# First time mother won't let baby nurse, at least not much



## Goatherder (Oct 8, 2007)

Does anyone have any ideas on what I can do to get her to nurse more. I want to try everything first before bottle feeding. Would it be OK to bottle feed the baby a little or would the baby quit trying to nurse?

I put the mom and her baby in a stall so the baby is close to her and there is feed, water and hay in the stall. I just wormed the mom also.

Added
I have had goats a long time but have never bottle fed a baby, other than when I bought some that were 2-3 months old and were bottle babies. I continued to bottle feed them for awhile, but only twice a day. They were also eating feed. 

How often do you have to feed a newborn baby and how much?


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

how old is the new born? Is the new born acting hungry? 

if you try the bottle I am sure the baby will still seek out mom as much as she can between time UNLESS you pull the baby totaly and bottle feed.

For the first week they need to be fed like every 2 hours (it doesn't have to be through teh night) 
After about 2 weeks you can spread the bottles out a little more and up the amount.

I know others have a real system - what kind of goats do you have?


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## Goatherder (Oct 8, 2007)

Thanks. I fed her a little from a bottle. I'll keep feeding her some from a bottle for a few days and see how it goes. 

I just have minis now. No more 250 lb boers to wrestle with.


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## sweetgoats (Oct 18, 2007)

So am I understanding this right? The mom will let the baby nurse, but the baby will not nurse from mom?


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## Goatherder (Oct 8, 2007)

The mom won't let the baby nurse. She moves away when the baby tries to nurse. I have held the mom and let the baby nurse a bit but the mom still tried to get away.

The baby was born yesterday and when I first saw the baby the mom wasn't close to her. The baby was dry so had been born at least a few hours earlier. The outside temperature was mild so the baby wasn't cold.


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## FarmGirl18 (Oct 5, 2007)

Sometimes it takes them a little while to get things figured out. I'd keep working with them for a little longer before you give up. Otherwise you will have a bottle baby for sure. Is her udder to full and hurting her maybe?


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## Goatherder (Oct 8, 2007)

I go out and hold mom so the baby can nurse and will continue that and hope things get better. The moms udder shouldn't be too full since I hold her and let the baby nurse some. Being a first time mom her udder isn't that large.

It is possible that when the baby was born our great pyr licked the sack off of the baby so mom and baby might not have bonded too well. Our pyr does help the moms in licking the sack off of the babies and has always done that.

The mom kidded 5 days early and it caught me by surprise.


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## goathappy (Oct 5, 2007)

That could be but it seems unlikely.

I would keep working with the mom and holding her to make her nurse the kid. We've had a couple does like that, you just have to keep working at it and she will accept the baby eventually.


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## sweetgoats (Oct 18, 2007)

I agree with Sarah. Keep working on it. Yes it is possible that if the dog did the cleaning or even some, she might not think it is hers and she will reject it. 
I would take the doe and give her some grain, and hold her and let that baby nurse and the more the baby nurses, the more he will smell like his mom. I would even milk mom out and put some on the babies head, and the base of the tail and the butt. 
Good luck. I sure hope she takes it.


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

how are things going? did mom take the baby?


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## Goatherder (Oct 8, 2007)

They're doing fine now. Thanks everyone. She's still not a great first time mom but the baby ok. :leap:


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## Muddy Creek Farm (Oct 5, 2007)

That's great!! I am glad to hear it!


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

well thats good to hear! Always best when mom takes care of her own offspring


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## sweetgoats (Oct 18, 2007)

That is wonderful. I am glad. She might become a better mom everyday.


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## Pingutaina (Dec 21, 2012)

Hi everyone. My family and I are first-time goat raisers and, last night, our first freshener doe delivered two beautiful kids, male and female. She was unassisted and the labor progressed smoothly. She licked them clean and remained close to them, but the big problem is that she won't let her kids nurse. The instant one of the kids licks anywhere near the udder she freaks out and gets away from her baby. At some instances she even kicks her back legs and has trampled over one of the kids. We've had to restrain her so they might get their first feeding, but even then, she fought fiercely. What are we supposed to do? I'm scared the kids might get really hungry soon.  Thanks


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Welcome to TGS.

Do you have Banamine? I would give her a shot of Banamine. First time moms don't understand that they will feel better once the kids nurse and they are in pain and don't want anyone down there. So the Banamine helps take the pain away.

You may want to start your own thread so people will see it better and respond. Click on "Goat Management", then click on "New Thread" that is a button at the top. Then you can type in your title and question.


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