Quote: Sorry to hear she got a cold. I'd guess they don't get colds quite like humans, did the vet give it a specific diagnostic name?
Also sorry to hear your family's giving you a hard time. When I was writing the bits about not allowing people to stress you out with good but often misguided intentions, I hoped you wouldn't experience that. It can be hard to battle to save an animal that needs TLC when people add stress to the situation. One golden rule is that those who are un-invested, uninterested, and often outright ignorant have the loudest opinions. Not calling your family names, just a general observation which has held true for me.
Second-guessing is something which often happens when a setback seems to contradict your previous instinct about it; but sometimes you're right despite the setback; sometimes panicking and doing something rather than nothing is actually worse. Whichever it is, just take the time to breathe and watch, listen, observe.
Another thing is that an overdose of 'book smarts' deafens you to your 'street smarts' temporarily, as you view things through more of a rhetorical lens which perceives less as it seeks to ascribe and be forensic. If you know what I mean.
To answer your questions: Should you feed her more? She should be left slightly hungry, but not ravenous; her sides should not be bulging, nor should there be a hollow in her flanks when the feed is over... But these are only general rules of thumb. Depending on her breed and the husbandry of her most recent ancestry her needs will differ. I don't know which is right for her, larger feeds less often or small feeds more often; that's something you have to find out for yourself, sorry.
Should you stretch her more? If you think it's having a negative impact, then no. You're the one observing her, and if she seems to suffer unduly from it, then ease off a bit.
Should you keep her warmer or is she too hot? Generally with babies one takes it for granted that they can't regulate their own body temperatures too well. Generally at night a baby ruminant benefits from having something to lean against which is an external source of heat. A problem with hot water bottles is that they are not stable in temperature. If you give her one you will need to have an idea of how long it will stay hot, and how many layers to wrap it in so it's just right, and whether or not she will move away from it when it's too cold. If she's restricted to being pressed against a cold or lukewarm hot water bottle, her cold could become fatal. Unfortunately the best way to make sure she's coping overnight with the temperatures is to check her regularly; I'm sure the last thing you need is less sleep, lol! Feel her ears and her 'armpits'; if her ears are cold it's a sign she could do with more heat.
If you're overdosing her on any vitamins/minerals etc, it may be harmful. I would recheck the dosage to make sure she's not getting too much of anything known to have adverse reactions in overdose. Some overdoses are fine, i.e. vitamin C is generally helpful in dosages well over dietary standard, but others can rob the body of other nutrients if present in too large a dose. She should be getting all she needs from her milk, at this stage, I'm not sure extra vitamins are necessary, but I don't know for sure what the circumstance is.
Quote: No, sorry, I've built quite a few before, lol! I will see if I can find one. I'll post this and go look and if I find one I'll edit with the link or pic.
Best wishes.
EDIT: I recommend you check Google Images for something that fits, since there are a lot of variations out there. Her needs will be specific to her injury of course. I don't have the quota to check through Google Images results right now, otherwise I would, as this subject is something I'm often involved in and learning how to manage situations before they occur is often easier than the reverse. I found a few links which may have something helpful in them. But be warned, not all the stories in there are success ones. Anyway. Some links:
Quote: Quote: Quote: Quote: Quote: This one in particular, the disabled kitten one above, I think may be helpful, as the frame is rather like what I was describing.
Here's another link, because it may also be helpful:
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