I want to be ready for anything, so if I end up having to bottle feed the kids, what is the best milk/milk replacer to give the kids, if regular goat milk is not available.
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I lost a mama and had a group of bottle babies. They received mom's milk for about 4 days and then I had no choice but to use milk replacer. I used Land 'O Lake for kids - they have it for lambs or kids. I fed small amounts very often and once in the night for several weeks. I tried to get as close to how their mom would have fed them and since I am retired I could take the time to do more often feedings than are usually recommended. After several weeks I got to feed every four hours the last being about 10 p.m. They did well and I had no health issues with them. If I have to bottle feed I prefer to feed more often and less at a time. I use pritchard nipples and I like the baby bottles from Premier sheep and goat supply. Also use their heat lamps. Wouldn't use any other kind.
I kept the little girl and feel I can see a slight difference in her to the babies that got the goat milk but she is strong, healthy. A little character and a pure delight. I never had any cocci problems.
No problem! I'm sure I'd be very nervous if I were in your shoes!
Michael Garwood said:
Yes, four and one and that's it for this year. We will implant embryos again in our autumn (March).
Thanks for the reply and the information. We will keep doing as we are. If it isn't broken, we won't try to fix it, but expect a lot more questions.
-Michael
Four bucks and one doe??? Oh, no! You have my sympathy. Our first year, we had five bucks and two does. So, are you done for the year? Was that all of the embryos?
Bottle babies do usually act like they are starving to death. Everything else you mention sounds normal. We have raised kids on cow's milk, and they were fine. My only thought is that the butterfat is not as high as ND milk. Early lactation, the butterfat is below average, so we often see it around 5% or so the first couple of months, but that is still higher than the 3.5%, which is the norm for whole milk in the US. For that reason, they may gain weight a little slower than they otherwise would.
Last fall we purchased a doeling and a buckling, which were raised as bottle babies. We got them when they were 6 weeks old and at that time we did not have access to goat milk, so we finish raising them on organic cow milk purchased from the store. We did not have any problems, and they grew up fine. We just bred the doeling for kidding next year and are getting ready to use the buckling with some of our does.
Also if you have Deborah's book she had a chart with recommended amounts for bottle feeding the kids.
Good Luck with your herd!!
Question for the discussion:
We have our first kids, the first Nigerians in Australia (4 buck kids and 1 doe kid..., OUCH! should have been the other way around....)
For various reasons, we took them at birth and are bottle raising them. They each had two days of colostrum from a friend's herd which is closed and CAE & Johnne's tested yearly. Then they went on to UHT whole cow's milk from the supermarket.
At day 4 they were presented with a bit of grain mix and meadow hay to "noozle" around on. They are now starting their 3rd week of life. Yesterday, we saw them chew and swallow a few bits of grain mix and of hay.
We have been keeping them on about 10% body weight in milk. They scream like we are starving them to death, but they are perky, alert, active and all seems to be OK at this point.
Has anyone had this experience, i.e., bottle raising on cow's milk? If so, how has it gone? We are desperately ignorant and worry. (First time "parent" syndrome).
This evening, the little doe's poop was a few peanut butter coloured pellets in a looser peanut butter looking paste. This is long after the colostrum poop. There have been little peanut butter coloured pellets before, but none of the pasty looking stuff. Should we worry? (When is the sky going to fall on us??) We didn't have any probios (it is on the way), so day before yesterday, we added a bit of yogurt (whole milk from supermarket) to each bottle, totalling about a tablespoon for the day.
Any input would be welcome.
Thanks,
Michael
Maybe you misunderstood my reply. I had NO problem with the Dumor milk replacer -- other than the coccidia, which as I said, is considered "normal" by people who raise kids on milk replacer. That's why I dam raise or use doe's milk for bottle babies.
If you really want to be prepared for anything, then you need the Pritchard teats. Yes, some kids will take a human baby bottle, but not all of them. If you have a very small or weak kid, you need the Pritchard.
Sophia A. Heimberg said:
The blanket is for kids with hypothermia, so it is not used for the same thing is a heat lamp. A heat lamp is just there for all the kids to stay a bit warmer. If a kid has hypothermia, you can just put them in a bucket of warm water, which is what I've always done.
Sophia A. Heimberg said:
Is it better to get a heat lamp or heated blankets
http://www.caprinesupply.com/products/kid-raising/kid-management/li...
What do you recommend, that you have had success in the past? There is another milk replacer by Manna Pro, but it's about half the amount of the 7 lb. milk replacer and about the same price, it's only $1 less. What about Land O' Lakes Kid Milk Replacer
Can you use baby bottles for humans, instead of the pitchard teats, or do they not seem to accept the bottle as often. I found baby bottles at Dollar Tree and they had measurements on them in oz. and ml. I just heard that you can use baby bottles and some people have had great success with them (with goats).
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