Advice on 10 day old bottle goat

[mandolinmama]

I could use any advice that I can get. I just got this little guy and am still very new to goats. The only other one I have is a pregnant nubian. This guy is a nubian as well.
Any major do's or don'ts? I've been keeping him in the house as it's been pretty cold out (and wet). Now the sun is out and it's 46 degees. Can I put him out in his pen to jump around for a bit or is it still too cold for him?
I've heard mixed thoughts on feeding kid-starter. I can buy some goat milk for him, but not as much as I will need. I've supplemented with whole milk. Is that okay?
HELP!!!

 

[twotmama]

I have raised several with the kid supplement, don't think whole milk has enough nutrients for one that young. If you think its warm enough to go outside it will be fine for the goat.

 

[mandolinmama]

Thank you for responding. The man that i bought him from said to only feed him twice daily. Isn't that too infrequent? I figured he'd be better having several smaller meals through the day -- more like what he would have gotten from his mother had he been able to. What do you think?

 

[michelle1017]

I am no help at all on this subject, but I am keeping an eye on this thread. I am raising a bottle goat for the first time and she is 2 weeks old today. I could use all the advice I can get. I feed her the kid replacement, keep her in the house and have been letting her play outside some, but the darned weather just won't warm up!

 

[greenfamilyfarms]

Quote:
I feed mine 3-4 times a day, 1 cup servings.

 

[Goattalker]

If you can get it, goats milk is best, if you can't get that, then whole cows milk is next best. Powdered supplements, are last on the list of things I would use if he was here. If you feed him every 3-4 hours, I wouldn't let him have more than 9 oz per feeding. As he gets older he can have more.

 

[greenesacres]

I am the proud owner of a bottle fed baby. He was born Mar. 13. We kept him in the house in a cage for a few days, to make sure he was nursing good. After 3-4 days, we moved him out. I feed him supplement Sav-A-Kid
4 times daily, as much as he will eat. Normally eats 16 ozs. but starting to want more now.

Best of luck with your little guy.

 

[BasenjiFan]

This link might be helpful; it's from Black Mesa Ranch, a predominantly Nubian goat dairy in Northern AZ. I've met the owners, they are really nice and knowledgable, and the goats are well taken care of and friendly. They wrote a guide for getting started with goats, and it includes some Nubian specific info and info on raising kids. I feed my kids goat milk, so I haven't tried it, but they do have a milk replacer recipe if you can't get goat milk.

http://www.blackmesaranch.com/animals/goat101/getting_started-text.htm

I'll also include a link to Fias Co Farm, although it is geared toward La Manchas, so amounts of milk fed may be different for Nubians. In general, this is a great website for goat info. Bottle feeding info (including frequency) is somewhere around the middle of the following page:

http://fiascofarm.com/goats/feeding.htm#bottle

 

[Chatychick]

I would feed him at least 3 times a day and you can mix the goats milk and cows milk. This is what I am doing with 7 bottle babies and they are nubians, alpines and la manchas and they take up to 20 oz's each in a 20 oz sunkist bottle. I dont feed replacer as its way too rich for their system and will give the trots...If my girls dont give me enough milk I add whole cows milk. Sometimes the grocery store will sell you the gallons that are exiring for less. Mine does and it sure helps as I go thru alot of milk and they get it drank before it runs out completely...I go to the store almost every other day and get 4 gallons each time. If they will sell it to you freeze some...then just shake the tar out of it. He will appreciate it better if its milk and not replacer and the cost of replacer is higher than milk...and lots less problems. I would up his milk slowly...and not over 20 oz each feeding as he is going to be a big boy and requires lots of milk.Good Luck

 

[CupidsDelite]

I've raised kids for about 25 years and when I don't have access to enough goats milk, I feed Purina milk replacer for goats. I have used it for years with no ill effects. I also feed my kids 4 times a day for at least the first month and a half. After that I start backing down the number of feedings to encourage them to eat more on their own. I have never used cows milk because the larger fat molecules are not as easily digested. Goats may not have a problem there, but since replacer is cheaper, I have always gone that route.