Baby Goat Help.

[CountyLine]

Help me please.

Yesterday I brought home a 10 day old pygmy buckling to bottle feed. Right away he was very skittish and was not interested in his bottle at ALL. I have been getting him to drink but it requires me using a finger to get his mouth open and basically forcing the nipple in his mouth, he will suckle for about 6-8 seconds and not want anymore.. The research I did before bringing the little dude home had me thinking he would run up to me and just drink his milk several times a day.. ect.. Being overly worried I wasn't ready to handle this guy I called the woman I got him from and asked if I could being him back to his mother for a couple more weeks... Tried that and his mother wanted absolutely nothing to do with him and acted like she wanted to kill him. Now that he is back home with me I would REALLY REALLY like to know exactly what I should be feeding this little guy.
I have had him on Unimilk for 2 days now and am realizing there is a lot of people who are advising against this. UniMilk or No UniMilk???

I went to the store and got a gallon of Horizon Organic Vitamin D WHOLE MILK (Ultra-Pasteurized) is this the type of "Whole Cows Milk" others in this thread are feeding their babies?

Should I Stick with the UniMilk or go with the Cows milk?

Do I follow the exact measurements for the Uni?

Stressing out a bit..

 

[Stacykins]

Help me please.

Yesterday I brought home a 10 day old pygmy buckling to bottle feed. Right away he was very skittish and was not interested in his bottle at ALL. I have been getting him to drink but it requires me using a finger to get his mouth open and basically forcing the nipple in his mouth, he will suckle for about 6-8 seconds and not want anymore.. The research I did before bringing the little dude home had me thinking he would run up to me and just drink his milk several times a day.. ect.. Being overly worried I wasn't ready to handle this guy I called the woman I got him from and asked if I could being him back to his mother for a couple more weeks... Tried that and his mother wanted absolutely nothing to do with him and acted like she wanted to kill him. Now that he is back home with me I would REALLY REALLY like to know exactly what I should be feeding this little guy.
I have had him on Unimilk for 2 days now and am realizing there is a lot of people who are advising against this. UniMilk or No UniMilk???

I went to the store and got a gallon of Horizon Organic Vitamin D WHOLE MILK (Ultra-Pasteurized) is this the type of "Whole Cows Milk" others in this thread are feeding their babies?

Should I Stick with the UniMilk or go with the Cows milk?

Do I follow the exact measurements for the Uni?

Stressing out a bit..

It'll be OK, I promise. Deep breaths!

The issue with the powdered milk replacers is that with goat kids, it often causes them to scour. That is goat term for diarrhea. As you can imagine, any baby animal with diarrhea can cause them to go downhill quickly. Some people have no issues with it, others have had very poor results. Whole milk (vitamin D milk, red cap) is the next best thing you can feed to whole goats milk (which is pricey and hard to find, so the cows milk is just fine). But I'd imagine you want to use up the Unimilk. I'd advise just to be cautious if you do. If he has loose stools, then it is time for cows milk rather than powdered milk replacer.

I love this table for calculating how much a kid should eat. It is based on weight. As they grow, gaining more weight, they get more milk each day. It is a good guideline to follow.

Getting a kid that was previously on the dam is hard. But if she has rejected him, there is no other choice. Just keep doing what you are doing! You do often have to pop open their mouths and stick the nipple in there. Mealtimes will continue to be a battle for the next few days. You and the kid will likely end up wearing more milk than gets into him. Eventually he will 'get' it, and know that a bottle means food, and will start running up to you and will chow down with gusto! Until then, keep at it.

Right now, he is probably a bit shell shocked. He is in a new place, with new sounds, smells, and people. He doesn't have his mother anymore, the milk tastes different and the nipple feels weird. He'll settle in though, they are pretty flexible!

 

[CountyLine]

It'll be OK, I promise. Deep breaths!

The issue with the powdered milk replacers is that with goat kids, it often causes them to scour. That is goat term for diarrhea. As you can imagine, any baby animal with diarrhea can cause them to go downhill quickly. Some people have no issues with it, others have had very poor results. Whole milk (vitamin D milk, red cap) is the next best thing you can feed to whole goats milk (which is pricey and hard to find, so the cows milk is just fine). But I'd imagine you want to use up the Unimilk. I'd advise just to be cautious if you do. If he has loose stools, then it is time for cows milk rather than powdered milk replacer.

I love this table for calculating how much a kid should eat. It is based on weight. As they grow, gaining more weight, they get more milk each day. It is a good guideline to follow.

Getting a kid that was previously on the dam is hard. But if she has rejected him, there is no other choice. Just keep doing what you are doing! You do often have to pop open their mouths and stick the nipple in there. Mealtimes will continue to be a battle for the next few days. You and the kid will likely end up wearing more milk than gets into him. Eventually he will 'get' it, and know that a bottle means food, and will start running up to you and will chow down with gusto! Until then, keep at it.

Right now, he is probably a bit shell shocked. He is in a new place, with new sounds, smells, and people. He doesn't have his mother anymore, the milk tastes different and the nipple feels weird. He'll settle in though, they are pretty flexible!

Thank you the response. I think I am going to go with the Cows milk method, is there a particular brand to recommend? Just the red cap from the local grocery? Will this work?

Should I do the buttermilk mix? Thanks again!

 

[cassie]

Just plain old whole milk is fine. No need to go through the added expense of organic milk unless you want to. The kid won't care. As for the buttermilk mixture kids do well on that but I have raised a lot of kids on store milk and milk from my cows and they did just fine on that too. It is my understanding the buttermilk formula was concocted by a woman who raised either Boers or mini goats. Boers and mini goats tend to produce a richer milk than average so that formula was made to take that into account.

BTW, there is a bigger and more serious problem with milk replacers than just scours. Kids can and do bloat on them and when they do if the kid is not treated very promptly it will die. I know you said you were not going to use them. I just threw that in FYI.

 

[CountyLine]

Thank you!

 

[Stacykins]

Yeppers, the big jug of normal vitamin D milk is the way to go. I mean, if you were raising your herd organically, then I guess you'd have to use organic. But if you're not, then there is no issue!

 

[Cowgirl71]

Here's a link to a great website with lots of information: http://fiascofarm.com/goats/feeding.htm#bottle

Store-bought cow's whole milk is better for your baby (and cheaper!) than goat milk replacer. Organic cow's whole milk from the store IS definitely better for a young growing baby than the conventional whole milk. But it is also more expensive, so you'll have to make that decision yourself. The most healthiest option for your baby is fresh RAW whole milk, especially from a goat (1st choice) or cow (close 2nd choice) who has been eating fresh green grass daily. Often times there are people with a dairy cow or goat who have frozen their excess milk and are happy to sell it as "bottle baby" grade at a reduced price to clean out their freezer. Whatever you decide, please make sure to heat the milk on the stove or in a container of hot water, NOT in the microwave! The microwave greatly reduces the nutritional value in the milk (same is true for any people food you put in there too, just FYI....).

I have raised 10 bottle baby goats (and numerous calves) on fresh raw whole milk from my grass-fed Jersey cows. Everyone told me the kids would scour because I was feeding them cow's milk instead of goat's milk or goat milk replacer, but I never once had one of them scour, and they all grew out very sleek and healthy and noticeably larger than their dam-raised siblings.

I encourage everyone to do some reading online about the many benefits of raw grass-fed milk, and how unhealthy the conventional milk at the store has become. If you are unable to keep your own dairy animal, you can always find and make a weekly contribution to a small local farmer.

 

[cassie]

I have fed kids both on store milk, milk from my cows, and goat milk. Didn't see any difference in rate of growth, condition, or performance as an adult whether they were fed store milk, goat milk, or home grown raw cow milk. There are some problems that can occur from feeding raw milk. I would never, ever feed raw goat milk to a kid unless the herd was tested for CAE. When I had my dairy, the kids got the milk from my cows and the calves got the milk from the goats because CAE would not affect the calves. Johnes and mycoplasma can be spread in raw milk both from raw goat milk and raw cow milk.

Here's a link to a great website with lots of information: http://fiascofarm.com/goats/feeding.htm#bottle

Store-bought cow's whole milk is better for your baby (and cheaper!) than goat milk replacer. Organic cow's whole milk from the store IS definitely better for a young growing baby than the conventional whole milk. But it is also more expensive, so you'll have to make that decision yourself. The most healthiest option for your baby is fresh RAW whole milk, especially from a goat (1st choice) or cow (close 2nd choice) who has been eating fresh green grass daily. Often times there are people with a dairy cow or goat who have frozen their excess milk and are happy to sell it as "bottle baby" grade at a reduced price to clean out their freezer. Whatever you decide, please make sure to heat the milk on the stove or in a container of hot water, NOT in the microwave! The microwave greatly reduces the nutritional value in the milk (same is true for any people food you put in there too, just FYI....).

I have raised 10 bottle baby goats (and numerous calves) on fresh raw whole milk from my grass-fed Jersey cows. Everyone told me the kids would scour because I was feeding them cow's milk instead of goat's milk or goat milk replacer, but I never once had one of them scour, and they all grew out very sleek and healthy and noticeably larger than their dam-raised siblings.

I encourage everyone to do some reading online about the many benefits of raw grass-fed milk, and how unhealthy the conventional milk at the store has become. If you are unable to keep your own dairy animal, you can always find and make a weekly contribution to a small local farmer.

I have raised kids on store milk, milk from my cows, and goat milk. Didn't see any difference in rate of growth, condition, or performance as an adult whether they were fed store milk, goat milk, or home grown raw cow milk. There are some problems that can occur from feeding raw milk. I would never, ever feed raw goat milk to a kid unless the herd was tested for CAE and had been negative for several years. When I had my dairy, the kids got the milk from my cows and the calves got the milk from the goats because CAE would not affect the calves. Johnes and mycoplasma can be spread in raw milk both from raw goat milk and raw cow milk.

 

[cassie]

Double post on my last comment. Sorry.

 

[Cowgirl71]

I have raised kids  on store milk, milk from my cows, and goat milk.  Didn't see any difference in rate of growth, condition, or performance as an adult whether they were fed store milk, goat milk, or home grown raw cow milk.  There are some problems that can occur from feeding raw milk.  I would never, ever feed raw goat milk to a kid unless the herd was tested for CAE and had been negative for several years.  When I had my dairy, the kids got the milk from my cows and the calves got the milk from the goats because CAE would not affect the calves.  Johnes and mycoplasma can be spread in raw milk both from raw goat milk and raw cow milk. 

Thank you for pointing out the CAE Cassie, that is a very real concern that I missed mentioning. That's not something you want to mess with, it is more common than it should be, unfortunately.

As for Johnes and Mycoplasma, as with anything and everything in life, there is always a risk. Nothing is perfectly 100% safe. The list of Salmonella, E Coli, and other recalls at the grocery store is endlessly re-occuring. Even with things that should theoretically be safe, such as fresh raw spinach that is USDA approved.

We got our very first milk cow from the local sale barn. Didn't plan on it, and wouldn't recommend it. We went to the auction just to visit with a friend and then this boney underfed Holstein/Jersey cross went through the ring. Our friend knew we were thinking about getting a milk cow, he pointed to it, we hesitated, and within the next three seconds he had bid on it, and won it, and we had ourselves a $500 milk cow, whether we wanted it or not, LOL. This friend trailered her home for us, gifted us two new clean five gallon buckets that he used a permanent marker to write "milk" and "wash" on, and a 2 gallon mark on the "milk" bucket, told us we should call her Buttercup, and then left, grinning ear to ear. We quickly learned that she had only ever been used as a nurse cow in her prior home, and likely had never been hand-milked before. It took over a month of twice a day misery and frustration and patience, but eventually she calmed down and grew accustomed to the new routine and put on weight. When we first got her, we were pasteurizing all of the milk before drinking it. On day 3 we finally called the local vet, to ask about testing her for brucellosis and anything else he'd recommend before drinking the milk raw. We told him she was from the salebarn, he never even looked at her, but he said he wouldn't worry about it, no need to test her for anything, go ahead and drink it raw. A bit apprehensively, we did, and none of us ever got sick. We later used some of it to feed calves, hogs, and chickens, and none of them got sick either. Perhaps the vet made that call based on our area being relatively "clean," compared to other parts of the country, IDK. But for whatever reason, the 80 year old vet did not encourage us in any way to have her tested for anything, even with her being an unknown sale barn cow.

There have been numerous studies showing a marked increase in health in calves, children, and people who drink/drank fresh raw cow's milk, vs. pasteurized cow's milk. I do think it is really important to know and trust your source. If you do, raw milk is as safe, or in my opinion safer, than store-bought pasteurized milk. I'll just leave it at that.... I don't want to hijack this thread any more than I already have.