Candy foaled!!! But I need help

[hrselady]

filly... not sure on the color yet but she has two beautiful blue eyes like her mama. Candy had her at 3:15 a.m. it is now 4:33 a.m. She has yet to nurse.. I can try to milk her mama and feed her with a bottle or I have some Ultra Start which is a multi species colostrum... or am i just being overly paranoid? Just seems to me its been to long for her not to nurse. She's not acting hungry or really searching for it yet.

Thanks,

Mendy

 

[Nancy]

There are more aggressive things that you could do but it is still a little early to be more aggressive baby should be nursing but it is still early. For now I would try expressing a little colostrum from the mare and rub it on the foals mouth so it gets a taste of the milk and maybe guide the foal in the direction of the teat I just stand behind the foal and sort of hold it under the flank so it is in the general vicinity of the ...milk bar.... it has worked for me it gives them a little incentive to search for nipple also can rub the milk /colostrum on the teat so when it searches with its tongue it will taste the milk in the exact location they should be sucking. Make sure the bag and teats are clean. If it is still not nursing in another hour or so you will probably want to try more aggressive measures.

 

[eagles ring farm]

has the filly pooped yet if not try a fleet enema (childrens) if you have it

our vet said getting the first poop out would stimulate the foal to search out food quicker

it worked for ours made him a whole lot more interested

 

[hrselady]

she has used the bathroom.. which is a relieve to me!! I have a call in to my equine vet just to let him know she did foal and hasn't nursed yet.. I have faith he will call me as soon as he can. Candy is a maiden and when I tried to get a little milk from her to rub on the foals mouth, she went CRAZY. Keep your fingers crossed and say a few prayers for us. I am completely BARNBLIND but this is one pretty baby.

 

[eagles ring farm]

if the filly gets near position to nurse by you guiding her scratch her butt on top lightly

so you don't throw her off balance

just keep scratching thats how mom would entice her to nurse it also works well for us

wishing you luck its always nerve wracking till they are nursing

 

[miniaddiction]

Yay!!! Just said a prayer for you. Keep us updated and CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!

 

[dgrminis]

Congrats on the little girl -- I am hoping she has nursed by now? Please keep us updated and of course pictures whenever you have time

 

[hrselady]

Thanks for all the great tips and the prayers.. I'm headed back out to the barn now, left my 17 yr old standing watch (more ooooing and awwwing).

She has not nursed yet... my daughter was able to get something out of her bags but its not white, its clear.. I'm calling my vet back

 

[eagles ring farm]

let us know how things are going when you can

and be careful your mare is not being aggresive towards the filly

I'm not sure of color of collustrum let us know what the vet says

can't wait to see this little girl prayers all goes fine

 

[hrselady]

Vet said to try to give her the multi species colostrum .. and be at his office at 8 to pick up a shot for Candy.. but within the last few minutes, literally, she's went from clear to a very cloudy color. I was able to get the filly to take an ounce of the colostrum, not enough but I feel a little better about it. She wants to buck then sleep.. buck then sleep (you would almost think that everything is ok on their time frame). She hasnt been aggressive towards her.. she panics when the baby is on the other side of me away from her. She also has had another bowel movement. I will get pics up as soon as I can remember where my head is... lol

 

[eagles ring farm]

keep us posted please!!

any other suggestions anyone?

it is frustrating sometimes

 

[eagles ring farm]

bumping for thoughts

 

[Kim~Crayonboxminiatures]

One of the best advice I got, is waiting for the foal to nurse- syringe a few cc's into the foal so you know they got a little bit, then go get a cup of coffee and sit and wait. By the time your coffee is gone, the foal will have found how to nurse, because we tend to interfere too much.

This has always worked for me, I tend to get frustrated trying to help "make" them nurse.

 

[Candice]

Last year my vet told me that as long as they nurse within the first few hours they are fine. Some will nurse immediately and some take a little longer. The colostrum should be yellowish and thick, kind of milky. I do understand that maidens typically develop this after foaling.

Keep us updated on how she does. She sounds gorgeous. Congratulations

 

[eagles ring farm]

any updates Mendy?

 

[hrselady]

Well its 8:54 and she still hasn't nursed.. There is a dern vet conference somewhere and my idea of having 2 that knew horses well, backfired. The 3rd I got in touch with said.. there's really nothing you can do other than milk the mare and get it in her somehow.. or take the baby and bottle feed it. But he cant come out because he can't do anything and as long as the baby is on all fours and no infection its fine (ok so much for equine medical field). Ok now the mare will NOT let the baby even try to get close to her bag and she WILL not let us near her bag either. I have mixed up the multi species colostrum and tryed desperately with a bottle to only end up getting 1 to 2 ounces in her. I CAN not get to the mare to get colostrum.. so I am praying this other will work. I am going to leave her in with her mama on hopes that they will get this straightened out, but I am going to continue to go out there every 2 hours and syringe feed her some colostrum (from a bag).

Has anyone ever had to bottle feed a baby? Please pm me .. in all my years with horses, I have not gone through this before.

 

[Mona]

By now if the mare has not yet nursed, she will be getting very hard and tight(which equals painful!) in her bag. She will need to be milked. I know you said she is not cooperating, but you will need to get help to hold her up against a wall(baby near her so she can see) and maybe even try to tie up(or hold up) a front leg, so if she tries to kick with her back feet, her doing so will knock her off balance and she will learn to stand there. Have you seen the homemade breast pump? It is on the LB Info pages. It is a Godsend, and makes it easy for you to pump milk. Save the milk and bottle feed it to your filly for now, to ensure she is at least getting some. Also, can you watch them on a cam or somethig so you are night rioght there? Maybe your presence is making mama more nervous too. Sometimes time will be a cure-all! The link to the breast pump is HERE .

 

[Dream]

You need to get a vet out to milk the mare and tube the colostrum into the foal. They can help you restrain the mare or even sedate her if necessary. The baby may be on all fours but I believe in prevention over cures. Does the filly have a suckle reflex (on your finger)?

 

[bevann]

Twitch the mare if you have to or tie her and get her milked.The best thing for that baby is the mare's own colostrum.You can even get some into the baby with a syringe if you have to -just go slowly.Often times once the baby gets a taste of milk it will begin nursing on its own.Mama is probably feeling uncomfortable now, but once you milk her some and relieve the pressure she will be comfortable letting baby nurse.If you can avoid bottle feeding a baby it is best.Use it only as a last resort.

 

[Magic]

I'll tell you what a friend and I did for another friend whose maiden mare foaled and wouldn't let the foal nurse. We haltered the mare, tied her up, and one of us held up one of her legs while pinning her to the wall while the other guided the foal to the right area. This mare was NOT wanting her bag touched and she was really awful to deal with, it was quite a fight. We got the foal to finally nurse a few times, but it didn't survive.

I don't know if it didn't get colostrum early enough, or if the mare continued to fight against letting it nurse.

I always desensitize my mares to having their bags touched and handled, so that when they do foal, they are fine for the foal and for me to milk them if needed. It can take months for some to get used to it (and others are ok from the first) but it's really important, IMO.

Good luck with your filly, and please do have her checked for IgG levels by a vet.