# Help! Mother of triplets acts off- grinding teeth- 104 temp



## Artdrake (Feb 21, 2013)

I have a 5 year old Boer that gave birth to triplets night before last. Babies are doing great. Momma, not so much. She is still caring for her kids well, but she is eating and drinking much less than usual, but a little. Her temp is 104. She is grinding her teeth and head pressing. I noticed her poop is a big glob instead of pellets. She acts like her feet hurt, she did that prior to giving birth some, at that time the vet said to baby her along probably just pregnancy weight. I drenched her a couple of times with goat calcium drench just to be on the safe side. She has coughed some and she just sounds full/congested to me. When she gets up she stretches out forward and sometimes doesn't lay down all the way- front propped up. I gave her Probiotic and a little Nutrition drench, not sure what to do next.


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

she needs antibiotics now...did she drop all three afterbirths?


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## nancy d (Oct 5, 2007)

There's usually only one big glob of placenta.
Yes has she passed it?
Good job on some extra calcium & nutidrench.
Are you sure no one else is in there?
Do you have banamine?


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

she needs an oxytetracyline (LA200, biomycin, duramycin) 1cc per 20lbs for 5 days

banamine 1cc per 100lbs to bring the fever down

Bcomplex to help encourage appetite


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## Artdrake (Feb 21, 2013)

Vet called shortly after I posted: gave her Banamine, and Excede I had the B ready to go but held off. Within a half hour she was much better. I checked her urine and she did not have Keytones (toxemia). I drenched her again with calcium drench/nutri drench. Someone also questioned if she could have foundered. Her hooves are not in the best shape, but they are not hot. As far as I know she passed everything. That was the first birth I've witnessed. She delivered all of them then the cord hung out for a while, When I went back out a while later (i had to put my children to bed) it appeared everything had been passed- long cords and lots of mess to clean up. How would I know that for sure? Thank you all so much- she is my little sweet pea.


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## Artdrake (Feb 21, 2013)

Also, vet questioned her milk ( it's all good, all four teats working- producing normal looking milk.


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## nancy d (Oct 5, 2007)

Great to hear she is doing better, that Exede is fantastic stuff!

ETA The long cords means she's done; everything has passed.


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## Artdrake (Feb 21, 2013)

I'm really not familiar with Excede, but he gave me some just to have on hand. when do I give it again or do I? You will save me another call to the vet! What is Excede particularly good for? Also, what are your feelings on follow up banamine dosages/risks? She is still shifting her weight all the time- do you think founder could be a possibility too?
Thanks!!!


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## nancy d (Oct 5, 2007)

I dont know about the founder.
You should call the vet but Exede is normally a one time injection. It's been used here for a doe who aborted & a buck who got his ear ripped pretty good. Both times vet administered.
Banamine is only used for 3 days max. In my limited experience for a doe with high fever after kidding it brought that high temp right down so she only got that one dose.


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

glad to hear she is feeling better : )


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## Artdrake (Feb 21, 2013)

She is not staying in her box with babies, acts like she wants to separate, she climbed over a haybale to be away, but is still nursing. She is still grinding her teeth and not eating much. I'm concerned about founder still-( still shifting her weight, acting like her feet hurt) if it is then I'm supposed to take her off grain! Would she be able to produce enough milk without grain? She isn't eating much of it anyway. This is so stressful! Did I mention I have two sets of triplets? The kids are want to pile into one kidding area- like a teenage party even though both sets have a cozy area with a heat bulb. The problem with that is one guy is still weak in the legs( getting better all the time) but he gets half way, gets tired and left behind. It makes both moms nervous when they all get together. Sorry, didn't mean to get off subject there- I just made a 3am "put the kids back" run after seeing them on the barn cam. Any input would be greatly appreciated!


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

Hmmm... I am no pro, but am wondering if she is lacking something like calcium? In pregnancy I've read about calcium deficiency, also pregnancy toxemia. Wondering if after delivery if she had one of these during pregnancy, then maybe it's possibly still affecting her.

Also, is she up to date on worming? Eyelids good and pink? Weight is good, not too thin, not overweight?


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

Glad everything is good.


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## Artdrake (Feb 21, 2013)

Claire is doing a little better today. We trimmed her hooves, and I gave her another shot of banamine. I looked up Excede and it is a 3 day dosage and treats respiratory, foot rot etc. So that sounds like a good choice. She is eating and drinking electrolytes pretty good. She is still attentive to the babies, they are all over the place! I don't know if I mentioned earlier we had TWO sets of twins in two days. Those babies just want to get together- causing chaos among mothers. Last night I made the 3 am " get back in your pen" run to the barn after spotting (barn cam)a weaker kid left out in the middle while all the others cuddled under one heat lamp instead of their own. This is so stressful!


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## Artdrake (Feb 21, 2013)

I posted last night and didn't know where it went! Sorry for some duplicate info. I checked her urine and no keytones present- meaning no toxemia. I wondered about that too. She is good on weight, and I wormed her 4 weeks ago. I will take a closer look at her eyelids next trip to the barn


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

Even if her keytones were in normal range it couldn't hurt to treat her..I would give .. 3 to 4 oz. propylene glycol three times a day. Thiamine to help jump start carbohydrate metabolism..even if she turns out not needing it it wont hurt her : ) and it might help.. glad she seems to be improving so far


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## Artdrake (Feb 21, 2013)

Just came in- she drank some more electrolytes, ate alfalfa and some grain. I noticed her triplets kept trying to nurse and crying. They were all over her for half an hour. I squeezed one of the teats and normal looking milk came right out. I'm guessing she isn't producing as much- dehydrated? It is possible to just supplement the kids? maybe one feeding per day to help her out? I will go ahead with the propylene and thiamine. Would you use probiotic after that?

Thanks so much for the great input!


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

yes you can supplement them we do our babies when we don't think they are getting enough. If you don't have any goat milk to feed them use whole cows milk ...: ) she is a lucky girl to have a patient and caring goat mom : ) Probios wont hurt either ..: )


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## NyGoatMom (Jan 26, 2013)

Sorry this is so stressful for you! Wish I could help but wanted to say :hug: Hang in there!


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## Artdrake (Feb 21, 2013)

The great news is one of the triplets born Tuesday had really weak legs and couldn't make it to nurse. His back legs were splayed out and front legs weren't much help. I watched the Mauldin video on you tube and did the same thing- put him right up to nurse every time and stood him up between my boots several times each day. This morning you would never know he had the problem! Whew! Claire is doing even better this evening, yeah!


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

that is great news : )


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

Glad to hear that


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## Artdrake (Feb 21, 2013)

I don't think Claire is producing enough milk for these guys. At what point do I supplement? The babies try to nurse continuously when they are up. They go from teat to teat and kind of crying. But they are all still happy and running around, but one actually drank electrolytes out of a bowl last night and a very little milk replacer today. They seem hungry to me, but still have plenty of energy. Claire is feeling better, eating grain and hay but not drinking enough to satisfy me. She is encouraging them, but this evening her teats appeared empty and floppy. I don't mean to sound stupid if this is a no brainer to intervene. I don't want to create a problem if nature will work this out. Any suggestions of how to proceed? 
Thanks!!!


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

IMO I would weigh the babies and continue to weigh them once every week and make sure they are growing. That will definitely help you know if they are getting enough.
I noticed bucklings especially always seem like they are hungry lol

We have 2 sets of triplets and in each set there is 1 that lacks, but they are eating grain and hay so I am not as worried as I was before. 
We weigh them every week, keep note of it. Then subtract new weight from previous weeks weight to know how much they gained in that week, then divide that amount by 7. That will give you a daily rate gain. In boers I am pretty sure you want kids to gain 0.42lb. per day. It can vary, and with triplets IMO it definitely will.

Figure out who is falling behind, and you can either pull mom over for private nursing sessions during the day, or supplement them.

I'm no pro, but this is what I have done. We have 2 sets of triplets and there is a baby from each that doesn't get as much. The youngest set I ended up seperating mom from babies at night, and coming in late at night then early in the morning to nurse the little guy, then let the 2 bigger ones take turns nursing on the other teat. 
They are all eating grain & hay now, so I am not doing that anymore <they are 6 weeks old>. If he does happen to fall way behind again, I'll do it again, but we'll see how his weight is on Sunday and go from there.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

I would weigh them daily and see if they are gaining weight. You need a scale that weighs in tenths of pounds like a hanging fish scale. Put them in a bag and hang the bag on the scale.

Offer them a bottle and see if they take it. Usually kids won't take it if they are getting enough.


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## Artdrake (Feb 21, 2013)

BTW- These guys are only 5 days old.


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## ksevern (Dec 12, 2012)

If you think mom is not drinking enough, have you tried adding some molasses to warm water. Also, does she have access to loose minerals? If you have time, I like the idea of private nursing times. You might try offering a couple of ounces of milk to each of them .this would top them off, so the weakest gets more dam milk because the strongest is full!


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

a bottle wont hurt them with a small amount each...maybe a few ounces 2-3 times a day... to start...I wouldn't use replacer...if you don't have goats milk the whole cows milk is better..


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## kristinatucker (Jan 3, 2012)

I would go ahead with the bottles for the babies. Will take some of the stress off mom and make the babies happy. Have you done any more B complex? That would help stimulate her to eat more. She will just pee out any extra she dosent need. I also didnt notice if you had given her any selenium (BoSe)? With the one kid have weak back legs she could be deficient also. We gave some to our doeling that came out a little weak acting and she got right down to business. Sounds like your doing a great job taking care of her and have a good vet on your side.


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