# Hunched up baby goat



## WindyFeatherRanch (Feb 17, 2017)

So my husband and I are relatively new to goats. We have three adult does who kidded on 2/5/2017, making their babies 12 days old. Our oldest goat, Peach (a 4 to 5 year old purebred Kinder) had triplets. One of our other females Bronco (Kinder-LaMacha mix) had twins. Bronco rejected one of her babies and Peach began to nurse it. I think 4 babies was too many for her and so she in turn rejected one of her own babies after a few days of feeding him. None of the other moms would nurse him. We decided to bottle feed him and do our best to keep him with the herd. 

It took a while to get him to learn to bottle feed. He now has it down and thinks he is always starving. After I bottle feed, he runs after the moms trying to nurse off of them, they always reject him. I've been feeding him about 8 oz, 4 times a day of a non-soy milk replacer and was going to switch to 10 oz, 3 times a day. He is interested in hay and eats some and I've seen him drink water once or twice. 

My concern is that he is hunched over with tail tucked down. He runs with the other goats but doesn't seem to play with them much. Although we usually have him outside with the herd, we did have him in the house yesterday in a diaper so I know he pooped at least once, it was not diarrhea but not well formed either. It was medium brown with some yellow to it. It is hard to tell if he is pooping when he is out with the herd. He definitely has an appetite. He is pretty vocal. I look for signs of diarrhea but his back end is pretty clean. Being hunched over like that though does not seem right. 

I gave him some nutri-drench the other day and some goat probiotic paste last night. Could he be constipated? Any suggestions for why he would be hunched up and what to do about it?


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Sounds like he might be a bit constipated. You can give him an enema.


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## WindyFeatherRanch (Feb 17, 2017)

Okay gave him an enema. His poop came out pretty quickly. There was some dark poop followed by yellow almost pellets. I'm hoping this helps.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

It should.


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## WindyFeatherRanch (Feb 17, 2017)

Update: he hasn't pooped since then and is still hunched. He wags his tail when feeding but that's it. Should I try an enema again? How often should he be pooping?


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

Yes, do a enema. Babies poo often.


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## groovyoldlady (Jul 21, 2011)

Mine usually pooped after every bottle. It could be that the replacer isn't working well with his digestive system and is constipating him a bit. Another option is to slowly switch him over to whole cows milk to see if he deals better with that.


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## JK_Farms (Nov 12, 2016)

I had this same problem and it wasn't constipation. I would give him ivermec its for cattle but you can give baby goats .25 orally and see if that helps but also keep giving the enema too


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## goatblessings (Jan 6, 2015)

I would NOT give a baby at 12 days old wormer.......
There is not a reason to start that early. I agree with enema, and probably the milk replacers. I also think that switching to whole cow's milk slowly would help him alot! Good luck with baby!


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## nancy d (Oct 5, 2007)

Yes, too young for worming.


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

too much milk sits undigested causing scours or constipation and be comes toxic. I would stop milk for 12 hours at least and let his tummy rest. feed electrolytes instead..then Start here: weigh him and multiply that by 16 to get his weight in oz...multiply that by 10-15% to see how much he needs per day then divide into 3 bottles..after his bottles, feel his tummy. it should be pretty flat but firm, not too poochy or sunken in..adjust his milk amount as needed...increase milk as he grows. Each baby is different, some need more while other need less. You might also consider switching over to whole cows milk. many babies do not do well on replacer..


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## catharina (Mar 17, 2016)

Hunching can also mean he's experiencing some kind of pain, or just not feeling good. If he's still like that after you try the suggestions people gave, you could bring a fecal sample to the vet. It's not too expensive.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

All good advice.


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## WindyFeatherRanch (Feb 17, 2017)

Thank you everyone for all the advice! Okay I've given him additional enemas and each time he has acted like he was much more comfortable. However, he is still not pooping on his own. I've had him on electrolytes since this morning and am planning on switching over to whole milk slowly. Any suggestions on making the switch?


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## JK_Farms (Nov 12, 2016)

I would give the ivermec my vet said it was completely fine and they we're younger then 12 days old. But only give .25 ml it could help just incase he has a parasite my Doeling got a parasite and I had no clue so I called my vet and she said do some enemas I did she pooped a little but the more I did the less would come out if any at all. So she told me to give them .25 ml orally with ivermec and now she seems completely fine. But I would definitely call the vet and slowly give whole milk.


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## WindyFeatherRanch (Feb 17, 2017)

I withheld milk yesterday and gave electolytes only.I gave him an enema last night and he had a hard brown poop pretty quickly. I gave him another enema to see if anything was left. Nothing else came out. I put him to I'm bed. By 3am he had gone on his own. A big Brown poop followed by a lot of brown water. At that time he was hungry but running aroubd fine. I came to feed him just a few hours later and he was laying on the bathroom floor. All fours spread out and he could not lift his head. 

I'm pretty sure he has floppy kid syndrom. I scooped him up and have him with me on the couch. He couldn't lift his head. Now he can walk but was shakey. I fed him more electolytes mix. He took it no problem. Then he had super watery diahrea. He's grinding his teeth a lot so I think he is in a lot of pain 

Husband is in town getting c&d Antitoxin., vitamin b complex and more electolytes. Any other suggestions? I am 8 months pregnant and very hormonal and attached to this little guy. If there was a vet nearby who saw goats I would take him.


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

> I withheld milk yesterday and gave electolytes only.I gave him an enema last night and he had a hard brown poop pretty quickly. I gave him another enema to see if anything was left. Nothing else came out. I put him to I'm bed. By 3am he had gone on his own. A big Brown poop followed by a lot of brown water. At that time he was hungry but running aroubd fine. I came to feed him just a few hours later and he was laying on the bathroom floor. All fours spread out and he could not lift his head.
> 
> I'm pretty sure he has floppy kid syndrom. I scooped him up and have him with me on the couch. He couldn't lift his head. Now he can walk but was shakey. I fed him more electolytes mix. He took it no problem. Then he had super watery diahrea. He's grinding his teeth a lot so I think he is in a lot of pain
> 
> Husband is in town getting c&d Antitoxin., vitamin b complex and more electolytes. Any other suggestions? I am 8 months pregnant and very hormonal and attached to this little guy. If there was a vet nearby who saw goats I would take him.


cd antitoxin is a good idea...all that poop sits and causes toxicity. If you cant find cd antitoxin give MIlk of magnesia....1/4 cc per pound...this will not help his poops...but will take care of the toxins..be sure to keep him hydrated. MOM also helps FKS. Get his Temp asap as well...


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## Damfino (Dec 29, 2013)

25 cc MOM per lb.??? That has to be a mistake.


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## WindyFeatherRanch (Feb 17, 2017)

I've given him the C&D antitoxin. No more diahrea or bowel movements since that time. He is very hungry and vocal and takes the electolytes well. He is up and running around. If he stays like this at what point can I give him milk? He hasn't has any for 30 hours now.


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## WindyFeatherRanch (Feb 17, 2017)

He improved for the day but collapsed again the next morning. He didn't make it. Thanks to those who tried to help.


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## Suzanne_Tyler (Jul 19, 2014)

I'm so sorry


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

> 25 cc MOM per lb.??? That has to be a mistake.[/quote
> 
> Should have read POINT 25..
> 
> 15 cc per 60# 1/4 cc per pound...sorry!!


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

very sorry he didnt make it...


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## groovyoldlady (Jul 21, 2011)

Oh...poor little buggar. I'm so sorry you lost him. :-(


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

I am so very sorry. 

Milk of mag is 15 per 60 lbs


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