we got the kid from a neighbor.he is very small and malnourished.the first day he was listless and wouldn't eat.the second day he ate bread with milk and grass.he was walking fine and bleating when i bleated to him.this third day he was listless,wobbly on his feet,seems to have no energy.he won't eat and drinks water only when fed with a bottle.he won't suck,will only lick when we squirt the water in his mouth.any information will be apreciated.

-- Carrieann Mitchell (bella_amore_us@yahoo.com), June 18, 2002

Answers

How old is the baby. Have you tried giving it milk? Also give a little nutri Drench. Hope this helps

-- Kim (kblankenship@brtc.net), June 19, 2002.

He needs milk, do not give him bread or water, or grass. He needs the milk and anything else will just leave him weaker for the effort in trying to eat it and still hungry. Goat's milk is best, or try cow milk from the store. He should eat at least 8 oz four times a day, as he gets stronger increase it to 12 oz 4X a day, later it can be switched to 2 or 3 feeding of 16 oz or more.

He is probably very weak- he has not eaten much that he can really digest for two days. Start squirting warm milk into his mouthand hopefully he will gain strength and learn to suck from the bottle.

What kind of a nipple is on the bottle?

-- Rebekah (daniel1@itss.net), June 19, 2002.

Start giving him 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda on the back of his tongue. Then do it 2 to 3 times for 1 day. Then, when he is back on the bottle, give him the 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda in his milk. This helps with his rumen. Hope this helps you, Robyn

-- Robyn Castrop (mkdg@ejourney.com), June 21, 2002.

Hi Carrieann

How' the little one doing? How old is he and was he initially nursing or bottle fed? I hope you've got him on cow's milk or better yet, goat milk now and he's taking it. I agree, the nutradrench is a good idea. Let us know what's happening and I hope the news is good!

-- Lynn (moonspinner@bluefrognet.net), June 21, 2002.

So sorry to hear about your loss. It's happened to all of us and from what you stated, sounds like he was in bad shape from the beginning. I hope this won't discourage you from getting other goats because if you've never had them, they will reward you in numerous ways, and they are the joy of all of us goatkeepers. Best to you and hope you post again.

-- Lynn (moonspinner@bluefrognet.net), June 26, 2002.