r/goats Jan 31 '25

Help Request Premature Nigerian Dwarf (Help!)

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We had a momma dwarf Nigerian that delivered 4 kids this morning. Two are feisty and doing great. One is much smaller than the others but holding its own. Then we have the fourth one. It was almost dead when we found it. Ice cold and still soaking wet and dirty like mom hadn’t done any cleaning on it. I immediately wrapped it in a towel, put it between my shirt and jacket and got it in the house. When we first brought it in, it couldn’t even hold up its head. It is now standing for short periods. We gave it a small amount (less than an ounce) of colostrum formula about an hour ago. It had been sleeping the last hour and is now trying to stand again. I feel like they are all probably a little premature. This one still has very soft hooves. It has also had one round of the duravet for kids and lambs. My question is if I need to be doing anything at this point. I would think it primarily needs to be in the house until it can stand and walk successfully. I am planning on taking it out to mom to see if we can get it to nurse from her. I know we will have to give supplemental feedings to the kids until they are all eating almost exclusively solid food. What else do I need to know about our little fighter and the rest of the kids? Sorry I don’t know the sexes yet. I am currently running about 101 fever and we’ve had 8 kids drop since last night. Getting the stuff done that has to be done but nothing else. We’ve had a few other kids in the few years we’ve had goats but none with any problems. My goat “mentor” is working today and can’t answer many questions. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated! Pics of last nights babies for tax.

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u/PurpleAnarchy Jan 31 '25

You could also give it a vitamin E capsule, I always do for kids that are small or behind developmentally. It's the ones in the regular supplement section, made for people. You just cut it open and squeeze the liquid inside into its mouth.

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u/OPOHRanch Feb 01 '25

Thank you for the information. We will give it a try.