"United we bargain, divided we beg."

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Not Another One!

This morning, the last-born buckling of Flopsy's new triplets was laid out flat off in a corner by himself. I thought he was dead, but no, just cold.

I almost wish he were dead - Flopsy can't feed triplets and I don't want a bottle baby. I brought the poor little thing in the house and warmed him up by putting him inside a plastic garbage bag and dipping him in a sinkful of very warm water (vet trick). I wrapped him in a heated towel and put him in my bed, under the down comforter. Homero was able to get about two ounces of colostrum from Flopsy, which I fed to the baby with a syringe. Now we just wait and see if he revives.

I hate triplets. Two years in a row with all three mamas throwing triplets, and three dead/dying babies. I'd much rather have twins. Not as hard on the moms, either. Growing triplets and then feeding them is an amazing feat, and the goats always get skinny and ragged looking, no matter how much I feed them. Free choice grass hay, plus alfalfa, plus grain.

I think I may take a year off from babies next year.

3 comments:

Nekkid Chicken said...

Awe, poor little guy. It is so tough on both farmer, nanny, and baby. Good luck, Mal

Laura said...

Do you give BoSe? That won't help the cold kid syndrome, but might help the immune system.

Look at Premier's feeder buckets. If you can get the kids to nurse from a bottle, you can switch them over to this and just fill it twice a day. It doesn't even have to be warm - most people put a bagged chunk of ice in it to prevent spoilage. If you creep feed your kids, you can put the bucket in the creep so only the kids can get to it.

Bottle babies are a pain, no two ways about it. If the does are fecund, as yours seem to be, I don't think there's anyway to prevent triplets... Just be glad they weren't quads!

Aimee said...

Thanks for the advice Laura - I warmed him up and he came right around. He wasn't anywhere near as cold as the doling who died. I gave him away to a neighbor who is really a pro at bottle babies.