# Mama won't let kid nurse



## Survey0r (Nov 25, 2014)

1st time fresener Mama had single kid Sunday. Large kid and we helped her a little.
Tuesday am I noticed mama would run from kid when he tried to nurse. That pm I held her and have done so midnite tues 7am wed 12 pm wed.
Baby almost will not take bottle, He took about an ounce Tuesday pm.
Mom no temp(103), very pink eyes, but had to "pull" her up Tuesday pm to stand.
Gave her B complex inj (1ml). about 6 oz gatorade, and Tuesday evening she stood when we entered stall.
She did have diarrhea Mon and I gave scours hault and peobious. Quit eating Monday abut ate a lot Sun and mon. corn and feed.
What do yall think??


----------



## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

No corn. Not good for them, can cause stomach issue given too much. A good 16 % protein grain would be better and calfmana for her milk. 

Alfalfa hay or pellets will give her calcium she needs. You can get a calcium drench and try to give her some to see if that helps.

Give her SQ Fortified vit B complex 6 cc's per 100 lbs and probiotics daily for 3 or more days. Her rumen can be off from corn. No grain while she is down. 

Give her karo and molasses drench add warm or hot water so it dissolves to get it to go through a big syringe easier to drench her or you can see if she will drink it on her own. She may have a low ketone level.

Is she holding her head weird or eyes darting?

Do know birthing can trigger worms and cocci so getting a fecal will let you know and if she need treatment or not. 

103 is something to watch, it is close to getting up to high. 103.5 is normal but she is on the high end of it. 

Did you milk her to check her milk for mastitis? Any clump, blood, strings, smell, hot swollen hard lumpy udder, hard to get milk out? 

If she is too tight in the udder, it will make her not want to hold still for her baby. Tie her up and one back leg so she cannot kick, milk some out too relieve the pressure, it does hurt, then after that, put her kid on her.


----------



## SalteyLove (Jun 18, 2011)

Definitely milk her a bit on both sides if the udder is very very tight and sensitive.

Scours, not eating, and laying down are not great though. Have you re-checked her temperature in the past 12 hours? 

Did she pass a complete placenta?

I would continue the B-complex injection daily for 3-5 days.


----------



## Survey0r (Nov 25, 2014)

Haven't rechecked temp but just held her to let kid nurse. Gave her some more gatorade which she likes for 5-6 oz and she wasn't feverish. She hasn't eaten much if any, but has drunk a little water.
She appeared to pas the placenta but I'm not experienced enuf to know if she passed it all. There was quite a bit while birthing and she stood and the chord broke. She does not have any hanging. Scours are gone but not eating. Utters are much smaller than others but she does have milk. I only milked enuf to see if she had any----a few drops. Good white not clumpy.
????
The kid weighs the same this pm as he did last pm. Not good but not losing weight.
weight =7lbs 0oz. She does not reject him. They will lay and warm together, just will not nurse


----------



## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

You can't tell if they have a fever by touch, get her temp again, monitor that. Be sure she hasn't been in direct sunlight or running from you, allow her to cool down before taking it.

Give her probiotics and fortified vit B complex SQ. 6 cc's per 100 lbs.

Does she stink in her vulva area?

Did you check all over for her afterbirth? If not look for it. Sometimes they do eat it too.

When kids are born, they are born in a sack, that is not afterbirth. Afterbirth comes out after all kids are born. Did you see anything hanging there with blood beads(balls) looking stuff on it? That is afterbirth. If you did not see that, she may have a kid stuck inside. 
Cord broke of the kid, isn't the afterbirth.
Hopefully she isn't holding the afterbirth inside. 

Any coughing, raspy lungs or snot? 

Good that you gave her gatorade and she drank water. Make sure she continues, it will help with producing milk. Keep her kid on her and bottle feed as well, whole milk.

Alfalfa hay or the pellets is best to feed her now, it gives her calcium she needs, to make milk.
You can make a Alfalfa pellet slurry and feed it to her slowly with a new turkey baster or huge syringe. Start out with a 1/4 cup pellets to water. 

What kind of hay are you feeding? Some do not like alfalfa after kidding, but will eat oat hay or equivalent. 

Good white not clumpy is good. 

Give her calcium drench and karo/molasses drench with warm water, see if that helps.

Check the kids tummy, is it empty feeling? 
Is the kid crying out a lot? Fumbling at mom teat and nudging it a lot, acting like she is not getting enough? Does the kid have a milk face and satisfied?

Make sure the kid gets the teat as much as possible. It will help stimulate mom to produce more milk.

Are you saying the kid hasn't learned how to nurse? If so, teach the kid to latch on. Remember there are two sides. Encourage the kid. and supplement as well, if not getting enough.


----------



## Survey0r (Nov 25, 2014)

Retaking temp tonite. Have alfalfa hey.
Would evaporated milk mixed 50/50 water be pk for kid to supplement


----------



## nancy d (Oct 5, 2007)

Whole milk from store. The evap can be added to a gallon. No water.


----------



## Survey0r (Nov 25, 2014)

Moms temp 101
Kids 100.1
Got kid on heat pad.
Mom doesn't have milk at least nbr e and wife couldn't get any.
Kid inside tonite vet tomorrow


----------



## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

So sorry, sounds like she definitely needs a vet. For the kid use the whole milk recipe. 
1 gallon Vitamin D milk - take about 2 cups of milk out of the gallon then add:
1 cup Buttermilk (regular not low fat)
1 cup evaporated milk

Make sure to give kid a little bit of probiotics. I don't know what kind you use, I use a powdered kind for goats from TSC, and I add a tiny little bit in each bottle, especially for the first several days.
Watch for signs of constipation as that can sometimes be a side effect - so may sure he is pooping.
Not adding probiotics could cause him to scour. 

You said she needed help, was it a bad kidding? Any chance she could have torn something inside? What color are her inner, lower eyelids? Dark pink, pink or pale?
Could be parasites even if she isn't anemic. Could be an infection as well although her temp is low. No milk and not eating is concerning. 
Do you happen to have any kind of leaves or greenery outside you could pick for her to see if she will eat? 
Make sure she is getting a lot of water, not just a tiny bit here and there.
If she isn't you can drench her with water, just be careful not to choke her.


----------



## SalteyLove (Jun 18, 2011)

The most common reasons for not producing enough milk are: dehydration, internal parasites, poor nutrition, and selenium deficiency.

However, not producing enough milk is not reason to be unwilling to feed the kid. So she may have more than one issue.

Hope the vet can help you out.


----------



## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

Let us know what the vet says.


----------



## Survey0r (Nov 25, 2014)

Sorry I haven't gotten back with yall.
Just too funny been LMAO.
Every body is fine. Apparently I have a "shy" goat. She wouldn't nurse as long as anyone was watching.
Vet says she watched for a while then went inside and watched thru window and kid latched on fine.
What's so funny tho is my wife slept with the kid that night. I was worried about his temp being a little low. She got up and put towel down about midnight and kid peed just like he knew what to do. Then later she woke up in middle of night to terrible smell and wetness. Well you know what that meant I'm sure. But she really didn't have to wake me up to show me----did she??
Vet says I may have to supplement, mom really doesn't have enuf milk but he seems to be doing ok. Gained 4 oz in about 3 days (?) Mom still scouring a little but treated yesterday with scours halt and probios, cut grain altogether and feeding just alfalfa hay.
Thanks all.
Wife is still mad at me, especially when I turn my nose up--- pheeew.


----------



## SalteyLove (Jun 18, 2011)

If the doe has scoured a couple times since birthing and has low milk production I would strongly suspect parasites or coccidia. Might be worth it to get a fecal analysis. Many goat breeding automatically deworm when a doe kids because supposedly the hormone surge and immune system stress makes them very susceptible to a parasite bloom.


----------



## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

Glad all is well, thanks for the update and cute story. 

Mama may have worms or cocci. 
If you can get a fecal for both, that will let you know if she has them.

Also check her lower inner eyelid and see how her coloring is.


----------

