CHILLED BABY GOAT
THIS CAN TAKE 1 HOUR OR 4 HOURS. DON'T GIVE UP.
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Goat Birth Chill
(Hypothermia) Birth Chill is one of the main killers of baby goats. In many cases they CAN be saved! You MUST act QUICK! Birth chill is when a newborn infant (Usually) has been exposed to the wind, cold, has not been cleaned and dried by mama or has not eaten quick enough after birth. It can happen in the summer as well as winter so do not be fooled that it can't happen because it is June or July! *A baby with a cold mouth is an Emergency! Household Supplies
***You can get by with just these things but it makes life a little easier if you also have these vet supplies on hand, most can be found at well stocked feed stores. Vet Supplies: 1. Pritchard teat - a special nipple for babies who are weak or very small 2. Weak Kid Syringe -for tubing babies in extreme cases 3. CMPK solution -supplement to add to "Kid Saver" formula 4. 50% Dextrose solution -easily digestible sugar for immediate release into the system to add to "Kid Saver" formula I don't usually measure everything, but to give you a starting point: I use what ever I have at immediate hand.. if I have all of these things I use them all.. if not I use what I have, there is no set rule.. I will say the coffee is important though. Keeping a jar of instant coffee on hand is a good idea for non-coffee drinkers. Caffienated coke or pop will work too, so will tea. I start by giving baby a jumpstart of 1/2 hot coffee and 1/2 either dextrose 50% solution or molasses in a syringe..never try to give baby more than 5ccs of anything at one "feeding"..and at that, only dribbling this drip by drip in their mouth (if they are able to swallow) and allowing time to swallow in between times... spreading feedings about 5 minutes apart. "Kid Saver Formula"
(This can be sized down if you like..I was just trying to give an example of amounts to use.) For severly weakend kids do not attempt to give them colostrum or milk as they cannot yet digest it and it wil sit in the stomach and get toxic. Instead- Give electrolytes and what ever sugar source you have as well as the coffee until they are able to suck. Procedure: You find a cold wet baby born minutes ago comatose or near to death.
Ok.. now for the more detailed article..I just wanted to give you a fast reference guide (above) for those of you needing to act quick and have no time to read alot of information: Here's how I have saved some babies who would not have otherwise made it from Birth chill- Take the baby in the house and place it in a sinkful of warm water up to the neck. Make sure you don't leave baby unattended. At the first signs of life and consciousness take baby from bath and wrap in a warm dry towel. You need to dry baby completely in front of a heater while briskly towel drying baby. While you are doing this you need to get some nutrition into baby as the blood sugar is very low. DO NOT FEED AN UNCONSCIOUS BABY ORALLY! I use a mixture of strong warm coffee and molasses given orally with a small syringe making sure you do NOT allow any of the liquid to go into the lungs. This is what I start with before I try any electrolytes or colostrum. To jump start the baby. Hold baby's head straight not tilted up while administering liquids like this. Baby will only take a small amount- a few cc's at best. The whole while you are in front of the heater or blow dryer and rubbing baby to simulate mama's licking and stimulation she would be doing. This may take hours so get comfortable.. I have saved babies who were unconscious at the start.
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