| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| PlumCreekMama |
Posted - Jan 24 2008 : 07:28:37 AM
One of my doe's started having her kids this morning. Right now, it is 9:30 am and the temperature outside is -17. I brought the first one in the house and the second one didn't make it. It may have been stillborn, as I came upon it right away, but the cold may have just killed it instantly. I have never bottle fed goats before, but it looks like I'm going to have to learn pretty quickly. I am busy looking up tips on the internet, but if anyone has any info to pass along, please do. |
| 25 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Alee |
Posted - Mar 17 2008 : 07:54:34 AM
What a great update! He sure is cute!
Alee
Farmgirl Sister #8
www.awarmheart.com
Please come visit Nora and me on our new blog:
www.farmgirlalee.blogspot.com |
| PlumCreekMama |
Posted - Mar 17 2008 : 05:54:05 AM
I have updated Magnum's progress on my blog. He's doing very well!
http://plumcreekmama.blogspot.com/ |
| grace gerber |
Posted - Feb 14 2008 : 12:16:04 PM
Hi Heather - sounds like you are living the life that those of us with goats experience as pure terror and joy!
Sounds like your little guy has made it thru the worst. I figure every day I can mark off on the calendar is a big step foreward. As I wrote in my blog last year - three months of having two billies kids in the house is no easy task but what Joy! They have weathered all their trials and now celebrated their first birthday as strong, big, healthy boys and they live outside. Here are a couple of tricks I have learned over the years that might help. For their legs, take a small childs sock and slip it over the hoof and leg - this keeps more warmth close to the skin and also I place a little warmed oil on the hoof before placing the sock on. This kept the hoof bed moist, not wet so you did not run the risk of it cracking. Same for the ear, when feeding I would place the kid in my lap and while nursing I would gently rub the ear with warmed oil. What you need is to promote circulation. I also mixed their milk with Pedicare instead of water which keeps the scours down. You can add one drop of baby asprin in the bottle at each feeding to assist with reducing their temp. I also give them arnica which adds in reducing inflamation.
Give him hugs from me and just know all the work and lack of sleep is always worth it. Take if from Sherlock and Dr Watson - they are here today because I did not worry about my kitchen floors.
Grace Gerber
Larkspur Funny Farm and Fiber Art Studio
Where the spirits are high and the fiber is deep
http://www.larkspurfunnyfarm.etsy.com
http://larkspurfunnyfarm.blogspot.com
|
| wooliespinner |
Posted - Feb 14 2008 : 05:16:02 AM
Thanks for the update Heather !
I sware I have been holding my breath thinking about the little guy. Does the vet think his feet are going to be okay and not lose them ?? I know frostbite takes a while to heal but didn't know if you knew for sure about his feet or not. My bottle one from years ago did the same thing. I think my dog potty trained mine bacause everytime the dog went out to the bathroom so did the goat. It was really neat. Well take care Heather and thanks for the update. I hope he has a full recovery. Keep us posted.
Each day is precious...take a few of those minutes for yourself. |
| PlumCreekMama |
Posted - Feb 13 2008 : 11:50:40 AM
His name is Magnum. His feet are still pretty sore and swollen, the vet said it would take awhile. I think he thinks he's a dog, because he likes to sleep on the dog pillow with the dogs! |
| gafarmwoman |
Posted - Feb 13 2008 : 11:17:27 AM
Heather, I understand about bottle goats. I hope it turns out well for the little one. I have a very spoiled goat named Annie that I bottle raised from one week of age. Annie still doesn't know she is a goat.(I swear). Good luck and I hope the frost bite isn't bad.
You can never have enough friends.
Please come and sit a spell with me at Life on a Southern Farm
http://georgiafarmwoman.blogspot.com |
| Lovin Life |
Posted - Feb 13 2008 : 11:01:18 AM
Heather, your goat is so cute. I wish we had the chance to have goat kids with ours, but it didn't work out for us. Chickens are it for now! Have you named him yet??
I'd rather live my life with a "full plate" than an empty one. Life is not a rehearsal... eat up! |
| doublebow |
Posted - Feb 01 2008 : 07:42:09 AM
Oh, I'm so sorry! But it sounds like you are on top of things so he has an excellent chance of coming thru all of this. And I think goats respond to TLC even more than actual medical care sometimes. If he does lose his ears, my LaMancha goats would think he was the cat's meow. They have tiny ears! |
| wooliespinner |
Posted - Jan 31 2008 : 3:23:22 PM
I am so sorry to hear this Heather,
Bad enough to lose one and now frostbite. Well I dealt with that last year. It was 11 below and I even had them in a stall closed up with tarps and a heat lamp and he was nursing from his mother. He was a 11 pound strapping boy. But the end of his ears became swollen and hot. The vet told me the same thing. I did the antibiotics plus baby asprin to help the swelling. He did lose a little of his ear but not much. My goats are nubians so they have lots of ear !! I would be more concerned for his feet. I would try to massage them very gently twice a day and maybe they will be okay. If they look weepy maybe try to soak them in epson salts and warm water if possible. Maybe one little foot at a time in a coffe can. Its a good sign that they are still warm. Poor little guy. I feel for the both of you.
Sounds like your doing a great job with everything. Keep your chin up and keep up the good work. Will say a prayer for both of you.Take care.
Linda
Each day is precious...take a few of those minutes for yourself. |
| PlumCreekMama |
Posted - Jan 31 2008 : 1:51:35 PM
I just took him to the vet because I noticed his back hooves were swollen. The vet said he has frostbite. He said it takes about a week after to show up and that would be right because he was born a week ago. He said I'm already doing the best thing for him, which is keeping him in the house. He said not to let him get cold, so he won't be able to go outside for a long time. I also have to give him penicillin because he's running a fever. Worse case scenario is his feet could fall off. Which is horrible! The vet said it's a good sign that his feet are still warm and he's not having pain. Also I had noticed a few days ago that his ears were swollen, and the vet said that they are definitely going to fall off, but that it's not as big a deal as the feet. He said it will take at least 3 weeks for the swelling to go down, so hopefully by then I'll know what's going to happen. I'll keep you all posted. |
| doublebow |
Posted - Jan 31 2008 : 06:42:36 AM
You're welcome! |
| PlumCreekMama |
Posted - Jan 30 2008 : 6:43:08 PM
Thanks! I appreciate it. I have a Hoegger's catalog, so I think it sounded familiar when you first mentioned it. I'm going to have to get some. I was wondering what I was going to do. Thank you very much! |
| doublebow |
Posted - Jan 30 2008 : 4:58:47 PM
The product is called Goat Serum Concentrate. You can get it from Hoegger's or Caprine supply online. If you can give it to a little one at birth you can give it orally but at this stage you have to give an injection. It helps build the immune system because it is actually made from the part of blood (from a healthy goat) that has immunities in it. Sorry I didn't mean to sound like an infomercial! It's really helpful for babies that don't get colostrom. Well, good luck! |
| PlumCreekMama |
Posted - Jan 30 2008 : 12:05:17 PM
Yeah, I'm interested! What is it? |
| doublebow |
Posted - Jan 30 2008 : 11:26:29 AM
Hello, I'm new here and I know this topic was started a few days ago but wanted to give some input. First of all I hope everything is still going well for your baby goat. He is just adorable. The other thing I wanted to say is that there's some stuff called Goat Serum that you can get that will help build your goats immune system since he didn't get any immunities from his mom. If you want more info about it you can let me know. |
| wooliespinner |
Posted - Jan 28 2008 : 3:13:17 PM
Well Heather,
sounds like the baby is doing great. It sounds like he's already part of the family. He will be a spoiled baby in no time. I had a bottle baby too and his name was Duncan Idaho after a character in Dune the movie. Strange name but it just seemed to fit him. He was the cutiest thing and spoiled. He went everywhere with me and I took his bottles too because he needed to bed fed so often in the beginning. I took him to school for the kids to see. They had a blast with him. He was so friendly and would run and play with all the children just like he was one of them. I miss those days with him. He grew up and had to move to the barns. Goats are so endearing. What can I say I am hooked on them..........lol
take care
Linda
Each day is precious...take a few of those minutes for yourself. |
| Annika |
Posted - Jan 28 2008 : 2:43:54 PM
We had a house goat for w awhile, Bailey, before she got too big. She was a Nubian and full of personality. I miss my goats too, they are a blast to take around. We used to pack her up in the car in a carrier and go visit family, this was some years ago and she is no longer with us, but they are such cute little devils. I would put on blue grass or fiddle music and she would dance and bounce around to it. heehee
Your little fellow is a cutie and your little boy is darling too. I wish you lots of fun with your house goat =)
Annika
Farmgirl sister #13
Mud Hen Queen
http://innermountainmudhens.wordpress.com/
http://panzymoon.wordpress.com/
http://panzymoonsgarden.blogspot.com/ |
| BarefootGoatGirl |
Posted - Jan 28 2008 : 2:16:13 PM
oh, my! i love totting around baby goats. everybody just loved it. pack up the baby and go...just like the two legged ones!
What we write today slipped into our souls some other day when we were alone and doing nothing.
-Brenda Ueland
http://quilandneedle.blogspot.com/ |
| PlumCreekMama |
Posted - Jan 28 2008 : 1:28:44 PM
Mama goat seems to be doing fine. I had to take the baby goat with me yesterday to my parents house. I had a double birthday party for my sons there, and was going to be gone too long to leave him at home. He was fine and everyone got a kick out of seeing him. He is adjusting very well. |
| wooliespinner |
Posted - Jan 28 2008 : 11:03:50 AM
Glad to year your baby goat is getting the hang of the bottle. He looks very cute in the picture. I just love baby goats. I hope everything continues to go well for you and the baby goat. Hope mama is fairing well too. I know you were concerned about her udder. Take care.
Linda
Each day is precious...take a few of those minutes for yourself. |
| BarefootGoatGirl |
Posted - Jan 26 2008 : 06:19:21 AM
diapers! i saw a pattern for goat diapers in an old Countryside Magazine recently. the "house" goat i had, was pretty much potty trained. she only had an accident inside once and that was when she got so excited jumping around on the couch she just had to tinkle (btw, she is the goat in my tagline). i know you are just having a blast with this little one, heather...i miss my goats so much.
What we write today slipped into our souls some other day when we were alone and doing nothing.
-Brenda Ueland
http://quilandneedle.blogspot.com/ |
| Alee |
Posted - Jan 25 2008 : 8:30:55 PM
Do you diaper him yet?
Alee
Farmgirl Sister #8
Please come visit Nora and I our our new blog:
www.farmgirlalee.blogspot.com |
| PlumCreekMama |
Posted - Jan 25 2008 : 7:49:05 PM
He's learning to drink from a bottle pretty well. I have to use my finger to get him started, but he's doing very well. He likes to head butt me like baby goats do to their moms udders, so he definitely thinks of me as his mom. He really likes being a house goat- he's going to be spoiled rotten! I got a lamb/kid nipple at the farm store today, but he's still a little small for it, being a pygmy. He's using my son's bottles for now. Here is a picture of him with my 3 year old.
 |
| BarefootGoatGirl |
Posted - Jan 25 2008 : 2:27:56 PM
how if your four legged baby today, heather? i'm thinking of the little bugger.
What we write today slipped into our souls some other day when we were alone and doing nothing.
-Brenda Ueland
http://quilandneedle.blogspot.com/ |
| PlumCreekMama |
Posted - Jan 24 2008 : 10:29:39 PM
Thanks everyone for your advice. I will keep an eye on her udder. I have tried working on taming her down in the past and nothing works. The people who owned her before me didn't mess with her at all. She was pretty neglected, as were the other 2 goats I got with her. One of the other 2 got really sick one time and almost died, and after I got her healthy again, she was more tame. The mother doe is a pygmy. I know what you mean about short legs, Linda! I hope I don't have to try to milk her. I may end up getting gored! Oh, well, if I have to I have to. She does have another (older) kid that is still really attached to her. Maybe I could get lucky and he'll drink some of the milk! I do have penicillin on hand if I need it.
The baby is doing fine. Already recognizing me as his mom. My human baby, on the other hand, is not so thrilled. He cries whenever he hears the baby goat crying. I have the goat in the house for today, but tomorrow I am going to have to set something up in the garage. Luckily, I have my chicken brooder heat lamps and a spaceheater, so I can keep him nice and toasty. I haven't been able to get him to drink out of a bottle yet, but using the syringe is getting food into him pretty well. I am feeding him evaporated milk, which several websites said is a good thing to give them if you don't have colostrum. I also have some whole cows milk in the fridge, but I will look tomorrow for something for goats. Thanks everyone! |
