Goat Question

[FarmMama1990]

Hello,

I am going to be taking home an 8 week old buck from a breeder soon and I was wondering if it would be okay to bottle feed him goat milk supplement to help encourage bonding even if he was been weened off his mothers milk?

If this is not a good idea can you help me understand why? I don’t want to hurt him but I read bottle feeding creates a really good bond with your goats and wanted to maybe feed him once a day to get that interaction and time together. And since he is so young I thought it might be beneficial to do for a couple more weeks anyways.

Any help is appreciated!

 

[Gigachad poultry]

You can for about one to two weeks but then you will have to rewean him if he stops eating pellets or any other food.

 

[FarmMama1990]

You can for about one to two weeks but then you will have to rewean him if he stops eating pellets or any other food.

Wonderful! I don’t mind reweaning just as long as we can get a good bond with him! I was worried it might hurt his developing rumen. Thank you for helping me

 

[Gigachad poultry]

Once he reaches 30 pounds and is eating at least one-quarter pound of solid feed per day. He can be bottle fed don't start it too early make sure he's eating that amount or more. The more feed he eats a day the easier it will be to rewean him and you should have specific times your doing it like in the morning when he's hungry so there more bonding and then let him eat only solid or forage the rest of the day and give it again at night is what I would suggest.

 

[FarmMama1990]

Once he reaches 30 pounds and is eating at least one-quarter pound of solid feed per day. He can be bottle fed don't start it too early make sure he's eating that amount or more. The more feed he eats a day the easier it will be to rewean him and you should have specific times your doing it like in the morning when he's hungry so there more bonding and then let him eat only solid or forage the rest of the day and give it again at night is what I would suggest.

You are so kind, thank you! I’ve only had minimal experience with goats this is so helpful I really appreciate you taking time to help me! We’re really excited but want to do it correctly and make sure he is being taken care of properly.

 

[Gigachad poultry]

You are so kind, thank you! I’ve only had minimal experience with goats this is so helpful I really appreciate you taking time to help me! We’re really excited but want to do it correctly and make sure he is being taken care of properly.

If you really want you can get a few more says to be 100% sure but I'm happy I was able to help I'm no expert, but I do know quite a lot about animals in general. Once he's 10 weeks old you can bottle feed once a day with about 16 ounces of milk in the bottle.

 

[Sussex19]

So a few things.
Yes, you can try and feed him for a bit longer, my goats with their mothers keep drinking milk up to around 11 weeks old, so that is what I try to do when I am bottle feeding.
If he wants milk from a bottle is another thing, as if a kid is used to feeding from their mother, they usually distrust bottles.

But a big point, is whether it is a good idea, if you are keeping him as a buck.
Bucks can be nasty when it is 'that season' you want them to respect you, if you walk at him, you want him to get out of the way.
This will be almost impossible if he is bottle fed.
One of mine, despite not being bottle fed, needed a few good whacks on the nose before he started to respect me.
As he is already weened, I would just feed him is food, and hang out with him a bit, but let him be a goat, and grow up around other goats if possible.

 

[Gigachad poultry]

Yeah that's the other thing. Like I said I don't know everything what I said was just what I know. I forgot how bucks do get a bit cray cray during "the season". Also it's important to consider there personality in order to get a good Idea of how crazy they will be during "that season" and if they will be calm or not.

 

[Yardmom]

You mention you only have minimal experience with goats. Are you planning on breeding him? Please make sure to research the characteristics and behavior of intacked bucks. If you are not planning to breed weathers(spelling?) make better pets. I would suggest looking into that right away if you are not planning to breed.

 

[Sussex19]

Yeah, wethers (I think thats how you spell it?) make much nicer pets.
At 8 weeks, you could band him if you wanted to; that is when I do mine.