Bottle feeding question

PrettyPaisley · #1 12/30/10, 09:39 PM

Hopefully Millie will take interest in the buck who's courting her soon and we will have babies in the spring. Keep your fingers crossed for me; so far he's much more interested in her than she is in him!

What are the reasons for bottle feeding baby goats? Being a steadfast, crazy breastfeeding advocate for human babies, I am having a hard time understanding why you'd take any offspring away from the mother's teat. I'm sure this is something I'm ignorant about so could y'all please enlighten me?

Oat Bucket Farm · #2 12/30/10, 10:27 PM

I pulll them at birth to make them more people friendly and so that I can sell them when they are still quite young. When I first got goats, being a mother myself I couldn't imagine taking the babies away from their mommas. Until it came time to seperate babies at night so I could milk mom in the morning and I had babies who I had to fight to get to take bottles so that they wouldn't sit there and holler ( I had Nubians at the time) beecause if they were hollering then mama would fight me tooth and nail on the milk stand. And then when weaning came and mama hollered all broken hearted and babies hollered all broken hearted.

I found it was easier to pull at birth. Momma licks birthing fluid off my hands and I am the one that relieves the pressure in her udder and in just a few days she thinks I am her baby. She doesn't pay any attention to the babies, the babies are used to the bottle from the get go, I can sell the babies before they are weaned and mommas don't care and I get more milk sooner.

Now, not everyone will feel this. Many people leave babies on, seperate at night, bottle babies in the morning and milk mom out and keep babies until weaning. It works for them, the babies turn out just as friendly as bottle babies and they enjoy that style of goat raising. However, it didn't work for me and I didn't like it. So harsh as it may seem, I pull babies at birth.

PrettyPaisley · #3 12/30/10, 11:05 PM

Buuuut-is the milk replacement as inferior as human baby formula? As much as I love my goats I have them for milk to feed my family (and I want to learn to make soap and cheese). So I don't want to give them a milk replacement at birth and have them pumped full of lord knows what made by the goat formula people. I can't stand the thought of giving them soy and chemicals.

Oat Bucket Farm · #4 12/30/10, 11:09 PM

While the babies are here they get the milk I milk out of their mommas. Once they go to their new homes, if there aren't any goats there to be milked, I recommend cow milk from the grocery store. Milk replacer for baby goats is not recommended at all.

Minelson · #5 12/31/10, 12:14 AM

My 2 were dam raised. I was there for the birth and spent a lot of time playing and cuddling with them. They are very tame and friendly.

Helena · #6 12/31/10, 05:37 AM

I'll do both again this year after 30 years of goat raising. I will let them nurse but they will also take a bottle from me especially if one is weaker or if we have triplets to make sure they all get their fair share of milk. It will tame them down and make them more human friendly..but yes..playing and being with them is the key to having friendly baby goats..Good Luck..

shanzone2001 · #7 12/31/10, 06:59 AM

We have raised a few bottle babies. One was because the doe had more kids than milk, another was because the doe would not allow the kids to nurse. They were given to us because my kids love to bottle feed and it sure makes for friendly kids. However, my Saanen doe was dam raised and she is as friendly as a pet dog. It just depends on how much interaction they have with humans. I think another factor is whether or not the momma is people friendly. Since mine isso friendly, I can't imagine her kids being any different if we spend time with them.
I plan to let my doe feed her kids when they arrive, but if she has more than 2, I might bottle feed them in addition.

By the way, Shannon, did you read my challenge to you in the thread about breeding Saanens??? I bet you that I would get more kids than you!!! I asked my fabulous doe to give me 3 doelings and she said yes!!!
Good luck on the breeding! Millie might need a glass of wine and some soft music, you think?? haha
We are hoping ours is bred.......
It is on, Girl!!! lol

sammyd · #8 12/31/10, 07:41 AM

We separate at birth.
That way I know who's giving what and who's drinking what.

julieq · #9 12/31/10, 08:23 AM

We've always been able to sell bottle babies much faster than dam raised kids. By bottle feeding it makes the kids much easier to handle as adults. We remove the kids at birth and actually this causes the doe to bond to us. We feed colostrum in the first bottles, then move onto a mixture of goats milk and store bought cows milk. The only problem we've ever had is diarrhea from feeding goat milk replacer early on. Ended up with diarrhea in a doeling and lost her. That was 11 years ago and we've used store bought cows milk ever since with no problems.

Backfourty,MI. · #10 12/31/10, 08:47 AM

I always dam raise my kids. I think that's what God intended & unless absolutely have to bottle feed for some reason I like them raised on their dam. I think they get much more from the mom & learn so much much also from her than me as a human.

I have to say I sell my babies after weaning age & have VERY friendly kids so I don't think that bottle fed kids are always more friendly. I've had folks come back for more babies from us after getting 1 or 2 & also send other folks to us to buy becuase our goats are so friendly & lovable but we do spend alot of time with all of our goats too.

Alice In TX/MO · #11 12/31/10, 09:04 AM

Yes, milk replacer is that bad or worse. You are MUCH better off with whole cow milk from the store for bottle feeding kids.

I pen kids at night and let the dams have them during the day.

I have one old doe who doesn't make a lot of milk, and I supplement bottle feed her kids.

sammyd · #12 12/31/10, 09:26 AM

We've never had a problem with using replacer if we should run short.

coso · #13 12/31/10, 09:54 AM

First does I bought had kids on them. My kids played with them but they were never what I would call friendly. They would come in to milk, but wouldn't just come up to you in the field. All of these that I bought ended up being CAE positive. I got rid of them and started over, pulling babies and doing CAE prevention. If you are doing a CAE prevention program you have to pull to heat treat the colostrum and pasteurize the milk. Even if I did not do CAE prevention I would pull though. Like people have said, the doe bonds to you so those FF are a lot easier to train to milk. Plus I don't have the time to socialize 12 or 14 kids. Just what works for me.