Can we bottlefeed dam-raised kids once a day?

BucksCtyCowgirl · #1 05/08/05, 01:35 PM

Our Nigerian Dwarf doe is due to kid next week. We had planned on dam-raising the kids, but I think someone mentioned in a thread that even if you dam-raise them, you can still give them one bottle a day to keep them extra friendly. How would I do this? When would I start - from just a day or 2 old? When would be best to milk the mother to get enough for the bottle feeding? Also, someone told me not to start handling dam-raised kids for a few weeks. We were hoping to start cuddling from a day or so old to get them used to us. Is that a mistake?

dosthouhavemilk · #2 05/08/05, 02:33 PM

Utopia (half pygmy, half LaMancha) had triplet bucklings this year. Normally, we tlet them raise the kids fora little bit and then pull one when there are triplets..but this year I did it differently. They were two days old when I found them *oops*
I offered all three of them a bottle to see which ones would be most receptive. Two of them took to the bottle and were offered a bottle twice a day if they wanted it and spent the rest of the time with momma. At one point I was feeding them with a lambar and they had access to momma..made for some good sized kids. The one who didn't take the bottle initally has never taken to me like Hersehy Kiss and his brother did.

I would start offering bottles early on. Otherwise they are not likely to take to it without being seperated from momma. I milked some out of Utopia initially to get them to take the bottle but switched over to fresh Jersey milk (we have a dairy farm) after that.

Did they give a reason why you shouldn't handle the kids?
I can understand the concern with a first time mother not taking kids that have been handled by humans but if you give the motehr some time to bond with her young-uns it shouldn't be an issue. If the mother is comfortable with you it should be fine, I would think.

Starsmom · #3 05/08/05, 04:38 PM

I have a doe that will be kidding soon. This is her first time and ours too. We have always gotten very young (1-2 wks) kids and bottle fed and they are sooo friendly. I can tell our doe is going to be possessive. We were given one of our bucks sons by some friends of ours. (our buck can't reproduce any longer due to UC) he was barely 1 week old. We put him in the stall next to her and she thinks he is hers. She stands up and looks over the wall and watches us very closely while playing with him. If he falls down, she fusses at us. She even managed to help him get into her stall a couple times and we caught her nursing him. Anyway, we planned on taking the kids and milking her and bottlefeeding. Is it better to do that, or should we share with her and bottle feed some and let her nurse the rest of the time.

JoyKelley · #4 05/08/05, 05:48 PM

My nubian X had quadruplets. I took bottles in 3 times a day to offer snacks from about 2 days old. Two were crazy for them and gobbled up great amounts of formula, one would nurse the bottle some, maybe one full bottle 3 times a day and one never would even try it. ( he was mommys favorite from the beginning, he was first and she bonded with him and didn't really make a fuss over the next 3 )

It turned out that the biggest buckling and the runty doe were my two biggest takers. he needed alot to grown and she needed alot to survive. They are all big pets ( except the mommy favorite and still he is friendly enough )

PS if they are resistant to taking the bottle , stuff the nipple in their mouths and leaning right into their faces make a sucking sound through your teeth, it worked perfectly on my guys I guess it stimulated the " I'd better eat now or lose out to the competition " reflex

trixiwick · #5 05/10/05, 08:59 AM

You might find this also works to get them enthusiastic about the bottle: try scratching their hind end with one hand while they drink. My little bottle kid drinks about twice as strong when I do this. I think it feels like their mom cleaning them off as they eat, which stimulates them to eat more.

goat mother · #6 05/10/05, 08:32 PM

I Strongly Agree And Do Bottle Feed The Kids We Keep Or The Ones We Will Sell For 4-h. This Is Good Because They Are Use To People. Milk The Mom Early In A.m. Save The Milk For A Time Of Day That They Seem To Want To Eat And Mom Don't Let Them. Just Heat The Milk Like U Would 4 A Baby. As Far As The When, It Is Best In Our Cases To Let Mom Feed Them For About 5 Days. They Need That 1st Weeks Milk. And She Will Bond With Them Well By A Weeks Time. We Have Kidded Now 4 Times And We Have 50%-100%boers. The Kids Will Be Feed By Mom So Even If You Can't Milk A Little Milk Replacer Will Not Hurt Them. Watch 4 Signs Of Scors. If They Get It Only Give Them Mom's Milk. This Is What Works 4 Us. Try To Be There When She Kid's, It Is So Great. We Never Touch Unless We Have To. Also Most Of The Time The 1st Kid Is Mom's, She Keeps It Very Clean. We Have A Dry Mom Who Is So Protective But She Seems To Know That We Have To Help.

This Is Just What Works 4 Us. Good Luck With Ur 1st Kidding.
Felica

Laura Workman · #7 05/11/05, 01:55 AM

Certainly handle the kids after the first couple of days, maybe earlier if the mom isn't wigged out.

I separate kids at night and milk in the morning. If I want to bottle feed, the morning is a good time because they haven't eaten all night and are pretty hungry, plus I have fresh, warm milk. The biggest tricks to bottle feeding are 1) to make sure the temperature is right, or they'll refuse to drink, and 2) to make sure the flow is right. Too slow and they'll get frustrated. Too fast and they'll choke.