What is wrong with baby goat?

Question

hey i have a momma goat with three babies they are about 4 weeks old. there is one that i have gotten really tame, he acts like something is wrong. he just doesn't seem to be energetic like the others, and the others are twice as heavy and bigger than him. what is wrong with him what does he need, i was wondering if he is getting as much milk and nutrients as the others are, they still have a month to go before they will be weaned. my husband said he just needs some electrolytes to give him a boost. does anyone have any suggestions about this, these are the first goats we have owned, and i am a little clueless, he's the sweetheart out of all of them and i want him to be okay, i have gotten attached to him. please help

Answer 1

Hi, I have a 2 week old baby goat, who is a triplet also.   The breeder often has triplets, however they substitute feed or orphan out the 3rd baby.  Often 1 misses out, only 2 teats to share and the smaller triplet will fall away in condition.  I strongly suggest that you supplement feed this baby - if you leave it too long it will fade away and die.   Supplemental calf/lamb/kid powder is available from Animal agents and Veterinarians.   Don't let the poor little fella die, get in ASAP and give him some more food.   Of course if the mother is easy to handle you can hold the others away and keep letting him get his share of the food.  However if the mother is a little down in condition or cannot produce ample milk for 3  - then you will still have a problem.  All the best - hope he/she survives.  Bottle feeding is fun! and you get a very close bond develop with the Kid too.

Answer 2

well i have alot of goats and wut we would do when the baby wasnt getting enough milk we would milk the goat and give it to the baby in a bottle  till they are ready to eat there regular food

Answer 3

Sometimes you can feel a difference in the coat. Kind of dry and just does not have that shine?

If this little one needs extra nutrients, you can seperate him from the other two and stand there while he nurses.  Do this twice a day and see if you notice a difference.  You might be able to bottle feed this one with a good milk replacer formula or with his mothers milk.  Good luck on that one but sometimes, I get lucky and can pull it off.  

Some babies have heart problems or other internal abnormalities that keep them from blooming.  I would get a goat supplement that has macro biotics in it to encourage a good stomach action.  I don't know what type of goats you have or if they are eating any solids yet but there are some paste vitamins and  pelleted supplements you can try feeding him along with the milk.

Maybe this one did not get as much colostrum as the other two and is having a hard time getting everything in order.  I can't really say for sure but I would try to get more nutrients in this kids and make sure that the mother has plenty of good quality feed plus vitamins so her milk is as nutritious as it needs to be for three little babies.

http://www.hoeggergoatsupply.com/xcart/h...

http://www.hunternutrition.com/goatfeedi...

goat nutritional information

http://www.hunternutrition.com/goatfeeds...

good supplement