New Mama goat seems stressed

[kaya's farm]

I have a two new goats that came from a farm that seemed to take very good care of the 180 milking goats they maintain. The day I brought Baily home she had her baby we call Nester. She is a yearling that has a fairly normal time with delivery. When we got the two preganant goats we put them in an old chicken coop that has not been used for the winter. The other goat that is still pregnant and the baby Nester seem to be doing very well. He is growing like crazy and looks great. Plan to post pics in just a bit. What worries me is the mother goat she seems to be having the following issues

** lots of hair on neck and along spine breaking off but not falling out

**not enough milk to keep nester happy I did milk her for a bit in the morning and was hoping we could shre with the baby

**still is having a bloody discharge after a week and a few days

**was wormed about four days after nester was born

**seems to caugh a bit and has had the cough even in the car when i brought her home.

I was hoping that because she was feeding only one baby im might get some extra milk but have not milked today because of her having little to spare.

My other goats that are not milking get about a half cut of grain a day and seem very healthy.

Baily looks so skinny i have been giving her alfalfa cubes soaked in water and one and a half cups of grain mixed in three times a day and she eats hay very well. She loves the mulch hay i get for bedding as much as the other weedy feed hay i get for them.

I just wondered if anyone had any idea why she would be loosing hair and having such a small amount of milk when she is bred from a herd that is meant to milk? Is that why Nester is growing faster than i have ever seen a baby goat grow he is taking it all for himself?????? Id love any ideas thanks Kaya


Ps i will go resize some pics!!

 

[kaya's farm]

well i must have left the camra out in the garden when me and the kids had out first trip to the garden today---- i will post pics tomarrow

 

[Chatychick]

Sounds like she needs to be deliced. With breaking hair that is a sign. Also you need to reworm her as its been 10 days of worming or more. what type of goat is she. If she is a dairy type she needs at least 3 lbs of alfalfa a day either pellets or hay. This is basically why she isnt making much milk. Also up the grain and she will do better.
Does her udder fill full? It could be edema and need masaaging and hot compresses..
Is it hot and lumpy? Could be signs of mastitis. needs antibiotis if milk is stringy and smells and is weak in color.
Does her breath smell like fingernail polish remover? This is a sign of Ketosis
Need to watch for milk fever or Hypocalcemia.
Milking type goats need lots of alfalfa hay or pellets to sustain them with the calcium they need for milk production.
Also get a temp on her. When was the day she kidded? some take a week to 2 weeks to really come into milk.

 

[Chirpy]

I think Chatychick covered everything except your question on her still having a bloody discharge. About a week after giving birth she will start to leak blood and goop - that's normal. It should continue for about a week or a little longer and then stop.

 

[Chatychick]

Yep...missed that Chirpy and also I would give her copper bolusing as that is a cause for hair loss...what type of loose minerals do you give. With the wormer make sure it covers lung worms and liver flukes. My does have discharge sometimes for 4 weeks...its like none today but tomorrow the hinney has it again...kinda like people when they have a baby..only worry when its really red and or smelly.

 

[Chicken Rustler]

Also as for your comment about hoping to share the milk. Keep in mind that the milk the first few days is very high in colostrum and really not very desireable to drink. This is also the most important milk for the kid.

 

[kaya's farm]

thanks guys for all the assistance

I would say she gets at least three pounds of alfalfa hay in cube form but she hates them unless I soak them in warm water and mix with grain. She gets about six pounds of this mix a day and has hay to eat all the time. She loves the hay and you can see clover and other good stuff mixed in.

I started her off slow because i dont think she had much grain before.... we have worked up to this amount. She is a first time freshner and has only had a week and a half to come into her milk so i am being impatient. Not that i want her milk just worry that she is alright and healthy so she can make lots of milk.

I am still working out this whole wormer thing and the wormer we used should have worked for body lice and mites also. I will look at it to remember the name starts with an I

She is looking a bit better and I was reading that sometimes mother goats loose hair after kidding like myself. I found the camra i will ge resize pics

 

[kaya's farm]

o yea we originaly planned to take nester from his mother so i milked some colostrum and froze it for a future kid that may need it. I later found it impossible to seperate mother and child so gave him back and didnt milk her for a few days. I have only tried to milk a few times in the am and it seemed like i should not so the baby had some to eat. It wont be two weeks till tuesday so i need to be patient!

 

[kaya's farm]

Here are a few pic of nester and mother at one week. The other black goat in the pic is the other pregnant goat that came with the white goat.

They came as a couple first time freshners at a local dairy goat farm. The fact that this is her first time eill effect the amount also from what i gather.
The black baby inside the black one gave me a good kick the other day but she seems a little ways from birthing still.

 

[Chicken Rustler]

Ivermectin ?? We used the injectable BUT you give it orally at a rate of 1 1/2cc per 110# of body weight. Since we were raising Pygmy's I dosed all of the adults @ 1 1/2cc. You would have to give them a huge dose to OD them. This method works on worms and other parasites like lice. A first time doe may not have much milk and some never really come into milk. Could it be that the dairy had reason to believe these goats may not be good producers? This is determined a lot by both parents.
Good luck Rob