As soon as I pull in the driveway, the BAAAAing starts!!

[Michael W. Smith]

This is the first year I've had to bottle feed babies, and let me tell you it's a pain!!!!!! 6 kids all lined up at the fence bawling as soon as they see you pull in. And what is even worse, is one of the does has taken to doing it too!!!!

I think she just wants to remind me that she needs milked!

And until I get the kids fed and her milked, they just stand there bawling their heads off - BAAAAAAAAAAAA BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Darn noisy Lamanchas!!!

[mpillow]

Oh my little nubians(bottle bucks) could out wail those manchas any day.... And my milkers start in an hour before milking time....and if they see me in the yard they will not hush until I pet them

My 10yo daughter is feeding the babies.....I will remind her...."Honey I think your babies need some attn" ......future training for motherhood (or good birth control )

[moosemaniac]

Mmmmmmaaaaaaaammmmmmmaaaaaaa! They love you, Michael.

Ruth

[pookshollow]

I don't have any bottle babies (yet!) and mine all start hollering as soon as I open the barn door! At the old place, they could see us when we walked out the back door and that's when it started. They do like their attention.

It's my Nigerians who are the mouthiest ones, followed by the Nubian X, then the Alpine. The Saanen only hollers when she's in season.

[babygoats!]

It's all in your perspective, you know.
Three winters ago I have 20 (yes, 20) yelling constantly bottle babies. In the house. From January through April. I'm not talking feeding them with buckets that have nipples....nonononono.....I'm talking human baby bottles - many times a day. Each goat. Actually, I got good at feeding four at a time....but I was exhausted that whole time...I also worked in a meat department at one of the local grocery stores.
Just be glad you only have 6.
Never gonna do that again. Ever. ACKKKKKK!!!!! Buh - buh-buh-buh. Still a little too fresh in the memory.......

[Lizza]

I had a bottle fed pygmy years ago. We got her when she was only a few weeks old. That goat thought I was her mother. I had the hardest time breaking her of her bottle. She could get to my bedroom window and at dawn would come as close as possible and MMMMMAAAAA me until I got up and gave her a bottle. She was as bad as one of my own kids! I finally was giving her cold water in the bottle but she didn't care just as long as I got up. She also was horrible and always wanted to be with me, she followed me around, crying at me all the time. She even wanted to come inside the house to be with me. That was the last baby I ever bottle fed!

Our first babies this time around were born a few months ago and we've just been putting them up at night and letting the mom raise them. They are very people friendly and best of all nobody cries at ME to feed them

[ozark_jewels]

Oh yes, but it will all be worth it in the end. All those friendly kids instead of the flighty dam-raised ones. After breaking 20 dam-raised yearlings to the milkstand this spring.....I am NEVER going back to dam raising my replacement doelings!! We have 30 kids on the bottle right now and yes, they yell all the time if they can see us. But it calms down once they are weaned. I LOVE bottle-raised kids.

[rich2748]

We have been raising goats for only seven years and have never done anything other than bottle feed them. We love the milk and take the kids from the mom at birth. None of our does have ever nursed a baby. They all have nice looking udders with strong attachments. The kids grow up real friendly. My children love being the kids mother. Don't think we would ever do it differently.

[stacygoats]

I've decided my goats must always be hungry, because they scream their heads off everytime I step out the back door. I've weaned some bucklings into a seperate pen and had planned on "no grain" for them, but they make so much noise I give each a handful just to make the m hush!
I feel a little guilty because a family from town bought the property next door and build their house right next to my barn (What were they thinking!), even though they had many options on the acres they bought. At first they kept telling me how cute the goats were, but haven't heard that since my buck got really smelly last fall and the goats are out in the nice weather now making so much noise. Don't think they appreciated us catching and loading 5 of the young bucks a couple days before Easter that the guy had bought to butcher, lots of screaming and my neighbor looked really disgusted when I answered her "What are you doing with those little goats? Oh well, I was here first with all of the critters and didn't tell them to put there house right next to the barn.

[nehimama]

LOL! This is a fun subject. You also can't walk around in the kids' pen with your hands hanging down, or you wind up with a kid sucking on each finger! LOL!

NeHi Mama

[Jcran]

We had one bottle baby last year; when we sold her, the new owners named her Patsy...Patsy Cline! You might consider naming your babies after country music stars! sounds like they can really sing!

[Tiffin]

My nubians yell for attention also whenever they see us. But, it's raining here in central NY and when the weather is bad they stay in their goat shed and everyone is quiet. If I go up there to check on them for water and food they will cry out with a loud "heeeeeeellllllllooooo."