milk replacer?

[purr]

I am going to go to the auction on wednesday and buy a couple of baby goats. My question is. Is milk replacer really all I need to get for them or do they need something else. I want to make sure I have everything I need before I get them. Should I get collars and will they eat hay yet. They looked really young last week when I was there.

 

[Chatychick]

I personally would feed them whole cows milk but if you feed replacer get the type that is whey based as the other isnt all that good and mix it with more water tahn its calls for and add either milk or half and half to it so it will curd in their tummies and that way you can avoid the scours. I feed my bottle babies whole cows milk or goats milk. I dont use replacers at all as when I first got goats I used it and was treating the scours continuosly. Hated it and by the time you add it all up the whole milk is a cheaper way to do it.JMO

 

[purr]

Is whole milk from the grocery store Ok or you mean from the dairy?

and thanks for posting I appreciate the help

 

[mekasmom]

I would use whole milk. It works better than the soy replacer. Both the grocery store and dairy milk work fine.

Usually the bottle kids you find at auction are old enough to be started on some hay to chew on too.

 

[coberdor]

Whole cow's milk. Add some corn syrup, about 1/2 tsp. per bottle. Be sure to pick up some probios to add to their milk.

Milk replacer can cause floppy kid syndrome.

 

[Chatychick]

Be very careful with the syrup as it can give it the trots...I just use whole milk from the store or goats milkand if you have access to a diary even better as it cheaper than the store.

 

[purr]

I just came back from my feed store which I've gone to for years told me cows milk will kill the goats. I'm soo confused

 

[cassie]

Just feed plain old milk from the grocery store. You will save yourself a lot of heartache if you just skip the replacers entirely. Baby goats can and do blow up and die from replacers and that includes the premium replacers made for goats. If you want to mix up a formula, take a gallon jug of whole milk, pour off about a quart, add a cup of buttermilk and a can of evaporated milk to the jug. Shake the jug to mix, then fill the jug back up with some of the milk you poured off. This formula works very well with Boer goat babies and baby pygmies and nigerians. Those kids should probably have a richer milk than dairy goat kids. Also make sure you give your kids shots for entertoxemia (Clostridium perfingens). Entero kills quickly and without warning.

 

[purr]

k thank you. I'll do that the replacer was $70 a bag so I didnt buy it yet till I knew for sure. Now I'm glad I didn't.

 

[Chatychick]

Never had any problems from cows milk or goats milk either...Replacers have caused more problems than they have helped...Replacers are just NOT the way to go and in the long run they cost more than milk. Use milk it wont kill them....Replacers wont curdle in the tummies and then they have the trots and some will die from it. Its got to curdle in the tummy for them to get any nutrition from it. Replacers dont curdle...stores just want to sell the replacer...listen to people that have used milk for years...