Bottle feeding baby goats

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Are there any numbers of guesstimations on let's say out of 100 replacer fed goats what % would die? Is it closer to 1:5 or 1:10000?

I have raised all my kids on replacer, none have died. It's as simple as following directions and being smart enough to know how to do so. If you don't follow the directions, don't measure stuff out, don't use the correct temperature of water, don't mix it well enough, you might have troubles. If you can read and measure you can feed milk replacer without any troubles. It also pays to buy a good quality one made for goats as they are basically powdered goats milk.

Just because someone claims to have done everything and knows everybody doesn't mean they know what they are talking about. Why would they make a product that kills, there's no profit in it. Follow directions, it's as simple as that.

 

[kysilkies]

Ty, from more research I was coming to same conclusion. There doesn't seem to be any direct [abnormal]correlation to death of babies from proper use of the products.

The Mrs and I discussed it and between the two of us could remember only one time he even seemed "bloated" and that was the time I fed him shortly after she did not knowing! He drank between 40-50oz. lol he ate some Baking Soda, processed it and lived on!

 

[cassie]

Are there any numbers of guesstimations on let's say out of 100 replacer fed goats what % would die? Is it closer to 1:5 or 1:10000?

There isn't because there are too many variables. For one thing, the quality of the replacer makes a big difference. I would never feed the cheap replacer to anything. The replacer I fed was 20/20 meaning 20% protein and 20% fat with all milk products and the kids did as well on that as anything else. It was a replacer made for calves. I did try one of the replacers made for kids once. I didn't do it again because that replacer cost at least as much as milk and in that case why not just feed milk?

If you really wanted to do a reliable study you would take maybe 100 kids and feed half of them milk and half of them on replacer. Actually, I have done that and I can tell you had a lot less trouble with the milk fed kids. Some kids do just fine on replacer and if you are only raising five or ten kids you may never run into kids that can't handle it. If you are bottle feeding just one or two kids you are a whole lot better off to just feed milk. The only reason to feed replacer instead of milk is because of cost. With just a few kids that really isn't a factor.

The bottom line is that they are your kids and you can feed them what you like. You pays your money and you takes your choice.

 

[kysilkies]

There isn't because there are too many variables. For one thing, the quality of the replacer makes a big difference. I would never feed the cheap replacer to anything.  The replacer I fed was 20/20 meaning 20% protein and 20% fat with all milk products and the kids did as well on that as anything else. It was a replacer made for calves. I did try one of the replacers made for kids once. I didn't do it again because that replacer cost at least as much as milk and in that case why not just feed milk?

If you really wanted to do a reliable study you would take maybe 100 kids and feed half of them milk and half of them on replacer.  Actually, I have done that and I can tell you had a lot less trouble with the milk fed kids. Some kids do just fine on replacer and if you are only raising five or ten kids you may never run into kids that can't handle it. If you are bottle feeding just one or two kids you are a whole lot better off to just feed milk. The only reason to feed replacer instead of milk is because of cost.  With just a few kids that really isn't a factor.

The bottom line is that they are your kids and you can feed them what you like.  You pays your money and you takes your choice.

Well, there is one more reason to use replacer over milk besides cost, the advise from the goat breeder you got the goat from. I assure you, i have no idea what a gallon of milk costs or replacer powder, wouldn't matter, I would get whatever I was suppose to get and the breeder told me replacer. Never even said milk was an option, first I heard of any "potential" problems was this thread or that I could have used milk.

At this point it's hard to say I got bad advise as my Piccolo is doing great! But Now I know there's an option, I can make a choice the next time, and there will be a next time so I truly thank you for your response!

 

[Indianfeathers]

I have two 11 day old kids who have been rejected by their mother. I started milk replacer today. Could I switch them over to whole milk or mix half and half? Plus do I need to warm up the the milk or give cold????

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Always mix the two together to slowly switch over to avoid digestive troubles. I haven't fed either cold. There's a technique of feeding milk cold, and free choice where they usually drink smaller amounts at a time. Feeding larger amounts that aren't warmed could cause chilling and perhaps digestive troubles.

Lots of different ways to feed kids. You just need to pick one that works best for you and the kids.

 

[shellikirbey]

Warm milk up..i would mix half goat milk with half replacer for a few days before giving something straight..thats what i did and worked great..good luck

 

[mulerider28]

I have a baby pygmy that is 3 weeks old and doing great on the bottle. I use the buttermilk, whole milk and evaporated milk mixture. He has no fever and is bouncing around and playing like crazy. He does have what sounds like congestion and has a little bit of clear nasal discharge every now and then. He sounds like he is trying to cough or sneeze something up at times and then will chew. He has been doing this for a week now. It started anout two days after the bottle feeding began. I don't think it is anything bacd because like O said he is playing like crazy but just sounds bad every little bit. Any suggestions or info is appreciated!

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I would do 5 days of penicillin once a day. They can get slight pneumonia when drinking from a bottle due to them inhaling it sometimes in their eagerness.

 

[clbl99]

I had 3 sets of twins born last week! The last ones came early I think and the momma only took to one. So I am bottle feeding the small one. I have been using the replacer for this one but she does seem to have a lot of diarrhea. So I have been doing electrolytes 3 times a day and then a milk replacer at night to hold her through the night better. I think I will start switching over to the whole milk as suggested, maybe that will help her. I have only been giving her about 6 ounces 4 times a day and she does seem to be hungry all the time. She is 8 days old and weighs about 4 pounds.

This may need to be on another forum but how do I get her to bond with the others? When the weather is nice-I take her out to the field with the others. The momma's sniff her and move on. The babies pretty much ignore her so she ends up off by herself somewhere. Any suggestions?