need help w/ 10 day old filly

[garyo]

I am so sorry for your loss. You are in our thoughts. Last year we had a premee colt who would not nurse from Mom. We milked her into a bowl. After the first time he really got the idea. You had to hold on tight or he would rip it right out of your hands. Luckily he got the idea of nursing after three days. When we bought two of our horses at four months the breeder suggested we get Manna Pro milk supplement pellets to help with their nutrition. Perhaps that might help your little one as well. I know by ten days our little stinkers are fighting their Mom's for regular feed and eating hay too.

 

[appymini]

So sorry for your loss.I think everyone here has givien you good advice.I hope today is a good day for you and the foal.

 

[targetsmom]

I am so sorry you lost your mare. I am sorry I can't offer any advice, but I do want to let you know that I will be thinking of you, your husband and your foal. And I am sure there are plenty of "forum family" members reading this that think the same thing, but may not add their replies.

 

[Boinky]

if you can get the baby to nurse off nipples they have buckets for calves and goats that have nipples off them so you can just hang them in a stall and they can drink anytime they want. bucket will probably be your best bet.

When trying to get him to nurse off a nipple run your fingers up and down his esophagus. that will help stimulate the swallow reflex. scratch his but ect. I've also found a human baby bottle/nipples seems to work better on them as well as on puppies (go figure!).

 

[Dairygirl]

Thanks everyone for the prayers and advice. It has been a long night. Baby still won't suck. She licks the syrup off the nipple and bites down on it and holds it in her mouth but won't suck.

Good thing is just at 7:00 all her milk that I stuck in the bucket was gone. I thought well some of the mares I have running next to her for comfort stuck their heads in a dumped it so I went for broke and poured her whole bottle in there and she started licking and sucking it up.

Now my next question. Should I keep to the directions on the amount and pour it in there every 2 hours or keep it free choice?

I have some pellet feed that her mom was eating but worry about her eating it with no teeth. Should I get something more soft for her to nibble on?

Also beding. I was worried about shavings if she would try to eat on them so I think I'm going to do hay. Seems like I heard some where someone had a problem with the foal eating the shavings and had problems with the baby.

I'm trying to remember all that I once heard so I know the best course of action to take with her. Any more tips will be great.

I'm so happy she is taking the bucket. God must have knew I was over whelmed and decided to give me a little break. LOL.

 

[backwoodsnanny]

Im so sorry for the loss of your mare. But am very glad that baby has decided to eat from the bucket. There are experienced breeders here who will help with the question about how often to fill the bucket. I also wanted to tell you that we appreciate the sacrifice you and your husband are making to keep us all safe and able to have a forum like this.Without you and your hubby we might all be doing alot of things alone. ((((HUGS)))) to you both and continued success with your baby.

 

[Westwood Farms]

Hey Rhonda,

I am sorry about your girl. Which mama was it?

I added the milk replacer to the foals feed , and got foal lac pellets. That can be free choice. Also, I have had great luck with foster moms. Several of my mares will nurse anybodies babies, I am blessed in that way. I weaned a foal a bit early, and got a newborn on that momma. I ended up loosing the foal to horrible diarrhea at about 6 months old, but, she took to her foster mom great. You just have to be very very careful to use a foster. E-mail me, and I will tell ya how I did that, if you decide to go that direction.

 

[Carolyn R]

I am so sorry for the loss of your mare. If I didn't live several states away, I would be more than willing to give you a hand. As for bedding, shavings on the bottom to "sponge" up any urine, with hay on top should be okay. In my opinion, do not use the pelletized bedding. I had a horrific experience ( a few years back) with a young filly digging for the pieces that were intact, and she impacted, sad story, but babies will put anything in their mouths.

I don't think I would allow free choice of the milk replacer, unless you are in a bind and need to run out for a bit. I am only saying this because you don't know how long it will sit before it is consumed. Make sure you clean the dish well between feedings, to prevent bacteria from forming.

If you are going to start feeding a bit of mare and foal you can saturate it with water and make it into a very wet mush. I would be more concerned with getting the milk replacer into her rather than large amounts of feed, the feed will be a bit harsher on her digestive track. I am sure her sytem is stressed enough right now with losing her momma. And as much as you want to make certain you don't give her too much, probiotics are a great thing to keep those healthy microbes in her GI track at a good level. I am sure if you give your vet a buzz, they will be able to give you some tips.

Keep us posted

Carolyn

 

[minie812]

I am sorry for your lossbut it sounds like their is a ton of xcellent advice so all I can give you and that sweet filly is my

and

 

[Sandee]

So sorry that you lost your mare and doublly sorry that you have to go thru this alone. If you feel you truly have no one close enough to lean on then use this board for any all the comfort we can give. We all care about these little horses and we all appreciate what your hubby is doing to defend our country. Many thanks to you both and keep us up to date please.

 

[Magic]

I'm so sorry for the loss of your mare, that must be just devastating.

I don't have any advice for you, sounds like you are already getting lots of great ideas already, but wanted to add my condolences and my appreciation for what you and your husband are doing for our wonderful country.

Good luck with your orphan foal.

 

[KAYO]

I didn't read everyone's advice and hope that I'm not duplicating....we've learned when bottle feeding calves that if you cup your right hand at the calf/foal's mouth with your pointer and middle finger ready to slip inside their mouth and the nipple of the bottle kind of squished down in your palm so that the milk drips down to your fingers and then into their mouths, let them start to suck on your fingers and then slowly slip the nipple in. (sorry if not too clear on the directions) This goes without saying, I'm so sorry for your situation there..........but I believe God only allows us to have as much "hard times" as we can handle. There is a reason for everything that happens. I do know of a orphan that ended up thriving and had a real nice show career. She was raised in the house in a dog crate until they could get her weaned down to less feedings..........for a while I think she thought she was a dog!! Wishing you luck with your foal! Kay

 

[Lucky-C-Acres-Minis]

Now my next question. Should I keep to the directions on the amount and pour it in there every 2 hours or keep it free choice?

We gave our girl milk every couple hours, vet and us were afraid of giving her the runs with free choice feeding.. After she got to eating grain and drinking water well, she lost interest in the milk, so our vet told us just to sprinkle the dry replacer over her grain instead of mixing it with the water..

 

[wrenhart]

So sorry for your loss and that your hubby isnt with you ( BUT I AM GLAD HE IS FIGHTING FOR US!) You seem to be a very capable women and thats great and I hope you get a lot of comfort from the forum, I sure do

I havent had a foal to feed with a bottle yet but I am glad to learn about what to do if I need to, If I were anywhere near you I would come help out, I know God dosen't give us more than we can handle and then just leave us alone, reaching out in times like these can make you really see how not alone all of us really are, maybe not from where we would like but help comes....He is always with us and that helps comfort me a lotBlessings to you and your family, Ren and the gang

 

[Keri]

Is there a way you can find a wet mare or goat for her to nurse off of??? I heard of several people having goats to feed orphan babies. May be a good investment for you and your sanity. Just a thought.

Good luck!

 

[Maxi'sMinis]

Glad the baby is taking to the bowl. Just wanted to let you know you are in my prayers.Sending you strength to get through this rough time. I to was a military spouse, it can be very challenging. I must say it did make me independant. God bless and keep your hubby safe.

Mary

 

[Reignmaker Miniatures]

I have no advice to add, I think previous posts have more than covered anything i could think of that might help but you sound so emotionally worn out that I wanted to post and remind you to take care of yourself too. Do one nice thing for yourself everyday (even if its a bubble bath or a candle at dinner) and when you do remember that even in Canada there is someone who is grateful to you and your husband for the sacrifices being made to keep our world a safer place to live. Like others have said I wish I lived closer and could offer physical help and a shoulder to cry on when the going is hardest. Perhaps this foal is meant to take your mind off of your other worries and give you a life to love and strive for each day.

 

[Miniv]

I'm just answering your second question with my personal gut instinct. I would figure out how much your foal is drinking every two hours and offer that initially and after awhile increase the amount a little until you can fill the bucket every FOUR hours. Whatever you do - do it gradually. I will warn you, that for the next few weeks, you need to get up at least once in the middle of the night to check and refill your foal's dish/bucket -- even if you do wean her to every 4 hours.

By the time she is 6 to 8 weeks old she should be able to be supplemented with the milk replacer Pellets! Her teeth development will tell you when she's ready. Plus, if you offer her hay and pellets to investigate, she'll tell you herself.

Get lots of rest when you can........It's exhausting, but in the end worth it.

 

[Dairygirl]

Thanks so much to everyone. you sure have made me feel better and answered a lot of my questions on the baby. Talked to my vet and he told me he wasn't worried about me caring for her that I always seem to get them well but to give him a call day or night if i needed him. I'm thinking " if you keep your dang cell phone on I could" but I was nice. LOL.

I'll pass the well wishes on to Randy if he ever emails or calls. haven't heard from him since Sunday so I guess he is out on a mission. I hate when he goes on those. I hate that he is there but i know he has to be.

She is drinking like a pig. I have fixed it at work where I can run home a few times a day to give her fresh milk so I should be covered there.

Thanks again everyone.

 

[muffntuf]

Dairygirl did you see this post - using an igloo cooler for feeding your baby?

http://www.miniaturehorsetalk.com/index.php?showtopic=92335