To bottle feed or not to bottle feed??

[aharris122]

We just got three Boer goats and we're pretty new to this but so excited to learn! We have a doe and her buckling that's 10 weeks old and the doe is weaning him naturally. We also got a little doe that is around 9 weeks and when we were picking her up from the seller she mentioned starting her on a bottle and that we should really give it a good try. She gave us some milk re placer powder and a baby bottle. I've been trying to get our little gal to take it all afternoon but she is totally disinterested. She seems to be munching around on hay and browse. Should I just let her be and give up on the bottle or should I keep trying to get her to take it? She was still nursing her mother but the seller said she was just about done weaning and everything I see/read says to start weaning around 10 weeks and be completely weaned around 11-12. Could she just be done with milk and ready for a grain/hay/browse diet?

 

[aharris122]

We called the seller to see if they had any suggestions and she said the doeling is only 3 weeks old, now I'm really hoping she'll take the bottle. Thoughts and suggestions are much appreciated!!

 

[cassie]

It is a complete mystery to me why, the first thing people do when they acquire a baby kid, is to obtain a bag of milk replacer. Plain old cow milk from the store is far better than any replacer ever made and that includes the expensive replacers formulated for kids. Sometimes replacers work fine and sometimes they don't. Kids can and do blow up and die on any replacer. The only reason to ever use replacer is for economic reasons if you have a lot of kids to raise. In that case stick around a while after feeding to make sure they don't bloat, and have Gas X available if they do. My advice to you is to ditch the replacer. Since Boers and mini goats produce a richer milk than store milk, you can fortify it if you like. You take a jug of whole milk, pour off about a quart, add a a can of evaporated milk and a cup of buttermilk to the jug. Shake, and then fill the jug back up with some of the milk you poured off.

A three week old kid really does need milk However, some kids that have nursed on their mothers never will take a bottle. I would suggest you keep trying. You can also try mixing a little of the replacer in her grain. That is about the only good use for it.

 

[aharris122]

Thanks for the advice!! The sellers just handed us the replacer, maybe we'll try making our own! We had success today in holding our adult doe (who is nursing/weaning her little buck) while the doeling nursed and our little gal did drink some milk from a bowl. Breathing a sigh of relief I think tomorrow we'll just try the nursing thing again and hopefully our doe will take to a kid that's not her's eventually? I mixed up some milk/grain mush and will try that as well.

 

[cassie]

I have had the best luck with just restrainig a nurse doe while the kid nurses. If she will take a bottle, great!! Some kids won't. The milk in a bowl sometimes works too. It sounds like you are on the right track.

 

[aharris122]

Yay! More success today! We restrained the nursing doe so the doeling could nurse and I used the bottle with the home made milk replacer and squirted it on the doe's teat while the baby was nursing so it was getting bottle milk too and then eventually I was able to slide the bottle into her mouth alongside the doe's teat and then guide her into my lap to finish the bottle. The doe just isn't taking to our little "orphan" so I am thankful we'll be able to feed her and bond with her while she's adjusting. Again, sighing big relief and thanks Cassie for all the help!!