# Bottle Babies



## LLFarms (Nov 5, 2012)

We received 2 baby goats today from a friend (mama had 4 and just couldn't keep up) they are about 3-4weeks and very strong looking for any tips on bottle feeding and caring for this age of goat


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Let them get hungry. At that age it is harder to get them on the bottle but hopefully they will be hungry enough. Just feed them whole cow's milk from the store. Were you given any of mom's milk to transition them? If not, the whole cow's milk tends to not give them a problem when the milk type is abruptly changed.


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## LLFarms (Nov 5, 2012)

I had a mama birth 3 weeks ago but babies died so I have a goat in milk I've been milking so I have that cow milk and replacer


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

If you can give them fresh goat milk, that would be the best for them.


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## LLFarms (Nov 5, 2012)

Trying no luck tho but plenty of pee and climbing/tackling the tomatoe box they have been lounging in


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

When was the last time that they ate? Sometimes they need to be good and hungry to take the bottle.


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## LLFarms (Nov 5, 2012)

I want to say its reaching 5 hours since a good feeding.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

I'd let it get to around 6-8 hours. They should be good and hungry by then.


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## LLFarms (Nov 5, 2012)

Thank you!! I've been reading 8hours but as far as baby goats are concerned I've only dealt with a VERY ill newborn that didnt make it so not much experience on feeding a baby!


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## LLFarms (Nov 5, 2012)

Little boy decided to eat a good little bit for a fellow of his size but sister wasn't having any part of it but I will continue to offer them


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## honeymeadows (Nov 20, 2012)

Sometimes you have to put them on your lap and stick the bottle in their mouth. You will both get drenched, but it is the only way for the stubborn ones. After a few times they figure out you're not trying to kill them and it actually tastes good. She'll get it eventually, don't worry.


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## lovemykidds (Dec 24, 2012)

I will never use replaced again. Bloats the kids and $250 in vet bills later.. I learned my lesson. Lucky they didn't die.


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## LLFarms (Nov 5, 2012)

Thank you, that is what i had to do made sure to use a towel mainly to help support but yes milk was everywhere. She got the hang of it but didn't last long and sweet little guy ( you could tell he was the one left out at dinner) jumped right in my lap and went crazy drinking. 


So my next question during feedings how much should I be giving them I've heard they can over eat with a bottle because mama will walk away.


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

Patients win everytime : ) Goats milk is perfect..cows milk next best...avoid replacers if at all possible...Good luck...: )

What breed? Tummies should feel firm but not hard...too much will cause runs..if this happens back off a bit on the amount..


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## dixiequeen (Nov 16, 2012)

Put a little Kayro or jelly on the nipple may help ,warn the bottle to about 100 if they will cheew your finger with jelly or such on it you got it made.I have one that would not take it in a bottle,cup or in a mash. Iam getting him to eat & lots of greens.And I do give him a little sweet feed a day.He has lots of trouble but we love him and are doing the best we can for him.Doing the probatices vit a c e & selume(sp)I wish you well with it,just love on it & pray.It will work out.


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## LLFarms (Nov 5, 2012)

They are boer kids. Little boy today ate like well ;latched to bottle by him self & had them out running in the pen with the other goats and out mama who is in milk let him get a few good sucks off her & the both did well grazing but big sister ate but NOTHING compared to him.


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## Axykatt (Feb 1, 2013)

I used replacer with my bottle babies (though Peggy Sue, my purebred, was SLOWLY weaned onto it after she was 6 wks old, used goatmilk until then) and I would always say I had no problems, but that's not entirely true. If you spend LOTS of time with your babies and notice small changes in their little bodies then you should be able to use it fine, but be aware that it can cause bloat. 

Since my babies lived in the house it wasn't a problem for us. If their tummies seemed tight or no one had been stinky for a while the children and I would just hold them and rub their tummies in a circular motion until we had gas and poops. This only works for the earliest stages of bloat, though, and we had to do it 3 or 4 times a week til they were 2 months old. By then we had no more issues.

Good luck getting your babies to eat, but don't fret too much. Peggy Sue took 3 days before she would take the bottle. Since she was only 4 days old when I got her it scared the bejeebers out of me!


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## LLFarms (Nov 5, 2012)

I think I'm freaking out some because my first one died and wouldn't take a bottle (not why he died but of course I feel guilt) but the girl still isn't eating well


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## lovemykidds (Dec 24, 2012)

LLFarms said:


> I think I'm freaking out some because my first one died and wouldn't take a bottle (not why he died but of course I feel guilt) but the girl still isn't eating well


I know how you feel.. I just got my first kids in December. They were both very sick and didn't want to eat, but it was the milk replacer, bloating them so they didn't want to eat. (cost me over $200 at the vet and he didn't figure that out) Switched to whole cows milk!! also, holding their faces where it would be dark like moms undercarriage seemed to help some. I gave them both cd/t shots, and added a touch of molasses and honey and a pinch of soda to the bottles and it took about two weeks but they really started thriving. I thought I'd lose them for a while. If you have to, drench them, I squirted electrolytes into their mouth with a drencher slowly and made them swallow it... I do wish you well.. Maybe a b complex would help liven them up


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## LLFarms (Nov 5, 2012)

lovemykidds said:


> I know how you feel.. I just got my first kids in December. They were both very sick and didn't want to eat, but it was the milk replacer, bloating them so they didn't want to eat. (cost me over $200 at the vet and he didn't figure that out) Switched to whole cows milk!! also, holding their faces where it would be dark like moms undercarriage seemed to help some. I gave them both cd/t shots, and added a touch of molasses and honey and a pinch of soda to the bottles and it took about two weeks but they really started thriving. I thought I'd lose them for a while. If you have to, drench them, I squirted electrolytes into their mouth with a drencher slowly and made them swallow it... I do wish you well.. Maybe a b complex would help liven them up


Thank you I will try that luckily mama is producing just enough I'm still bottle feeding them goats milk but this little boy is a piggy and jumping out of tub and honory as they come lol


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## Zarafia (Mar 25, 2012)

My only experience with bottle baby goats is with my darling Pan, who was pulled at a day old. He was super easy to feed.
I have tons of experience with baby parrots. Pulled young there is never trouble getting them to eat. Pulled older they are much harder to feed. And if you mess up trying to hand feed a baby parrot you can easilly aspirate them (get the food down the windpipe). With older baby parrots it is usually a matter of keeping them warm and waiting them out. Eventually they get so hungry that they will take food pretty well, for short moments. Give em some time, ask again.
I did also know a month old foal who's mother died and he was WAY too young to be weaned. Feeding him was a nightmare! There was one other mare with a foal old enough to wean, but this mare wanted no part of nursing the Little Luca. We twitched her a few times, but it was always a major struggle to get Luca to nurse off her. He knew she didn't want him and she wasn't momma .
We settled on bottle feeding Luca, but he hated it! It took one of us to pin him up against a stall wall and hold him still, and a second person to hold his chin up and give him the bottle. He did eat, but it was a fight every single time. For weeks!
Eventually we got Luca to eat these special Beretini "milk pellets". Luca got those free choice. It was a tremendous relief when we knew that Luca was eating a lot of them.
It's interesting to note that Luca has grown into a huge, super-friendly stallion. He is now a full hand taller than either of his parents. And because of us holding him down as a baby he has always thought that humans can overpower him. He is the sweetest, most well trained stallion I have ever met now. I still know him. My friend who bred him still owns him and he's gotta be 15 or 16 now .
Remember to make sure your kids arent getting cold. Use your judgment on the doeling. If you really feel that she's suffering or getting cold or weak from hunger you can get a tube from your vet to tube feed her. Tube feeding isn't as hard as it might seem. You figure out exactly how deep the tube should go by measuring on the outside of the baby. Figure out about where the stomach (rumen in this case) is located. Use a sharpie to mark the high end of the tube. As long as the tube goes in to that mark you can be sure you aren't in the lungs. (At least that's what I've done with puppies. Birds are way easier to tube than mammals cause they have a crop and you can feel the tube in it with your fingers).


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

LLFarms said:


> I think I'm freaking out some because my first one died and wouldn't take a bottle (not why he died but of course I feel guilt) but the girl still isn't eating well


Is she eating at all?


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

We just got two bottle babies...one is taking the bottle easy the other we have to force the nipple in every time..but then she sucks well...each baby is different.. perseverance will win ..we also tried different nipples to see which she would take..Pritcher nipple won : ) Are you using whole milk now? is she pooping well...if not she will want to eat but wont...


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## LLFarms (Nov 5, 2012)

Thanks everyone! Today she finally is eating not completely like brother but better  she was constipated so 2 enemas later she is feeling better


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