A few months ago two more does entered our herd. I acquired these two Australian Browns from a dairy that unfortunately had to close down. I am very keen to breed the Australian Browns so when these girls were offered to me I jumped at the chance. Camilla is a four year old doe, and Chessy is just over two years old. They were both pregnant when I bought them about three months ago. Two weeks ago, Chessy gave birth to a gorgeous little doe kid.
I was watching Chessy and her baby girl closely and noticed that the kid was attempting to feed but Chessy would walk away before the baby could latch on. I watched and waited for both of them to get the hang of feeding but as time went on I noticed that the kid was getting weaker. Luckily I had milked Chessy's first colostrum and had it in a bottle in the fridge. With a bottle and teat I tried to feed the kid but she was reluctant to take the teat into her mouth. I ended up having to suck the colostrum into a small syringe and slowly trickle it down her throat.
I took the little one home with us that night, feeding her small amounts every couple of hours and keeping her warm and snug. She spent at least a couple of hours snuggled up in a rug on Craige's lap while he watched TV! The next morning after another feed with the syringe she was up and about and doing well. The familiar exuberance of goat kids was starting to show and I was feeling a lot more hopeful about her future.
By that afternoon she was feeding properly from Chessy. Success! I was so glad that she was doing so well. It seems that first time mother goats aren't always strong on the mothering instinct. Chessy learned to stand still for her little one and the kid, being stronger and more aggressive with the teat was able to latch on without a problem.
I left her with Chessy for another nine days to give her the best start possible. I am now feeding her myself four times a day and she is staring to nibble on hay and leaves. I named her Kerstin after my own mum. When I told mum that news she said she never dreamed in a million years she would one day have a goat named after her!
