- (@volstate.net), March 21, 2001.

Yes, goats can be housebroken. They are at least as intelligent as dogs, if not more so.

-- Skip Walton (sundaycreek@gnrac.net), March 22, 2001.

Diapers work great for sick ones when they have to be in .Just brought home 2 in the truck that way .Lucky for me I always have diapers around with the baby .Buy the cheapest brand you can.

-- Patty {NY State} (fodfarms@slic.com), March 22, 2001.

Does the dam have enough milk for just Ruthie? You could put her with her mother. I had a kid who simple did poorly when bottle fed and only thrived when with her mother. Her sister did fine on the bottle. Not sure why but it saved the kid. When she recovered her health I put her back on the bottle. She began getting weak and refusing to eat again. Put her back on the mother and she thrived again. For some reason this goat needed her mother. Who knows?

-- Tiffani Cappello (cappello@alltel.net), March 24, 2001.