I probably made a BIG Mistake!

[Emmich]

I bought a week old buckling this weekend that was being dam-raised. The breeder assured me that by the second day, the buck would be drinking from a bottle. We are now on Day #3 and it is still a struggle. I am able to get him to drink some. maybe 3 to 4 ounces a sitting, but I have to force the nipple into his mouth. I feel like I am fighting a losing battle and that this breeder "took" me. I guess it is my fault. I should have walked away, but it was a nice looking buck. Live and learn, I guess! Any suggestions?

[mygoat]

Sounds about normal for a week old pulled bottle kid, IMO. Heck, I've had nothing-but-bottle kids have trouble finding the nipple even after a week. They'll get better with age.

As for eating only 4oz per feeding - that's not enough unless you're doing it often. How often are you feeding him? Usually they just need to get hungry. At a week of age, I easily have mine down to 3x per day feedings, ample time to get hungry.

[coso]

If he is a week old I would not feed him for about twelve hours and let him get good and hungry and then try him. Tough love !!! I know I will probably get some bad looks for this comment. But that is just what I would do

[LoneStrChic23]

IMO, if a breeder sells a bottle kid, it is their responsibility to make sure the baby nurses a bottle without trouble before sending it away. It's a pet peeve of mine since I've had to help friends in similar situations....

Anywho, that being said, hope is not lost. You can get that kid reliably on a bottle.

As long as he is healthy, let him get hungry for about 6 hours.... Make sure the milk is momma goat temp. 102°. If it's just a lil too cool, or a lil too warm, it will be harder. I test by making sure it's a lil warmer than my skin on the inside of my wrist. Try a Pritchard nipple, they seen to be easiest. Be patient and calm. You can do this.... Just going to be a lil stressful for a few days...

[DaniR1968]

The breeder lied! I really dislike when they do this because it's the baby that suffers. He could have started him off bottle feeding or kept him 'till weaning. Be patient and he will get it. Try different nipples. Some have a definite preference for type and feel.

[punchiepal]

What breed is he?
A ND or mini might be ok at 4oz.

[Emmich]

He is an alpine. The breeder assured me that he would take to a bottle in a day! The buckling is really a nice looking little guy. It is just very frustrating. Thanks for all your help!!

[coso]

I had a Toggenburg newborn buck that would not take a bottle for six hours after he was born. I got worried and called one of my goat guru ladies. Advice given. When they get hungry they will eat unless you have other issues involved. When he finally latched on he drank like there was no tomorrow. As long as he is strong and healthy and you are not dealing with a weak suck reflex, I would not worry.

[Alice In TX/MO]

And then, some are just stupid. I had bottle kids that took FOREVER to understand what that rubber things was that I was sticking in their mouths.

[southerngurl]

If he is eating that much, he will eventually eat more and more. It's getting them started eating at all that's hardest.

[coso]

I had bottle kids that took FOREVER to understand what that rubber things was that I was sticking in their mouths.

I got one like that this year. She will play with the nipple, get her mouth up to far on it, piddle with it, spit it out then finally latches on and nurses, and is almost two weeks old.

[JBarGFarmKeeper]

Okay, this will sound weird but might work. I have used it with newborns tons! Sit down and put a towel over your legs and your knees together. Hold the bottle under your leg and start the kid up under there. Fake him out. I have gotten newborns to start that seemed to be just too stupid to figure it out.

Coso, I agree, hunger is a great motivator.

[Tallabred]

I had the best luck with my 2 week olds (their dam died) by pinning them between my legs and covering their eyes. When they nurse from their dams they always have their eyes covered. It takes more than a day - when they jump on you when they see that bottle you know that it is good to go

[Cygnet]

If he'll suck on your fingers, get him sucking away and then slide your finger out and the nipple in when he's not fighting you. If the kid's not scared or mad because you're forcing a nipple in his mouth, he'll be more likely to suck on it and discover what it's for.

[ShadowfaxFarm]

Why do so many people have trouble starting bottle babies? I don't understand? I'm not trying to sound snarky I just genuinely don't get it.

I've frequently pulled lambs or kids off to bottle feed at 2 weeks of age and greater and it hasn't taken longer then 2 days TOPS to get them going good on a bottle. At 1 week old let them go 8 hrs before the first feeding (assuming they are otherwise healthy) and make sure the milk is warm. I like to start with a baby bottle first because I can squeeze it a little to get the milk taste in their mouth. After they have had a feeding or two with that I switch them to a glass bottle with black lamb nipple (I do make the hole a little larger then the way it comes) and they don't usually have any issues with the switch. If they are 2 weeks old let them go a full 12 hrs before their first feeding and usually start out straight with the larger black nipple unless it is a ND. I just started 2 two-week-old ND bucklings on a bottle without difficulty this week. I personally can't stand the pritchard nipples because they can push them out of the side of their mouth without moving their heads.

growing up we lived on a sheep ranch that my dad was foreman/manager for with 700 head so we frequently would have bummer lambs that us kids would be responsible for even up to 4-week olds that we had to start on a bottle if something happened to their dam.

[Donna1982]

I agree with CoSo, hunger helps. Like Gena said put a towel or your hand over his eyes might help. Good luck sweetie. Nothing frustrates, stresses me out and makes me wanna cry more then a baby that wont take a bottle.

[Oat Bucket Farm]

And make sure the hole in the nipple is big enough that he doesn't get frustrated but small enough he doesn't drown himself.

We have successfully gotten babies as old as three weeks onto the bottle.

[Eunice]

Our first goats, I bought at 16 days old right off the dam. One took the bottle fairly quickly and the other never did, but she managed to grow up strong and healthy. There are lots of good ideas here of how to get the little bugger to nurse. Another one that has worked for me occasionally is to roll the nipple in sugar before you put the nipple in his mouth. That causes them to salivate, and sometimes get going. If the buckling is too energy deficient, he needs to be tube fed to get his energy level up or he won't even be interested in nursing.

[thaiblue12]

At a week old you can get him to take the bottle. They really should have started him but now you have to.

I use the regular Gerber baby bottles with their brown nipples, not the clear silicon ones, all my goat kids hated those too slippery or something. Anyway I cut a good size X in the nipple, I make the nipple warm with my body heat while heating the milk.
You can do under the knee while wagging his tail, that helps. Or you can do it near your neck, mine like to be in my hair and I do make sucking noises which for some weird reason seems to help.

I do not feed in the middle of the night so he should be good and hungry when you get up in the morning.
He will eventually take the bottle but you need to keep at it and try various tricks.

Good Luck

[1sttimemom]

Last yr the pregnant doe we bought as our 1st milk goat died about a week or so after kidding. We were forced to bottle raise her kid. It took several days but she finally got it and then she did great. So hopefully your little guy will get it figured out.