I cant seem to log on to the IYAK forum site so I will present my problem here where there is an analogous knowledge base. I have had to bottle feed a yak baby since birth. I believe she did get some colostrum at birth but not as much as I would have liked to see. After the first day, mom more or less abandoned her for her calf from last year. The baby is now 3 weeks old and she is doing just fine. She is almost 20 days old and gaining weight, running and jumping like a normal yak baby. But, she doesnt want to interact with the herd at all even though I bring her out (yes, she is presently living in the house with the dogs and I) for several hours a day. She prefers to play with the dogs, sleeps with the dogs and plays with them. But what is more of a concern, is that she insists on trying to nurse off a MALE dog (just over puppy stage) and the fool dog lets her! She will take the bottle readily but runs over to the dog when she is bored to nurse, or perhaps to relieve boredom. My question is: Is this a socialization issue or a feeding issue? I have been feeding a mix of half milk replacer and half cows milk and alternating with Scours/pneumonia milk replacer/milk (the scours/pneumonia mix has a decent copper concentration and copper has been an issue on my ranch). She is putting on weight, shows no sign of illness or being unthrifty, just that insatiable urge to nurse off this one dog (not the others, just this one dog). Oddly enough, her mom was a golden royal (I call them my Maine Blondes) and the dog she nurses from is the only dog I have that is the same color. They are the best of friends but I worry about her socialization later on, especially if she is still living in the house! Has anybody out there had a similar issue? If so, how did it turn out?
Posted on: Sun, 07 Sep 2014 19:22:34 +0000
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