QuestionI can give goat's milk to orphan kits but they act like I'm giving them poison. Takes over 10 minutes each just to get them to take 1cc. They are pretty much skin and bones having only nursed twice before they became orphaned.
Even the one that became easiest to feed would stop eating way before its stomach rounds out.
This morning one had a shrunken stomach and refused to swallow even with milk in its mouth. How can I force it to eat?
Would giving them packaged bacteria for small animals help?
AnswerDear Tom,
This is a really common problem when you first start feeding the babies: they hate the foreign milk! Forcing them will make it more likely that they'll aspirate, so the first few days are critical.
For the first few feedings, use whole goat milk, heated to about body temperature (103-104 Farenheit), and be sure to *keep* it warm in a mug of warm water throughout the feeding. The babies will reject the milk if it gets too cold, especially if they're just learning.
The first few feedings can literally take hours, but you have to be patient and there will be results.
For the initial feedings, I no longer *ever* try to put the nipple into the baby's mouth. I hold the little one in a warm, soft cloth in a natural position (belly down, or head held slightly higher) and place the tip of the nipple against the lips, and put just a DROP on the lips. The baby will lick it off, just as a reflex. Drop by drop, you can get that food into the babies. And it can take a long time, and you have to be patient. But don't give up until the belly is looking round. Use a graduated syringe (we use 3cc syringes, well sterilized in a steam bag in the microwave with 1/4 cup of water for 3 minutes), and a very thin-tipped nipple, if you have one. If you have no nipple, then just use the syringe tip for now, and order squirrel nipples from:
http://www.calvetsupply.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=215
I've found that very recalcitrant babies can need this onerous, drop-by-drop feeding for up to *five days* before they suddenly go "Hey, this is good!" and start lapping with enthusiasm. But they always do, if they are otherwise healthy.
In some cases, a baby will refuse to eat because he's on the verge of presenting with potentially fatal diarrhea, and if this happens, you have to act quickly with these treatments:
www.bio.miami.edu/hare/squirts.pdf
It's *really* hard to do this, and you're being heroic. I hope this will help. I know how frustrating this can be! So hang in there and hope for the best.
Dana