just got two baby twin goats. 8 hours old... HELP (pics)

[BellLisamo]

Ok they have bottles and everything. Is there anything else i need to know? ive never had to bottle feed goats....

and i need help with names. they are twins, make it cute and matching

 

[griffin45]

I have to look it up but make sure you do not overfeed them. I hope you have Kid replacer also. Goats do so much better on Kid Replacer than anything else. If you have a bookstore nearby go get Storey's book on goats. It is invaluable. Any real problems try PMing Helmstead (Kate) the resident guru on goats.

Boys or girls?
You are gonna have fun!

Chris

 

[Florida chick]

What is wrong with the mother?? They HAVE to nurse and nurse quickly or you need to milk her and get the Colustrum into them ASAP! What is the status of the mother?

 

[Jazlyn]

Boys or girls? Have they had calostrum? Wow is that a cow nipple!?! Have they had Bo-Se or any otherselinium supliments? They are Very Cute!


It may be easier to feed them with a pritchard or lamb nipple. If the other works that is fine too.

 

[griffin45]

I am assuming that you got these from a dairy breeder that wants the milk. You can go to a farm/feed store and get colostrum, which they can have for about 3 days. After that give them kid replacer and see if you can find a lamb or kid nipple. They are much smaller and fit on small water bottles. If the kids were rejected then you should be able to get the colostrum from the mother and bottle feed that. The kids should really stay with Mom for a week at the minimum. Feed them 8 hours apart and and give them 4 to 8 ounces for the first week. Then begin increasing. By that time you should be getting the hang of it and be able to judge how much they will need. In about 8 weeks you may be feeding a quart twice a day! These goats will love you to death! You are now the Matron of their flock! Happy goat days!
Chris

 

[redhen]

is that the right size nipple..it looks like a calf nipple to me..the one that worked really well for me was a red one, it had a yellow cap that you screw onto a small soda bottle and the nipple was red. it had a ball bering thing inside it also, so the milk cant just pour down the babies throat and choke them...thats the only kind i would ever use again...good luck!, they are cute!, Wendy

 

[Chirpy]

Have they had colostrum? They have to have it to survive. You can either buy some from a local feedstore or such that carries it or find a goat owner near you that has some frozen.

I too think that nipple looks a little big but you know if it's working or not for them. Many people just use baby bottles and cut an "X" in the nipple to allow for a higher milk flow.

You will get differing opinions on most things about goats but I have heard more bad things when feeding kid replacer to goat kids. I have heard only positive things about using whole cows milk right from the store. Just make sure it's warm (not hot) whatever you give them. I have not bottle raised kids yet so I can't give personal experience in this area.

Edited.. Congrats on the babies! They are very adorable.

 

[abluechipstock]

they should have given you colostrum for the first few days, if they didn't get some from the feed store and give it, i personally wouldn't use milk replacer, i would use plan whole cow's milk, they do fine on that, i've heard to many kids dying from replacer, i would feed 3-4 times day, these are lamanchas so i'm not sure how much to give them, i would have some cd antitoxin on hand just in case, we give it orally if they get diarrhea or upset tummy, www.goatwisdom.com has an excellent group of breeders that you can talk with, go to the message board, i've learned a ton on there, good luck with the babies

 

[BellLisamo]

Quote:
they had the colostrum (so the people say)... their goats had babies and they wanted to sell them as of yesterday (that type of thing). they were unwanted. but i decided to take them, they would have become meat goats if i didnt.... they are lamancha mix. they have been drinking for me. but the lady told me to give them store bought cows milk.

 

[BellLisamo]

Quote:
they are boys