| Raising and feeding the Orphan foal (cont'd) What To feed The next question is what type of milk should be fed to the foal. Mare's milk is the perfect solution, as it alone matches the nutrient needs of the foal. However, few breeding farms or even equine hospitals have enough milk stored to feed a foal for more than a few weeks--but if available, should be used preferentially. Otherwise, milk from other animals can be used. Cow's milk or goat's milk usually is readily available; however, neither is the perfect substitute. Cow's milk and goat's milk both contain more fat than mare's milk, and cow's milk contains too little dextrose (sugar). Therefore, if cow's milk is used (2%), then one teaspoon of honey should be added per pint of milk. Goat's milk can be fed without alteration, but is more expensive than cow's milk. Some foals prefer the taste of goat's milk over cow's milk. Commercial milk replacers can be used and are a convenient and very acceptable alternative to mare's milk. Several formulations specially for the foal now are available, and these are the most desirable. Whichever brand is used, the replacer should contain about 15% fat and 22% crude protein, so check the label before purchasing. The most common milk replacers for foals used in my area are "Mare's Match," "Foal Lac," "Foal Life," and "NutriFoal." This is by no means a complete list, and other foal milk replacers are perfectly acceptable. Calf milk replacers also have been used to raise foals successfully. However, many calf milk replacers contain antibiotics, which should never be used in foals. Furthermore, calf milk replacers historically have not contained enough protein for normal growth of the foal. Newer milk replacers are more acceptable--read the label or talk to your veterinarian before purchasing. Goat or lamb milk replacers also are alternatives, but the nutritional requirements for foals are quite different from those supplied by these replacers, especially the mineral ratio of calcium to phosphorus. If these types of replacers are used, make sure your veterinarian finds the growth rate of your foal acceptable. One of the complications with using milk replacers is gastrointestinal upset. Some foals will develop loose manure when the replacers first are used. This is normal. If the foal develops diarrhea, then the milk replacer should be diluted with water or changed to another brand or type. If the diarrhea persists for more than one day, then your veterinarian should evaluate the foal and proper treatment can be instituted. Other foals might develop mild bloat (gas) from the milk replacer. If this occurs, discontinue feeding for a few hours, and then feed a more diluted formulation or supply more frequent feedings. Once foals reach about one month of age, they are ready for solid feed. A foal which is with its dam will mimic the mare's eating habits and begin to eat grass, hay, or grain with the mare at an early age (two to three weeks of age). These foals usually are introduced to a creep feed by one month of age. Orphan foals also should be introduced to grain at that time. Feeding milk replacer pellets also can be tried at an earlier age. The pellets usually have to be placed gently into the foal's mouth. Often the foal will spit them out until they get the hang of eating solid foods. Foals should be fed a grain or pellet that has 16-18% protein. A good general rule of thumb for feeding is one pound of feed for each month of age until six months of age, or six pounds of feed, as recommended from an article written at Auburn University. Foals generally can be weaned from milk replacers at three to four months of age if adequate grass or grass hay and grain are available. How Much And How Often To Feed A healthy newborn foal will nurse from its dam about seven times in one hour. This number decreases as the foal gets older. As a result, frequent feedings are most compatible with the foal's digestive system. Although calves often are fed only two to three times per day with large volumes at each feeding, this method is not acceptable for foals ingesting only milk. Foals require anywhere from 21-25% of their body weight in milk per day. The ideal approach is free-choice feeding of milk to ensure the foal's requirements are met. This is quite easy with the bucket or pail feeding method. However, with bottle feeding, the newborn foal will need to nurse every hour for the first week of life, then can decrease to every two to three hours after the first week. As you can see, the bucket feeding method has its advantages. The problems arise when the foal is ill and is not consuming enough milk. If this happens, your veterinarian should be notified and force feeding (via a nasogastric tube) must be instituted. Sometimes the foal will need to be taken to an equine hospital for intensive care in order to ensure adequate nutritional support as well as treatment for the underlying illness. In severe cases, intravenous fluids must be administered to correct and prevent dehydration. But how will you know when your foal is consuming enough milk? Newborn foals should drink about five to seven liters per day in colostrum and milk. Remember, healthy foals need between 21-25% of their body weight in milk per day, so a 75 kg foal will need about 19 liters of milk per day. Foals also should gain about one to two kilograms of body weight per day. Contact your veterinarian if you are unsure if your foal is consuming enough milk or is not growing appropriately. Special Problems Of Orphans Raising a foal is a time-consuming job. One main problem with humans raising foals is that the foal will identify with the human species, not the equine species. This might be cute when the foal is a newborn, but it presents its own set of problems as the foal gets older. Foals raised by people without contact with other horses have been shown to fear and avoid other horses later in life. One study even showed that foals raised by humans did not learn how to graze properly. Orphan foals also will nurse themselves, other foals, or other horses--male or female. These problems can be eliminated by raising the foals with another horse or pony as a role model. The raising of an orphan foal can be a challenging and very time-consuming job, but it can be done with a healthy, well-adjusted foal as the end result. The loss of a mare is not a death sentence for the foal. Raising an orphan foal, however, should not be attempted without the guidance of your veterinarian. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- About The Author Christina S. Cable, DVM, is a 1994 graduate of the University of Georgia's College of Veterinary Medicine. She currently is a resident in large animal surgery at Cornell University. |
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| If you want to read more on orphan foal myths, click on the unicorn below. |
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