What to bottle feed

[boilerjoe_96]

I have a 50/50 Nubian/Boer doe had a single kid last Sunday. Monday evening I had not seen the kid eat yet...with 4 hours of watching and helping to get things started... so I milked her got about 3/4 quart from one side and topped the quart off from the other.. Fed baby... Doe then developed mastitis on one side(Took to vet on Friday)... Currently I only get about 4 ozs on the good side and get about an ounce from the bad side(and its bloody...)

So the first couple days I had goat milk... as week went on I didn't so I stqarted cutting it with whole milk...and then finally some bottle had to get wholemilk with some 'half and half' added...

I have search a ton of sites and everyone says something different... some say never to use milk replacer...one said to use Wal Mart Vanilla formula... one had whole milk/buttermilk/something else, another sites seemed to differ as well...

The vet seemed to suggest baby was eating...and it is possible, but I really don't think so.... all the other kids attack momma twice in just 15 minutes...this one even having the teat place in her mouth doesn't catch on. Other than that the kid seems healthy... Since last sunday I have been with them 12-14 hours and nothing...

Anyway, what is best to bottle feed?

[Goat Servant]

Whole milk is better than replacer if you cant get goat milk.
The recipe from my breeder is
1 gal whole milk
1 qt buttermilk
1 can evap (not sweetened condensed)

Does the one not have good suck reflex?

[goatkid]

I just feed whole cow's milk if I don't have enough goat milk. You can also do the mix in the thread above. Either is better than replacer

[boilerjoe_96]

She sucks down a 6 oz human baby bottle pretty quick... I tried switching to the black rubber lamb nipple..as it seemed most like momma...she didn't want anything to do with it... But off regular human baby nipple(hole opened up a bit) she is fine.

Just me trying to find a reason here...momma is very tall...with a very big udder.. at birth the teats were probably 5 inches off the ground...the kid is very tall and big(taller than my other kids that are 2 weeks older)... Maye the combo of being tall and low access point for milk... might be a stretch, but I have just tried to think of reasons...

[cjb]

With the mother havin trouble (mastitis etc), she might have some kind obstruction that makes it tough for the kid to get enough out. The bottle is probably easier so the kid is likely getting lazy. Is the Mama a first timer?

[Alice In TX/MO]

Most folks I know use straight whole cow milk from the store.

Here's the schedule from www.fiascofarm.com

* Day one- 6 oz. (per feeding) colostrum, every 4 hours.
* Day two- 8 oz. (per feeding) colostrum/whole milk, 4 times a day
* Day three- 10 oz. (per feeding) colostrum/whole milk, 4 times a day
* Day four- 10-12 oz. (per feeding) colostrum/whole milk, 4 times a day.
* For the next week- 10-12 oz. (per feeding) 4 times a day.
* For the next 2 months- 10-12 oz. (per feeding) 3 times a day.
* For the next 1 month- 10-12 oz. (per feeding) 2 times a day.
* 10-12 oz. (per feeding) once a day for two weeks.

[boilerjoe_96]

Originally Posted by cjb

With the mother havin trouble (mastitis etc), she might have some kind obstruction that makes it tough for the kid to get enough out. The bottle is probably easier so the kid is likely getting lazy. Is the Mama a first timer?

Nope..she is 4 and this is her third kidding... last year the kids(2 of them) nursed just fine.... Vet said she had a fiberous udder...so that could be...