I am brand spanking new to the whole goat scene and I just got 3 goats about 3 weeks ago. I was told one was due sometime this month. She kidded yesterday morning and I found the little buckling unconcious and nearly dead, I rushed him inside and did what I could to warm him and get him to take some of mama's colostrum that I went back out and milked her for. He's stick and bone...not much to him, his hooves were capped with a thick, boogery yellow junk, no teeth at all, just a pink ridge on the bottom. A day and a half later, he still can't walk, but I am getting him to eat with a syringe...he can't retain any body temperature. As soon as he's off the heating pad he's shivering and very soon starts showing signs of hypothermia!! What are his chances? He's a nubian and he's about as big around as my wrist! When I get him to stand, he looks camel toed because he stands back on his ankles....should I encourage this? Or try splinting? This is my first time ever and I feel like such a failure already.

BrendaSue, I'm glad to hear that things seem to be okay. To answer your question, you do not need a special thermometer to check their temp. Just a regular thermometer--either digital or the old fashioned mercury kind is fine. If you use a mercury thermometer, it is wise to attach a 6 inch string to the end with the hot glue gun, and attach a clothespin to the string. To check their temp, lubricate the thermometer (I spit on it, but you can use KY Jelly or vaseline or mineral oil if you prefer), then insert it into the horse's rectum. If using the mercury thermometer, insert it until there's only about 1.5 inches sticking out, then clip the clothespin to the horse's tail and wait 3 minutes, remove, and read. If using digital thermometer, insert it about 2 inches into the rectum, and you have to stand back there and hold it until it beeps the ready signal. Don't use the mercury thermometer unless you have the string attached--they have been known to "disappear" into the horse's rectum--NOT a good thing! Normal temp for an adult horse is 98-100. I would consider 101 to be a mild fever in an adult, and 102 or above is a fever for sure. In a yearling, 101 would be pretty normal, and anything above 102 would be a fever. In a foal, normal is 100-102, and above 103 would be a fever. Horses are like people, and some horses "run hot" all the time, so if you really want to be in tune with your horses, check their temps several times on different occasions to get a baseline normal. If you want to check their pulse, you can feel in the groove under their jaw--this can be a bit tricky and it's good if you can get somebody to show you how. Average pulse for an adult is 30-40 beats per minute, but for a younger horse, it is higher (yearling is 50-60). To answer another comment you made, bellyache is the same as colic (just like a baby). Colic can be caused by gas, constipation, a twist in the gut, diarrhea, spasmodic colon, etc. And just like a baby, a horse can't tell you where or why it hurts, and that's what makes it so complicated. To be honest, in my opinion, I would have worried more about founder than colic with this episode. Somebody commented that it takes more than one time in the grain bag to get foundered, and I disagree with that statement (not trying to start a fight here, I just disagree). You stated that their hooves were warm, and that is a symptom that a horse is trying to founder. Horses' hooves are usually cool to slightly warm, even in the summer they stay pretty cool. It's a good idea once things get back to normal to go feel their hooves and see what normal feels like (again, some horses' hooves are normally warmer than others). If I were you, I'd continue to keep an eye out for signs of founder. If you see them standing with their front feet "parked out" in front of them--stretching them out so their feet are more under their head than under their shoulder--that is a sign that they are in pain from founder. You can look up founder (or laminitis as it is also called) on Google and see the causes and symptoms. Glad to hear that things sound okay. I heard a quote once that said "Horses spend 99% of their time trying to kill themselves, and we spend 99% of our time trying to prevent them from succeeding." Keep us posted!

Here's some consolation from someone with 45 year's experience owning cats: if that little kitten died the very same day you first saw her/him, then in all likelyhood the outcome would have been unavoidable. That was either a very sick kitten or one already at death's door for some other reason. So, don't feel bad! Cats are tough creatures, normally, and a few hours indecision is not a life-or-death matter. Just last November I stepped outside on a very cold day--after several days of sub-freezing temps and snow flurries--to find a screaming little kitten hardly bigger than a mouse, on my patio. She was skin and bones and obviously had been abandoned for quite some time, with some cuts and abrasions from her "adventure" in the wilds. I scooped her up, fed her, gave her a warm place to rest, and within a day she was bopping around the house. After a trip to he vet's for some worming and mite medicine, and shots, she quickly overcame her days/weeks? of trauma... and is now sleeping on my bed, a fat, sleek, healthy cat named Lucy. :-) So, you see, kittens *usually* can endure a lot. You probably couldn't have saved that one had you tried.

They take about 19 days to fledge from egg hatching onwards; you may want to try and figure out approximately how long the parents have been feeding them and that should give you an idea of how many days more to go. Pretty soon you should start to see some action