HELPFUL HINTS
rejected baby --- what to do
From: "Jerry Patterson" <donkeys@h...>
Date: Mon Apr 9, 2001 3:58am Subject: Maiden jenny refusing foal Vickie,
From: "Debbie
McMillan" <deb-mc@t...>
Hi Jerry, I am not Vicki but I suggest you keep working with the jenny for as long as it takes for her to accept her baby. Raising a bottle baby is not fun. I think she will take her if you work at it. Separate her from the others & put her in a stall. If you have to make a safe area for the baby, put a panel across a corner so the only one she can see is her baby. Do what you have to to make her let the baby nurse. Her milk is the best for the baby. I bet it won't take that long for her to accept her baby. Keep us posted! Good Luck, Debbie McMillan
From:
Jeanine Rachau <jrachau@o...>
Please don't give up on the jennet yet - fair is actually quite good news! A little more work and you might turn a corner for the better. Do you have access to a pipe livestock panel? If so, tie mom in a corner and place the panel parallel to the wall she is next to. The goal is that she can't move sideways or backwards - the foal can reach through and nurse when ever it needs to. Mom and baby then can have a chance to bond without a lot interference. The foal will be safe - and mom should have water and feed in front of her - take her out a couple times a day to get some exercise. Normally once you get a good nursing pattern established the chances are good the mother will go ahead and accept the foal - usually only takes 24-48 hours. If she won't by day three then she probably never will - but if she is not outright aggressive to the foal, as in attacking rather than just kicking it away - it sounds like she could be brought around with a little coaxing. You might also talk with your veterinarian about some tranquilizers and some banimine for pain - for a new mother it can be quite uncomfortable at first - every time the foal nurses - milk let down causes a release of oxytocin - which in turn causes an already sore uterus to cramp. Sometimes blocking that discomfort for a little while can make a difference with uneasy new mothers. I tried to draw a diagram of what I was talking about. The baby gate method is used quite frequently in grafting orphan foals onto nurse mares. Jeanine (illustration copyright Jeanine Rachau, used with permission)
From: Vicki/ladywife <ladywife@b...> Date: Mon Apr 9, 2001 5:33am Subject: Re: [DonkeyMuleInfo] Maiden jenny refusing foal Jerry, The other jennet stealing the newborn probably kept the new mother from bonding. For the first 12-16 hours at least keep tying her up and forcing her to stand for the foal to nurse to make sure the foal get the colostrum. After that when the jennet's milk comes in milk out about 1/4 cup and rub it on the foal's head, along the spine and on the rump. This should help the jennet recognize her own foal. Do you still have the placenta? Sometimes you can squeeze a little amniotic fluid from it and use it to mark the foal. It would be better to milk the jennet and give the foal its own mother's milk than it would be to give it goats' milk. Vicki/ladywife
From: "Jerry Patterson" <donkeys@h...>
Thank you to Debbie, Jeanine, Vicki,
& Alana for your suggestions. I read all of them at the 1:00 oclock
feeding and am reporting at the 3:00 a.m. feeding. I had rubbed the plancenta
over her, so I tried the milk rub now but she doesn't rub or smell her.
She puts her ears back whenever baby get close. She will stand with the
twitch then after all that and nursing mom she drank 6 oz. of goat milk.
Is that too much milk?
From: "Jerry Patterson" <donkeys@h...>
Thanks again for all your help last
nite. You read all this then when it is your own you are so afraid
you'll do something wrong that someone else saying it makes it so much
better -- and comforting.
From: "Jerry Patterson" <donkeys@h...>
Yes, I rubbed the placenta all over.
We make her nurse mom first before we give her the goats milk--she only
drank 2 oz last time after nursing mom a long time. Positive sign
and mom sniffed her without putting her ears back.
From: Vicki/ladywife
<ladywife@b...>
Jerry, If you find out
how to turn back the clock and feel 20 years old again please let me know.
It sounds like you are making progress with the reluctant mother.
It may take a couple of days before she accepts the foal as hers so just
keep doing what you're doing.
Vicki/ladywife
From: "Jerry Patterson" <donkeys@h...>
I went out for the 10:00 p.m. & 12:00 (just to make sure) feeding and baby (Ravenwood Magnolia) was eating and mother was staying between Magnolia and me !!!! Yea!! Great !!! Happy Days are here again !!! Thanks everyone for your help. Jerry & Susie Patterson Hartsville, IN
(rejected foal --- what-to-do list:) <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< From: Vicki/ladywife
<ladywife@b...>
(.........) 1. Call the vet *** Right. This gives the vet a heads up you have a problem. This gives the vet time to call around and find a colostrum bank or a supply of Equine Immunogam if he doesn't already have some on hand. 2. if you still have the placenta, rub it over the foal *** Not just on the foal. Find the placenta and rub any of the amniotic fluid remaining in the placenta on the jennet's nose and LIPS. In a normal birth the jennet/mare not only smells but she also TASTES the fluid. The tasting is what implants the foal's identity in her mind, then she seeks that scent to recognize her foal. DO NOT STEP IN AND TOWEL DRY THE FOAL. The amniotic fluid on the foal's coat is the key link for the jennet/mare to recognize her foal. She should be allowed to lick the foal and only step in to dry it AFTER she has had an opportunity to taste the amniotic fluid on its coat. 3. Immobilize the jenny ***If she is ticklish or refuses the foal, immobilize her so the foal can nurse the critically important colostrum. She can be immobilized by holding up a front foot, or by holding up the hind foot on the other side, or penning her against a wall. It is tricky not to upset her while still keeping her still so the foal can suckle. Do not attempt to guide the foal's head to the teat. Most foals will resist and it could injure the little tyke's neck. It is better to bump him from the rear to point him in the right direction. Something else is the color of the clothing you are wearing. Avoid dark colors because that can confuse the foal as to where the breakfast bar is. They are drawn to the dark underside of their mother by instinct. In natural circumstances the mother would boost him in the right direction by using her head to nudge his rump to encourage him to suckle. 4. Milk jenny--rub milk over foal's head ***If amniotic fluid from the placenta isn't available, then the next best thing is the jennet's milk and rub it into the hair on the foal's head AND rump. >4. Do not feed ____________ first as it contains no colostrum ***Do not feed ANY milk, no matter what kind until after the foal has received colostrum, either from the mother or Equine Immunogram. Milk contains proteins and the proteins trigger a change in the foal's stomach. Once milk is taken it prevents the absorption of the immunities in colostrum. 5. Feed foal momma's milk out of bowl? ***Right. A bottle increases the risk of drowning the foal. Stripping some colostrum from the jennet into a bowl, you can teach the foal to suck the fluid out of the bowl by using your dampened finger to get the foal to slurp. ***The important steps are: A. Have someone call the vet while you collect the placenta in a clean container to preserve as much of the amniotic fluid as quickly as possible. Even several hours after the birth there will still be a little amniotic fluid in the placenta if you can find it. B. Imprinting the foal's identify on the jennet by smearing the amniotic fluid on her nose and lips so she'll taste it, then getting the foal under her nose so she can taste the fluid on his coat. C. Getting the colostrum into the foal. After those three steps you move to Plan B which is working toward triggering her mothering instinct. It may take a few hours or a couple of days or even longer to get the jennet to accept the foal, and most do eventually accept it. The ones who don't then you move to Plan C, which is raising it as an orphan or finding a jennet who will adopt it. Not all jennets have a strong mothering instinct and usually daughters from standoffish mothers will be standoffish too. Vicki/ladywife
From: "Jerry
Patterson" <donkeys@h...>
Thanks to everyone who helped save her. This is what we wanted to see. Jerry & Susie Patterson
love it love it love it love it love it love itlove it love itlove itlove it love it |
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