What causes a goat to give birth with no milk but has had constant feed for 3 mo. prior to giving birth?
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2010 4-H/FFA Dairy Goat Show – Photos courtesy of Todd Hunt & Dae Ann Holub
Question by toby: What causes a goat to give birth with no milk but has had constant feed for 3 mo. prior to giving birth?
I have a boer goat who in the past has had a dairy udder. Her udder developed but she just gave birth to triplets with no milk what so ever. Two of the babies took to bottle feeding no problem. But one baby REFUSES to eat from the bottle and just sucks on her mother to no avail. I have been raising goats for 10 years and have never had this happen. Any suggestions or ideas to why no milk?
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2 Responses to What causes a goat to give birth with no milk but has had constant feed for 3 mo. prior to giving birth?
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I don’t know why this happens, but sometimes it just does. It’s not common but it’s also no unheard of. Your vet can give meds that may help the milk come in. Are you absolutely positive she has no milk at all? Usually a baby won’t keep trying an empty udder for more than a few seconds. Is the baby active & healthy acting? If so, he’s getting some milk.
For stubborn babies that won’t take a bottle….try a childs medicine dropper to get some milk into them. Squeeze a few drops in their mouth over and let them swallow. Feedings take a long time this way, but it usually only takes a day or two and they will start sucking the milk out of the dropper. That’s when it’s time to switch to the bottle. It is time-consuming, but it’s never failed me when I needed to get a kid to take a bottle.
llamas&goats
September 30, 2013 at 4:34 pm
CAE sometimes seems to cause this. I’ve had babies refuse a bottle for 2 days and be fine. Are you sure the baby that nurses gets no milk at all? They can manage on a little over a cup of milk a day if they have to.
Everbely
September 30, 2013 at 5:09 pm