Buckling won't suck a bottle

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Ok, this little LaMancha buckling is going to drive me crazy. I can honestly say I am sick of him at this point!

He is quite happy, jumps about, plays.....but he will NOT suck. Not a finger, and not 3 differnent types of nipples.

I have to tube feed him everytime he eats, and to be honest, it is getting really old.

He took the bottle a few times, and now just chews on it when I force it into his mouth....his tongue sticks out to the side, and he wants nothing to do with it.

He is not quite a week old.

Do I just let him get really hungry by going a day without eating?

Any ideas? Suggestion?

-- Tracy (zebella@mindspring.com), May 14, 2002

Answers

Tracy, If he gets hungry enough, he will suck a bottle. Let him get good and hungry and try again. Sometimes they don't take to it right away and it just takes alot of tries and patience

-- Barbara (vozarbi@sensible-net.com), May 15, 2002.

Tracy did you try the E capsules or injections? Bo-se has very little E in it, and you would have to give an ounce of Nutra Drench to get the 300 IU that he needs daily. Saanendoah.com has a great article on colostrum and what is and isn't passed to the kids in the colostrum and milk. His tongue sticking out the side of the bottle is a sign of nutritional muscular destrophy (now sort of lumped with White Muscle Disease) though in my herd Bo-se did nothing for the weak kids I had, E was the secret bullet that pipevet.com gave me, the difference was remarkable! Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh TX (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), May 15, 2002.

Another nugget of wisdom from you, Vicki. I never before heard of nutritional muscular dystrophy and that that can be a symptom. Why is there such a deficiency of Vit E in goats. Selenium, I can see in the soil, but E is a vitamin. Love your insight on this.

-- Lynn (moonspinner@bluefrognet.net), May 15, 2002.

Well today the little buckling went down, just like the first one. He can't stand on his front legs, and still will not suck.

I have given him the Vit E caps, Bo-Se, and baking soda. I keep tubing him, I'm afraid to let him go without any milk at all.

Help?

Tracy

-- Tracy (zebella@mindspring.com), May 16, 2002.


Hi Tracy, We had a set of triplets with similar problems this yr, no suck reflex, tongue slipping out the side of their mouth ect.At first they tried to nurse, but as time went on they seemed to regress. I had on hand some Goat serum concentrate from Hoegger's supply (had ordered it as a last-ditch effort to save a doe who had serious respratory problems) Well, long story made short, it didn't help the doe, but I honestly believe it saved these babies. we gave them 10cc each and the results were nothing short of amazing. Our neighbor who has been raising goats for 10 yrs had come over to help me with them and she said she had never seen anything to beat it. there are varying opinions on the boards about the Goat Serum and the possibility of disease transmission, and some folks have referred to it as "snake oil" All I know is that it made a huge difference in these kids, but I do need to add that they developed scours just a few hrs after the goat serum, don't know if it was related or not, but after the scours cleared up they were fine. Best of luck with your little guy, hope he makes it.

-- Judy Corwin (corwinsusa@netscape.net), May 16, 2002.


Thanks for the info Judy! I don't have the goat serum, but I did give him some ID-1, which didn't seem to help :(

I bet by the time I got it ordered and here, it would be too late either way I will have some on hand before I kid next year though...at this point I would try anything!

Mental note: don't bring home anymore day old bucklings.....

Tracy

-- Tracy (zebella@mindspring.com), May 16, 2002.


I had the same thing happen to a little LaMancha buckling last year....he hung on for days, but finally died. I never did figure it out!! I tried everything!

I have a couple lil bucklings that would like to be pack goats, where abouts are you?

-- Patty (SycamoreHollow1@aol.com), May 16, 2002.


Hi Patty,

Maybe it's a LaMancha thing? :( Thanks for letting me know about yours, it does make me feel better to know that others have had the same problem...

He is still bad off this morning. Not moving or talking. I gave him more Baking soda, and Vit E. I guess I will tube him again, don't know what else to do....I imagine he will die really fast without any food at all :(

My 10 yr old daughter is so bummed. I promised her that we would keep the one left as a pet. But I really don't think he is going to make it either.

I am in Southern Idaho.

Tracy

-- Tracy (zebella@mindspring.com), May 16, 2002.


Tracy, if he is still hanging in there give him some yeast, too. Just a teeny bit. One of my bucklings got rather wobbly on the second or third day and I did what you did(Bo-Se, E, Baking Soda, Probios-then I added a little yeast and a little tic of raw honey)- He came through it. Don't know if it's the same thing though. Best wishes to you. I know how rough it is.

-- Doreen (animalwaitress@yahoo.com), May 16, 2002.

hi Doreen,

Thanks for the info.....just regular old baking yeast?

I'm on it....just happen to have some raw honey too!

he is hanging in there, but is soooooooo weak :( He can hardly lift his head anymore.

I am honestly thinking about having my hubby put him down Monday night if he is still in this shape after the weekend.

Tracy

-- Tracy (zebella@mindspring.com), May 16, 2002.



Tracy, this sure sounds like the problems everyone was having in our area this January and Febuary with thier kids, they didn't make it to 3 weeks without the weakness, loss of sucking and finally death. Even with intervention from gals doing this a very long time most of them died. Dween saved hers with ongoing shots of Thiamin. Why don't you contact her.

http://www2.netdoor.com/~pdmuse/

-- Vicki McGaugh TX (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), May 17, 2002.


Thanks to everyone for all the advice.....

I had my husband put the little guy down this afternoon :( He was as close to dead as you could get and still be breathing, his mouth was ice cold and breathing starting to get labored, so it was the kindest thing to do.

Very sad :(

-- Tracy (zebella@mindspring.com), May 17, 2002.


Tracy, I'm so sorry. I hope everything else goes well for you.

-- Rebekah (daniel1@itss.net), May 18, 2002.

Thanks Rebekah.

I think I am going to avoid bringing home day old babies from now on though :(

Tracy

-- Tracy (zebella@mindspring.com), May 18, 2002.


Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. :(

I wish you were closer, (I'm in Missouri) I'd have you come pick these boys up!

-- Patty (SycamoreHollow1@aol.com), May 19, 2002.



Thanks Patty.

My daughter was excited about the idea of using him for a cart goat :( But I told her she could pick a boy out of our babies next year, and that made her feel better :)

Tracy

-- Tracy (zebella@mindspring.com), May 19, 2002.


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