# Bottle goat is not grow as fast as others



## Goatdog21 (Apr 8, 2017)

I have a bottle goat that I have been raising since January. But it just does not seem to grow. However some others that were born at the same time are bigger than him. I have been feeding him 24oz twice a day and hardly gets that down and he will not the dry feed when I give him all he does is just nibble on it. Does anybody have any ideas?


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## Suzanne_Tyler (Jul 19, 2014)

What breed?

What kind of milk?

Did he get colostrum as a kid?

Has he been treated for cocci?


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## Goatdog21 (Apr 8, 2017)

It is a full blood boer.
The Kent baby goat milk.
It has have colostrum.
It has been treated for cocci.


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

Are you weighing him or just going off of what you see. I swear mine never grow but everyone informs me they do. It's also not uncommon for my bottle babies to grow a little slower then dam raised. I think I've only ever had 2 that out grew the others.
But if your sure he is not growing I would think about changing his milk although how old is he? Mine grow better on straight whole milk but you can also add buttermilk to it to up the fat, I don't do that so couldn't tell you how much.
Ok not eating big goat food. This is the hardest part with bottle kids :/ is he away from the other goats and kids? If so introduce him. He doesn't really have someone to show him that he should be eating that. I try not to keep bottle kids from the herd because the other kids will learn from their moms and usually end up showing them that that stuff is good plus it's like a competition.
I would also look into having a fecal done to make sure he doesn't have worms. Another thing If he is away from the rest is minerals, make sure he has minerals, this is something I would forget to do so I'm not being a smart butt here


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## Goatdog21 (Apr 8, 2017)

Thank you guys you have all been very helpful.


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## nancy d (Oct 5, 2007)

Yes, what is his age? Some DO grow a little slower regardless of being bottle or dam raised.
I too, would consider changing to whole cow and adding either whole buttermilk or half and half for added fat.
I once had a couple bottle kids on straight cow, they did fine but were not gaining like they should so I added half n half & evap. (whole buttermilk not always available at our local store)


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