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Discussion on Rejected foal
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Member:
Fouch
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Posted on Saturday, Feb 15, 2003 - 7:21 am:
I have a maiden mare that will not let her foal nurse. Everytime she gets close the mare kicks..and she means it. She cleaned the foal and doesn't seem aggressive other than when the foal attempt to nurse. We have 32 oz of colostrum but that is it. We gave the mare a shot of banamine. We are in the middle of an ice storm so we are on our own. Any suggustions would be invaluable.
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Saturday, Feb 15, 2003 - 9:44 am:
Scott you need to restrain the mare so the foal can nurse or bottle feed the foal. The article on orphan foals gives advice on both: getting resistant foals and mares together and how to go about bottle feeding the foal. Also run a search on foal rejected we have other suggestions.
DrO
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Member:
Norto
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Posted on Saturday, Feb 15, 2003 - 10:03 am:
We had a mare that we thought was going to reject her foal and before it was born we rigged a 2X6 board all the way across her stall so that she was trapped up next to the wall. It was up against her hip so the foal could reach under and nurse yet she couldn't move away. We never needed it so I can't say it would work but might be worth trying. Good luck.
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Member:
Fouch
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Posted on Saturday, Feb 15, 2003 - 6:01 pm:
An update. We sedated the mare and relieved some of the pressure. Her udder was hard as a rock. While she was sedated we let the foal nurse. The mare will now let the foal nurse if we milk her first and tie her up. We generally milk about 8 ounces (fed to the foal) and then the foal nurses for 10 to 15 minutes. We do this every two hours. This can't be anywhere near the 18 quarts that you indicate is needed in the orphan foal article. At what point should I quit this process and start using milk replacers?
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Member:
Mwebster
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Posted on Saturday, Feb 15, 2003 - 6:44 pm:
You could milk out the mare after the foal nurses, pour it into a bucket, and allow the foal to drink out of the bucket at will till the next nursing session... That would ensure good milk production, a full tummy for the foal, and help you avoid milk replacer (and the risk of diarrhea)...
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Sunday, Feb 16, 2003 - 7:50 am:
Excellent Scott,
If you allow the foal to nurse freely and until it stops every 2 hours you should be meeting his needs. On top of that it should not be too long before the mare accepts the foal willingly, see the article referenced above for more on getting mares to accept foals. Be careful to use no more sedatives than necessary and to stop using them ASAP because they will begin to sedate the foal through the milk.
DrO
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Member:
Fouch
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Posted on Monday, Feb 24, 2003 - 9:47 am:
Good News. The mare accepted the foal about 4:30 a.m the next night. IGG results were > 800 so all seems well.
Bad News? My 20-year-old mare has been bagging up for about 4 weeks and had pin-DrOp wax last night and the teets have disappeared. She is at 314 days. If the foal is born alive, what should I watch for that would indicate a problem?
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Monday, Feb 24, 2003 - 6:42 pm:
Are you on fescue?
DrO
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Member:
Fouch
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Posted on Tuesday, Feb 25, 2003 - 10:24 am:
Removed three months before due date.
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Tuesday, Feb 25, 2003 - 11:25 pm:
If you feel this is a remarkable change backward, a good physical exam is in order. We have had other reports of false starts at this stage that went on to milk OK so if the physical is OK, the only thing else to watch for is return to producing milk.
DrO
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Member:
Fouch
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Posted on Monday, Mar 3, 2003 - 5:09 pm:
I am now at day 321 and the mare has had from a quarter to half inch of clear wax every day for a week. She has some colostrum on her back legs but I have never seen her dripping. The vet here said to milk her when she starts losing colostrum but I am not sure at what point you give up on mother nature. Do I wait until I see streaming milk or with the colostrum on the hind legs do I go ahead?
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Monday, Mar 3, 2003 - 7:43 pm:
I have never been a fan of milking mares to recover colostrum because the management guestions are too difficult. First where does the good stuff begin? Milking just stimulates more milk production. Maybe I have been lucky but have not had a low IgG count from early dripping.
DrO
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