Goat getting ready to kid? Help?

[H Diamond]

How can I tell if their bellies are full?
I know how much they weigh
2.95 and 3.55 lbs respectively
Will I be able to tell by weighing them?

Just feel the bellies, they will feel roundish, a little firmer, etc.

 

[VKat]

This is a Nigerian, right? Those babies aren't going to drink much right away. Just a couple slurps here and there. Feel there bellies, and see if you can tell if there is any milk in there?
Newborn baby goats are like human babies... wake up, eat, pee, poop, bounce for a second, go back to sleep.
Baby goats when they are awake always act hungry, and try to suck on anything that feels like a teat.

Also, there is a solid chance momma is going to hold her milk back if you try and milk her. She'll let it down when babies nurse.When the babies butt at the udder, that signals momma to let her milk down. Is she standing better for them yet? First timers take awhile to figure things out.

Ah, okay. Thanks!
Yes, they are Nigerian Dwarf goats.

This morning she is standing better for them, but I am still concerned. The smaller baby is seeming to have a very hard time finding a teat and keeps dropping off. He cries a lot too.
I gently handled them and don't feel round tummies at all
I also felt mom's udder and it does not feel like it is full with milk. It feels like a handful, but not much bigger and it not taut. It feels the same as it did days ago.
I was hoping her milk would come in overnight... But there really doesn't seem to be much there.

What should I do?

 

[H Diamond]

If you feel like something is wrong, trust your gut. Go ahead and make them a bottle of the colostrum replacer, and offer it to them. if they go at it voraciously, you know they probably aren't getting what they need. They are new enough that if they are hungry they should take to the bottle pretty well. It may take a minute to show them how to drink from it. Ideally instead of the replacer, just milk mom, but if she doesn't have enough, use the replacer. After that though, switch to whole cows milk from the store of you can't get fresh goat milk.

I forget if she is one of your rescue type goats. If so, it's always possible she might have some troubles.

 

[Goat Lover2004]

I don't know much about goats but please don't ignore me :3 Well anyways I'd try to get the little one to eat that would be a biggie and do what H Diamond said....I think that in a couple of days if they still aren't eating I might take a quick trip to the vet or have the vet come there.

 

[H Diamond]

How are things going?

 

[VKat]

Okay I think... I did get just a few swallows of the colostrum supplement into the smaller kid.
I felt like I should because he is crying so much and tries to nurse and stops, or mom moves.
Interestingly, momma goat seemed very concerned with me offering her kid a bottle. She started making sounds at him, and he was making sounds back, and feeding was impossible.

Since I am super into keeping things clean anyway.... I went ahead and took mom outside to say hi to her pals out there.
Then completely stripped all the bedding and washed up. I put down pine shavings in place of straw after seeing how yuky things can be under the straw. Ew. I think this bedding will be more absorbent.

Before bringing momma back in, I gave the boy some powdered supplement, but only a little and I mixed it really well.
I did not try to feed his sister because I have seen her poop a few times, and hope that means she is getting at least a little bit from mom.

Lastly I gave mom some grain and a massage and expressed a little milk from her. I'm hoping that stimulation along with her kids will help bring that milk in.
Meanwhile she was *very* unhappy about being away from her kids, and I fear I may have un-done any bonding she had with me from the whole birth process. A book I have about goats said that it's good for moms to go out on pasture a little each day. Then again that book is from 1978.

I have whole organic milk on the way to me this evening. I just want to see those little tummies are full.

 

[VKat]

Oh, I forgot to answer your question. I'm sorry!
Yes, this is one of the rescue goats. She was kept in someone's backyard and running with a buck the whole time. They fed her entirely on corn and rabbit pellets. So we had no due date, and I did worry about her kids having issues. I do think that when you look at her, she does not have a well developed rumen. She is sort of svelte for a goat. Maybe from not being fed right during her first year? Could that effect her production?

 

[H Diamond]

They aren't going to be "full" per se. You can just feel that they aren't empty. It's hard to explain, lol. If you bottle feed a baby they get a "full" tummy. When babies are on momma, they just take little slurps here and there at first. So, they are never going to really be full. If mom has milk, and they babies aren't getting weak, then they are more than likely getting milk. Especially if they don't care about milk coming from a bottle. Try the whole milk (make sure you warm it up) and if the baby doesn't really care about that either, I would guess they are probably getting enough to eat.

Don't worry about undoing the bonding, you didn't. A little bit apart isn't going to undo things. That being said, the first few days, momma doesn't really leave her kids to do much but eat, so don't worry about momma.
Some people have varying opinioins, but in my opinion, if you keep things super clean all the time, babies can't develope the immune system they need. So, don't worry so much about that.

Are the kids acting strong? Up standing good? Walking around, thinking about starting to hop a bit? You say the buckling cries all the time, and that concerns me a bit. Usually they only cry a lot if they are hungry or in pain.

Back to the bellies... do they still look sunken in? They aren't going to feel firm really, just not sunken in and empty. You might try uploading a pic, see if I can help you more. This is something that's just hard to explain, lol.

Also, are you giving mom grain? If not you probably need to be.

 

[H Diamond]

Oh, I forgot to answer your question. I'm sorry!
Yes, this is one of the rescue goats. She was kept in someone's backyard and running with a buck the whole time. They fed her entirely on corn and rabbit pellets. So we had no due date, and I did worry about her kids having issues. I do think that when you look at her, she does not have a well developed rumen. She is sort of svelte for a goat. Maybe from not being fed right during her first year? Could that effect her production?

It most definitely can effect it her production. When you milk her, how much do you get off one side before you can't get anymore? An teaspoon, an ounce, a cup?

 

[VKat]

It most definitely can effect it her production. When you milk her, how much do you get off one side before you can't get anymore? An teaspoon, an ounce, a cup?

I'd say a few teaspoons on each side.
This may sound gross- but I had to, um, milk myself with a pump when I had a kid. My milk didn't come in right away, but the tissue felt developed. When the milk did come in, it felt more full and solid. She feels like that- prior to filling up and you can feel the glands. Does that make sense? (Also please pardon me if that was way TMI or grossed anyone out!)

Okay I have a glass jar of grass fed low temp pasteurized, cream line, whole milk. Now I don't know what "cream line" means, but this stuff is nice and thick.
Do I just warm this up? Or do I add anything to it?