What's the best substitute for mother's milk ?

[Godfrey]

Unfortunately occasionally for various reasons babies a few days old are left by themselves to try and survive. Some are lucky and are fostered by an auntie. For the others, what is the best substitute for their mother's milk, if we try and feed them?
I can well imagine that just a few days of mother's milk gives them a chance of survival. For those that have their mother die at or soon after birth it must be very difficult.

 

[kellyandpiggies]

The best substiute is diluted canned condensed milk. 'Normal' cows milk is not good on their tummies.
Also somewhere Michelle mentioned, that diluted milk and bread soaked in it is also good.

Have you had to rear babies?

updated - spelt wrong!

 

[michellemuffin]

yes Kelly is right diluted tinned condensed milk like carnation, dilute with warm boiled water so its blood tempreture, when babies are a little older brown bread soaked in the milk goes down very well, new mums also enjoy this before and after giving birth,
I'm sure there is something else you can buy from a good pet suppliers but this has been used for a while and seems fine, I put the bread and milk mix on a saucer and its always gone,
another thing I do is add a few poops preferably from mum as it adds something ( cant remember what) but its good for their tummys, I was told this ages ago and have since read it some where, could have been Peter Gurneys books

 

[cobweb]

I use "new born" baby milk with a dash of condensed milk to thicken it up a bit. I've reared lots of orphans this way and it works for me.

 

[sweep]

I was left with three orphans when there mother died giving birth.
I brought mine up on a milk substitute called lactol .And also carnation milk and warm water 50/50
as they got older i gave them carnation milk with wholemeal bread pobs. Also don't forget to put hay and fresh veg
as they start eating little bits of solids soon after birth.

 

[linda.b]

If I've had to hand rear babies, I've used the condensed milk with boiled cooled water half and half. It needs to be given every 2 hours for the first few days and then slowly lengthen the time by an hour until they are having 4 hourly feeds till bedtime. To stop the chance of choking, instead of a syringe use a medicine spoon. Hold it to their mouth and they soon get the hang of drinking it off the spoon. Don't be tempted to tip the spoon or it may go up the nose. Its amazing watching a day old baby sucking milk off the spoon and after a day or two, you don't even need to pick them up, they just come over and take the milk. You end up fighting to get the spoon off them!

 

[janice-arc]

Peter Gurney used to recomend the natural flavoured Complan when ARC had problems a number of years ago with loosing some mothers who had not long given birth. We used to let them lick it off a tea spoon which worked very well.

 

[Starflick]

I had a piggie who needed extra and I used Complan too, but I have heard that cornation milk is good.