Bottle feeding

rockinr · #1 03/22/12, 06:32 AM

We just picked up 3 baby goats last night. 2-3 weeks old and they we being feed mixture of goat and cow milk. I tried to feed them milk replacer this morning and they wanted nothing to do with it. Any ideas?

Backfourty,MI. · #2 03/22/12, 06:40 AM

Stick with the goat/cow mixed milk & if you can't feed the same then whole cows milk from the store is better than most replacers. There are a lot of folks here that have lost babies on replacers.

Alice In TX/MO · #3 03/22/12, 07:12 AM

Put the replacer on the compost pile. Be *very* glad the kids don't want it.

(You can read the ingredients first so you'll understand.)

Dreamgoat Annie · #4 03/22/12, 07:27 AM

I agree. Use whole milk from the supermarket. I like to add a heaping tablespoon of yogurt to one meal a day but that's optional.

Also, the kids may also be a little picky about switching from cow/goat milk mixture to straight cow milk, that's not unusual.

Sue

prairiedog · #5 03/22/12, 07:28 AM

Ditto whole milk from the store.

Chaty · #6 03/22/12, 07:59 AM

You will have better luck with cows milk that any replacer you can buy and if you do the math the replacer will cost you more in the long run with all the meds you will have to use to stop the scours and other problems. I only use goats milk or cows milk for my babies.

Sherry in Iowa · #7 03/22/12, 08:15 AM

I don't know anyone that has success with milk replacer if they just switch overnight from milk to it. I don't know what your milk costs and I don't have any idea of how much replacer is costing right now.

I do know that replacer can be used successfully. We have never lost a kid because of milk replacer yet..praise to God.

But you cannot switch overnight..it has to be gradual. You cannot feed willy nilly..you have to have a schedule. You cannot overfeed with it unless you want them to have bellyaches.

Here's an article that might help ya..is it a perfect solution? No..mom's raising their kids is the way it was always meant to be.

(You don't have to worry about the colostrum in the article.)
Using a Milk Replacer to Bottle Feed Kid Goats.

rockinr · #8 03/22/12, 08:41 AM

here's another question. How much and how often should they be feed. I was reading every 6-8 hours and about 48ozs per feeding. Last year we got goats that were raised by the mother and didn't have to deal with the bottle.

Blue Run Farm · #9 03/22/12, 08:59 AM

I agree about using real milk as opposed to replacer. Not sure on timing for bottle raising, my only bottle kid is also on his mom. Long story, but she's not that fond of him so I supplement to make sure he is getting enough.

That said, 48 oz per feeding is way too much. I separate my kids from mom at night and supplement the buckling in the morning after they've been apart overnight. My buckling is a 5 week old alpine and after 20-25 oz of milk, his belly gets really full. I think 48 oz in a feeding would make him explode! Could the 48 oz have been a per day amount, divided up into multiple feedings?

dbarjacres · #10 03/22/12, 09:02 AM

48 oz is a huge amout!

My two mini manchas get 18 oz 2x a day

Sherry in Iowa · #11 03/22/12, 09:31 AM

It's all in steps..your human baby doesn't sit down to a pile of mashed potatoes and fried chicken when it's one month old. Right? You raise your human kids in steps. It's the same thing with goat kids. They have to eat a few times a day when they are young. It's not like filling up a car and watching the gauge slowly go down. I don't mean this as snarky..I'm trying to use weird examples of what feeding month old kids 48oz at a crack is like.

Chaty · #12 03/22/12, 06:10 PM

48 oz is for a calf, I would start goats with 4 to 6 to 8oz. on up till they can take more. When I had Nigis I started them on 4 oz's and worked my way up and with my larger type goats they usually start with 6oz's to 20 as they get bigger. 48 oz's is way to much,,,