March 30, 2014

I Love My Mom (& Surprise Update)

I love my mom




And my mom loves me. 

Ziggy and company

UPDATE on Surprise and Twins (first post here).

Yesterday's victory was the first hurdle. Surprise went through several more slumps, which were worrisome. I followed the advice from Goatworld.com, "More Feedback on Hypocalcemia in Goats," and repeated the injections of calcium gluconate. She responded well each time, although she fought like a tiger against the needle pricks. Her appetite is has finally picked up this morning, which is key to being able to keep up with her own nutritional needs as well as the kids.

The kids were also a worry as neither had a good sucking reflex. I found excellent advice at the Clear Creek Farms website, "Care and Bottle Feeding of Newborns" and was able to syringe feed colostrom to both kids. They eventually caught on to nursing, which was a relief.

We're still contemplating names for Ziggy's triplets, but the names for Surprise's twins came easily. Meet

Miracle (the first born)

and Grace (the second twin)

They are doing much better now, just starting to get the baby boogie bounces. I'm still researching and evaluating Surprise's problem and what I could have done differently to prevent the problems. More on that soon.

13 comments:

Farmer Barb said...

Miracle's coloring is so beautiful! I also love Grace's spotty ears.

When I bottle fed my lamb last year, she took about 48 hours before she started to really pound the milk. She had nursed and it just wasn't the same. Not surprisingly, my own human babies didn't fancy my milk coming from a bottle, no matter how easy it was to get out.

I look forward to learning about your discovery. The whole birth thing frightens me. I just don't feel like I know enough yet.

Mama Pea said...

Baby boogie bounces! Love it! Thanks for all the pictures.

Michelle said...

Miracle is SO colorful! Will you be able keep both these girls for your herd? Still on baby watch here – but the focus has shifted to Marta!

Anonymous said...

You mentioned syringe feeding them. Are you just squirting the milk into their mouth or are you tube-feeding them (a much better option, scary as it sounds)? Be sure you kink the tube before you pull it out, to prevent fluid in the lungs. It's not unusual for babies born under stress to be slow to suck, but they should get there, though it seems like forever when you are tubing every few hours.

Keep up treating Surprise. She needs to be eating well on her own to bounce back. You mentioned not wanting to treat with proplyne glycol, but it is a rich calorie source, easy to digest and can get her over the hump quickly.

Renee Nefe said...

name suggestions from my daughter: Janie, Benjamin & Pip...they're from a book she's reading... "The Apprentices"
Hope Surprise turns around soon.

Sandy Livesay said...

Leigh,

I hope Surprise gets over this hurdle along with her babies.
Great names for Surprises twins!!!

Once you get to know Ziggy's babies personalities the names will come to you.

These are great pictures, thanks for sharing.

Leigh said...

Barb, thanks for that tidbit. They've finally caught on to nursing but it's more like tasting and sipping. I'm looking forward to improvement on that front!

Mama Pea, thanks!

Michelle, Miracle was a real surprise! I do plan to keep both twins and probably sell Surprise next fall. I hope your lambing goes well!

Sue, the first article I found mentioned feeding with a luer slip syringe, which I had on hand! I wondered if I'd have to tube feed, but wouldn't have a clue or equipment to do so. I really need to look this up and learn how to do it.

Surprise is doing much better. I finally got a response from the Holistic goats list with some good information about propylene glycol. Tractor Supply doesn't sell it, however, so it may be something I need to order to keep on hand.

Renee, we'll try them out and see if they fit! Surprise is definitely doing better. (What a relief)

Sandy, thanks! We definitely seem to be doing better on all fronts. :)

Dawn said...

A lovely appropriate post for mothers day here in the Uk, hope they both continue to thrive and Surprise bounces back to her old self.

Unknown said...

Oh my gosh Leigh, my heart dropped reading the last post and then lifted. YOU are such an inspiration I would have lost my mind. I love the names, so perfectly fitting. These ladies are sure lucky to call your place home. You already know how much I love baby watch :) Can't wait to read your links and knowledge you found for Surprise.

Bill said...

Those names make me smile. They are the names we gave two of two of our all-time favorite bottle-babies.

So glad they're doing well. :)

Unknown said...

If I have a suspicion that a doe or ewe may be carrying heading for toxemia, I'll hand feed her one or two cheapo peanut butter sandwich cookies three times a day. I know it sounds crazy but it works.

Peanut butter sandwich cookies are very high in calories and don't take up a lot of room in the stomach.
The sugar and peanut butter combination is almost irresistible to almost every animal God created.

Leigh said...

Dawn, thank you! Surprise is indeed doing better (what a relief) and her little ones continue to gain strength. :)

Jen, the think of it is, it seems to be a learn as we go experience! I know I'd read about pregnancy toxemia, but really didn't have the experience to recognize it when it happened to me. Praise God for the internet!

Bill, I like that! I figured Miracle and Grace were the only reasons those two are here, so the names are fitting. :)

Katherine, thank you so much for that bit of advice. You are so right about peanut butter, and I'd rather try something quick and simple before a more complicated route. I realize now my first clue should have been the loss of appetite, but last time that happened , she simply had a heavy worm load. I'm just thankful it worked out well.

Rosalyn said...

With a tummy illness in our family the last few days, I haven't been checking your blog--and I come back to see all sorts of new baby news! I'm so glad Surprise is alright and her twins are healthy and doing well now. What a blessing that they not only were born live and are becoming stronger, but are both girls!! They're gorgeous. I particularly love Miracle's colouring. Can't wait for more updates!!