He was born today around 5am. The mares bag is so tight. I milked her and have fed him with a syringe 4 times today. Please advise on how often and how many CC's this baby should be getting. He wants to suck the mares leg and doesn't even attempt to find her bag. Thanks in advance. Tamarack
Dummy foal not nursing--help!
- Thread starter Tamarack
- Start date
Help Support Miniature Horse Talk Forums:
four times is not nearly enough!! Please please understand you have to feed him many more times then that. I would get a vet out asap as he probably has not received enough colostrum. Also if he is a true dummy foal you need a vets advise.
You really should be feeding him every hour to 2 hours.
Have you tried smearing milk all over her udder and leading him to it??
Sending best wishes
also keep milking the mare and saving it!
You really should be feeding him every hour to 2 hours.
Have you tried smearing milk all over her udder and leading him to it??
Sending best wishes
also keep milking the mare and saving it!
Last edited by a moderator:
Jill
Aspiring Cowgirl
Definitely the foal needs to be eating far more frequently than he has been.
Might try slightly pinching his hind end to guide him to the milk. Mares kind of do that to guide the foals.
Also, might want to have the vet do an IgG on him.
Might try slightly pinching his hind end to guide him to the milk. Mares kind of do that to guide the foals.
Also, might want to have the vet do an IgG on him.
Becky
Well-Known Member
As has been said, your foal needs much more than that! Is he premature? Sometimes preemies have a suck reflex but not the ability to 'latch and hold'.
A general rule of thumb for feeding a newborn is one ounce of milk per 10 lbs of body weight per hour. So if your foal weighs 20 lbs he needs 2 ounces per hour or 60 cc.
If you feed him enough to get him going, he will likely find the faucets himself. Keep working with him and be sure he's warm. A cold newborn will not nurse frequently enough. Good luck and keep us posted.
A general rule of thumb for feeding a newborn is one ounce of milk per 10 lbs of body weight per hour. So if your foal weighs 20 lbs he needs 2 ounces per hour or 60 cc.
If you feed him enough to get him going, he will likely find the faucets himself. Keep working with him and be sure he's warm. A cold newborn will not nurse frequently enough. Good luck and keep us posted.
BIG DITTO to what Kay posted.........I've also posted on your other Thread you started.
Another little hint about encouraging your colt to nurse that I forgot to add.........When he's investigating his mom's bag, give him some little butt scritches. This encourages him even more.
hrselady
Well-Known Member
We had to literally take our foal and hold her to her mother and stick it into her mouth!! There were only 2 of us so we had to tie the mare up and hold one leg up and phsyically put her there. But our mare wasn't letting her suck either so we were fighting two battles at once.
I was milking mom and feeding to but after is was all over and I had her checked, she hadn't received enough colostrum and we had to deal with that.
We had to take some drastic measures with tying mom up and making baby nurse.. but I am glad we did.
Please keep us updated!!
I was milking mom and feeding to but after is was all over and I had her checked, she hadn't received enough colostrum and we had to deal with that.
We had to take some drastic measures with tying mom up and making baby nurse.. but I am glad we did.
Please keep us updated!!
ls he a real dummy foal or are you just calling him a dummy because he is slow to find the resturant??
We've had a dummy foal and they need a vet and we had to tube feed for about 3 days before she could find and suck on her own....
We've had a dummy foal and they need a vet and we had to tube feed for about 3 days before she could find and suck on her own....
Thank you all so very much. I am milking mom and feeding the foal. I called the vet, she said the igg is done after a minimum of 17 hrs. She wants me to keep feeding him and call her tomorrow morning. I was giving him from 70-100 cc's at a feeding. He has now had 6 feedings. I sure hope this wil be enough. I have a niece coming to take turns through the night. The vet had concerns that he will not want to suck mom since the syringe is so much easier. I will be working on that--milking mom first since she is so tight then trying to get him to nurse before syringing him--he is sucking the syringe. I don't think he was a preemie. The mare was pasture bred, the seller told me she was with the stallion from April until June of last year, so......? Thank you all again. Tamarack
Genie
Well-Known Member
Our dummy foal last year was fed every 20 - 30 minutes for the first 24 hours, which was when she finally got it!
She drank from a bottle well and soon identified the bottle.
We then put the bottle thru from the back, between the mares back legs and with the nipple between the "real faucets". ... eventually she made a mistake and hooked on the the "real thing" while searching for the bottle nipple.
We milked the mare every 2 hours so we had enough to feed the baby every 20 to 30 minutes. p.m. me if you need more details.
It was almost right on the 24 hour time frame that baby figured it out.
She drank from a bottle well and soon identified the bottle.
We then put the bottle thru from the back, between the mares back legs and with the nipple between the "real faucets". ... eventually she made a mistake and hooked on the the "real thing" while searching for the bottle nipple.
We milked the mare every 2 hours so we had enough to feed the baby every 20 to 30 minutes. p.m. me if you need more details.
It was almost right on the 24 hour time frame that baby figured it out.
I'm not sure if he was a "real" dummy foal or not, thats just what the big horse people were calling him. there is good news He finally started sucking this morning at the 7:00am feeding. At 5:00am he was shoing more interest and actually sucked a little. I changed froma syringe to a bottle and followed everyones advise about leading him to it. It worked better when I was on the opposite side and just put my fingers by the mares bag. When I went out at 7:00, his tummy felt full already and the mares bag was not near as tight as it had been. I milked her and he was on the opposite side and actually started sucking!!! What a relief! I think he must have been nursing between 5 & 7. I can't thank you all enough. This forum is great, an invaluable resource. Now when I can figure out the camera and posting pictures I will get one up.
Thank you. Tamarack
S
StarRidgeAcres
Guest
Excellent news! Is the vet still coming out for the Ig test?
Charlotte
Well-Known Member
GREAT NEWS! Once the little guy passes his IGG test he's good to go!
Charlotte
Charlotte
Jill
Aspiring Cowgirl
Phew!!! I am so happy to read the good news!!! Great job with your new colt
GREAT NEWS! Once the little guy passes his IGG test he's good to go!
Charlotte
DITTO!
eagles ring farm
Well-Known Member
wonderful news
ditto on the IgG test
you don't want to go down hill again
ditto on the IgG test
you don't want to go down hill again
Gracie
Well-Known Member
glad to hear babies ok now, We had one 2 years ago wouldnt nurse, so every 2 hours 24/7 fo r5 days and suddenly BAM Baby latched onto mom and never looked back, lol
I'm glad your foal is ok, Hope to see pics soon I cant get enough of these babies, lol
I'm glad your foal is ok, Hope to see pics soon I cant get enough of these babies, lol
