Bottle feeding?

silverseeds · #1 08/25/12, 07:50 PM

Oh no!!

I just sent my wife 2 hours away to pick up a baby nigerian doe with great milking lines in her pedigree. I had asked the person selling her if she was ready, and she said she was, and to come on over.

My wife just called and said (this is after she picked her up) that she wasnt weaned yet!! The women gave her a nipple that fits on standard 20 ounce plastic bottles and didnt tell her how much to feed her! Just that she wasnt weaned and she will need milk.

I do have goats in milk now, so it isnt a complete disaster, but we use it all currently so its going to put us out! So what do I do? How much does she need a day? I never looked much into all this yet since I havent had babies born here yet. I also like asking youi guys first because even if I dont understand what your talking about I have a better idea of what direction to focus my research.

How old does a nigerian dwarf need to be to wean her???

Alice In TX/MO · #2 08/25/12, 08:21 PM

How old is she?

silverseeds · #3 08/25/12, 08:25 PM

Whoa! only 8 days!

this is my fault, my wife was already headed out 90 percent of the way to where the best goat herd in the area for nigerians are. so i looked it up to see if she had anything available NOW that was from good milking lines. I didnt have time to talk much to the breeder (to get all the details) because m wife was literally already loading kids into the car...

She will be at her new home her in about 2 hours. Im sure she will be thirsty when she gets here.

MaddieLynn · #4 08/25/12, 08:42 PM

At this age she needs to be fed 4-5x/day. I'm not sure on the amount especially for a dwarf kid, but I'd just say as much as she'll take. Your own goat milk will be 10x better than anything else you can get, but if you absolutely can't use it get whole cow's milk from the store. Do NOT buy milk replacer. Make sure you warm it first.

Minimum weaning age is about 12 weeks. That's when we weaned our wethers. However, for a future breeding doe, I'd go 4-5 months.

ETA: you should start offering hay/feed now; she'll pick up pretty fast. Just leave a little out free choice in her pen.

CaliannG · #5 08/25/12, 08:44 PM

Ummmm...yeah. She should be weaned between 12 and 16 WEEKS.

Dang! Sorry this happened to you, ss!

I cannot brain today, as I have the dumb when it comes to bringing my ND feeding schedule up to conscious memory. Katie can probably help you more.

Up to 2 weeks, I *think* I was feeding my NDs 8 ounces per feeding, 4 times per day. (4 times during the DAY. They go 8 hours without a bottle to sleep.)

Ummm, where are you going to keep her? Did your wife get a wether her age to stay with her? You can't put her in with the adults, as they will clobber her at best, and might kill her at worst.

silverseeds · #6 08/25/12, 08:50 PM

I do have a young wether to keep her with. actually she will be with my rabbits as well. Im sure he will be happy to have a friend. he is still tiny.

this is all my fault though. I cant get that far out often, and got excited since we had the cash to add to the nigerian herd, and something was available from good lines.. Looks like I wont have much milk for the family for awhile. I might have to get some whole milk and give her half goat and half cow just so I dont have a riot on my hands with the kids. (human kids)

Minelson · #7 08/25/12, 09:14 PM

I wouldn't do all she can drink. I would give her 7-8 ounces 5 times a day and see how she does on that. Like I'm an expert lol! But I just went through this with 2 bottle babies and the smaller one was on that and did great. it depends on how much other stuff and how soon they eat. So it's hard to say exactly what this doeling needs. Be sure to do Cocci prevention. And pics are a must!

silverseeds · #8 08/25/12, 09:23 PM

Im not sure how long this pic will last, i copied it from the site of the breeder I got her from

GrSire: Rosasharn TL Cauldron *S
Sire: NC Promisedland RC Bonafide *S *B
Dam: ARMCH NC PromisedLand Beau-Nita E 3*D 2*M
1 X BIS 14 X BOB 3 X GCH 16 X Best Udder, 2008 Breed Leader -
#1milk production with both ADGA & AGS

GrSire: Rosasharn SP Tiki *B *S
Dam: Marigolds TK Adora
GrDam: Lost Valley Adobe

The Tin Mom · #9 08/25/12, 09:25 PM

Gorgeous girl! I would short the family in the short term to get that girl grown to full potential. Better for the family in the long term. Congrats on your new doeling! She really is beautiful!

andabigmac · #10 08/25/12, 09:33 PM

She is cute!
I don't need a Nigie!
I DON"T need a Nigie
I don't NEED a Nigie!

wolffeathers · #11 08/25/12, 09:43 PM

You can save the picture to your computer, so you can keep her picture. That way even if the breeder updates the website, you still have that baby picture of your doe. She is a cutie and I agre; short the family now for the longer investment.

CaliannG · #12 08/25/12, 09:45 PM

Oh she is gorgeous, ss! I love that dark bay color!

Okay, I dug out my records for the last time I had ND kids here, which was 2 years ago, and I had 6 of them.

They averaged 4-6 ounces for the first week, then it went up to 7-10 ounces during the second week. At 15 days, I go down to 3 bottles a day, evenly spaced. On week 3, they were averaging 9-10 ounces. At week 4, they were up to 12 ounces per feeding. That continued until 6 weeks old, at which time they were averaging 16 ounces per feeding. At 6 weeks, I also dropped down to 2 bottles. Between 6 weeks and 8 weeks, they inched up to a full 20 ounces per feeding.

That was when I sold them. Their new owners kept them on bottle, I know, but I don't have records for their consumption after that.

I had food available to them, hay, alfalfa pellets, and Show Goat Meat Maker, from 7 days old onward, and they nibbled on it more an more.

For my standard sized does, I keep them on a 32 ounce bottle twice a day for at least 5 months. If I have extra milk (as I do now, the girls are outdoing themselves), then that will continue. For a doe, the longer she is on the bottle, the more she will grow that first year.

And yes, you can go half store-bought cows milk, half goat milk, and they will do fine. In leaner milk years, especially when the babies are drinking more (3 weeks onward), I have done bottles that are 75% store-bought/25% raw goat milk.

The problem with the milk replacers are that the ones that are CHEAPER per mixed gallon than simply buying milk from the store will kill goat babies. The EXPENSIVE ones are fine, but since they are more expensive than just buying milk, why bother?

silverseeds · #13 08/25/12, 09:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CaliannG

Oh she is gorgeous, ss! I love that dark bay color!

her sister was a bit darker, she had much more of the black. This one just looked like a sweety though. You can see her sister here, they are the top two until the site is updated anyway.

Prairie Wood Ranch Nigerian Dwarf & African Pygmy Sales

Quote:

And yes, you can go half store-bought cows milk, half goat milk, and they will do fine. In leaner milk years, especially when the babies are drinking more (3 weeks onward), I have done bottles that are 75% store-bought/25% raw goat milk.

VERY good to know, I want her to have a great start, but wasnt expecting this ( all my fault for rushing it) everyone is used to fresh daily goat milk around here now.

I appreciate the help everyone!! she should be home pretty soon.

maddielynn said i need to warm the milk, I assume this means to about the temp it is when I first milk my goats? Also I want to keep it raw right?? (we drink it raw, but just to be sure)

ozark_jewels · #14 08/25/12, 10:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by silverseeds

maddielynn said i need to warm the milk, I assume this means to about the temp it is when I first milk my goats? Also I want to keep it raw right?? (we drink it raw, but just to be sure)

Yes, body temp is good for young kids.

Feeding raw is fine. I prefer to know the CAE status of a goat if I am feeding raw milk. Do you test your herd?? If not, you might consider pasturizing your goats milk or going with whole cows milk.

If you can find a source of *healthy* raw cows milk, thats great too and you don't have to worry about CAE.

MaddieLynn · #15 08/25/12, 10:08 PM

If you are wanting to do CAE prevention you will need to pasteurize it. Otherwise yes, you want it raw. Drip some on your wrist like you would with a baby's bottle. DON'T heat it in the microwave, it will get hot spots. I heat in a pan on the stovetop and then use a funnel to pour into the bottles.

CaliannG · #16 08/25/12, 10:18 PM

Yeah, forgot to mention that, but Emily knows it well.

All of my goats are tested yearly for CAE, CL, and Johnne's, right before kidding so I have recent tests to show perspective buyers. So I don't mind feeding the kids raw milk from my girls.

But if I wasn't sure of my herd health, I'd just feed store-bought milk, rather than run the risk of spreading disease to a new kid.

A little tip if you mix the two: When heating milk for the bottle, when using a microwave, you will get better results if you heat the store-bought milk in the microwave, pour it into the bottle, then add refrigerated raw milk until it is the proper temperature (just barely warm to the touch). I have found that raw goat milk does not take well if you are busy, and accidentally over-heat it in the microwave. Store-bought milk, though, if over-heated, will do nothing worse than get a thin film. Gently shake it to make sure there are no hot spots.

Oh, for future reference, do NOT heat colostrum in the microwave! The stuff will curdle if you look at it funny, or let it go for even a few seconds too long! If it is colostrum I am feeding, I just put it in a bottle, turn on the faucet to the temperature that I want the bottle, and run water over it in the sink until it reaches the proper temp.

silverseeds · #17 08/25/12, 11:04 PM

Shes home now! Holy cow is she tiny!!! i got a male wether with his momma awhile back that was about a month old or so when i got him, but he has a giant compared to her! I guess shes got a lot of growing in the next month!!!

CaliannG · #18 08/25/12, 11:24 PM

My DH calls them "Pico-Goats"...like miniature goats, but MUCH smaller!

There is nothing smaller, or cuter, than a baby ND! They are, literally, a handfull.

You could keep her in a box next to your bed.

punchiepal · #19 08/26/12, 01:16 AM

This is the schedule that I use for feeding my ND's
Birth 2oz x ? (pretty much what they want for the 1st 24 hrs but not over 2oz at a time)
d 2-3 3oz/4x
d 4-7 4oz/4x
d 8-16 5oz/3x
d 16-21 6oz/3x
d 21-34 7oz/3x
d 35-48 8oz/3x
d 49-77 9oz/2x
d 78-84 9oz/1x
d 85-92 4.5oz/1x
Wean

Minelson · #20 08/26/12, 07:53 AM

What a little darling!!! She would be in the house with me for sure...especially if she doesn't have a buddy to snuggle with. I love her color! Congrats on the new baby!!