# Dam raise or not?



## JessaLynn (Aug 30, 2009)

We are expecting our first kids to be born December 24th (busy day but a blessing) from our Nubian doe.She was bred with a nigerian dwarf buck so will be getting first generation mini nubians if I'm not mistaken,Anyhow I was wondering wether to let her raise her kids or to bottle feed them.I want them to be friendly and was told they will need to be bottle fed if I want them to be.True or no? Tell me your experiences please!


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

you will get lots of differnet responses on this but we will all agree that handling makes all the difference.

I have had bottle raised who were friendly as all get out and ones who could care less and ran from me same goes for dam raised.

do a search you will find other threads on this area


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

As Stacey said, a search will find you all kinds of answers.

I myself have never pulled kids to bottle feed, mama's were made for that. To have friendly kids that don't see you as a food source, all it takes is them bonding to you from day one. I am with each mom as she delivers, the first to imprint the kids with human touch that continues by me til the day they leave, then it is up to the new owners to continue to reinforce that bond with themselves. :wink:


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## RowdyKidz (Apr 2, 2009)

I've never had to, but unless I have to, I would not. My goats get time spent with them and my goats have been extremely friendly. :shrug: Just depends on how much time you have to work with them.


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## Dover Farms (Oct 16, 2007)

We bottle/bucket feed our kids to raise them on disease prevention. It also makes them friendlier. When we had the Kikos we dam raised those kids and we could not get those kids to be friendly. Even though we were out there from the time they were born. I'm not saying dam raised kids can't be friendly...we've just never had luck with it. :shrug:


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## AlaskaBoers (May 7, 2008)

all of ours are dam raised. thoguh the friendliest doe I have had stretched leg ligaments when she was born, so I was helping her alot...she ened up to be attached.  calypso. 

but alot of the dam rasied are very friendly.


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## JessaLynn (Aug 30, 2009)

Thanks for the opinions.I would rather let mom raise her own like mother nature intended that's my main goal.I will be handeling them regardless as much as I can so hope they do become friendly.I guess we shall see!


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

I like to have them Dam raised ........unless something happens.... that they need help....then I will bottle feed...that hasn't happened for years... :wink: ......but... I have found... that with both ways....if you work with them... they will be friendly either way..... :wink: :greengrin:


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## capriola-nd (Jul 6, 2008)

We dam raise for the most part. I spend a lot of time with them to make them tame and friendly and it works for our goats at home. The farm can be a different story at some times. . .


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## Epona142 (May 26, 2008)

We dam raise, and just spend TONS of time with the kids, especially in the beginning. A favorite thing of mine to do is separate the babies from momma and just sit with them for a bit every day. Eventually they quite looking for momma and come over to check me out and discover how marvelous a shoulder scratch feels. Soon after that, I can't keep them away from me. :greengrin: 

This has worked even for wild mommas.


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## Gumtree (Aug 15, 2009)

I prefer to dam raise as 1 it's less work...you don't have to be at home at the set time to feed  
2 mothers milk is better....
but they are more wild.....unless you take the time to handle them (mine were paddock reared and they were mad)
but if you want the milk right from the start ---well you won't get any while the kids are on mama


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## FunnyRiverFarm (Sep 13, 2008)

I've always done both! The kids stay with their mom for the most part, but at 2-3 weeks old, I separate the kids at night so I can milk the moms in the morning and I offer the kids a bottle before I put them back with their moms.


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

Thats about how I do it FRF! Kids are separated at 2-3 weeks old at night then with mom all day, the bottle I offer is usually refused though.


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## Nubiansrus1 (Sep 2, 2009)

I was told you have to bottle raise them for them to be friendly. So the first kids I ever had I pulled them and bottle feed them. Four kids... man it was alot of work. And some of the moms were so sad... i felt bad. 3 of the 4 kids were super super friendly. One was still a bit stand offish. 


The next year I decided Id try letting the moms raise them unless their was a problem. I also had 12 kids that year... had to bottle raise one. All were super friendly and very well socialized. 


This year I will do the same as last... let the moms do it unless they cant or wont. I have 15 does this year... gonna be alot of kids lol.


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## JessaLynn (Aug 30, 2009)

wow alot of different views on it.Love it thanks ya'll! I like the idea of them being with mom during the day and pull them at night.I might do that if we have more then one born of course.Sounds logical as I would want milk for ourselves and could milk them early morn and put the kids back in with her when I'm done.Good info thanks again!


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## redneck_acres (Oct 18, 2007)

We pull all of our kids and bottle raise them. Probably about 99 percent of them turn out to be tame and friendly. If you dont mind bottlefeeding kids-then i'd bottlefeed. But, if you dont want to deal with bottlefeeding and have no need to worry about disease possibility then you can raise it on the mother.


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## sparks879 (Oct 17, 2007)

I bottle raise as well. Mostly for the friendlier easier to handle kids. I work fourty to sixty hours a week, i take a long lunch and race home to feed kids. one in the morning once after work and once around 11 at night before i go to bed. before they are a couple months old i usually try and throw at least one more feeding in there. It makes for a lot of work, but the kids see me as mom and are friendly. and my does are much easier to handle when it comes time for hoof trimming vaccinations etc. Plus it gives me an excuse to run my hands over my does twice a day, check for any bumps lumps scratches etc.
beth


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## redneck_acres (Oct 18, 2007)

Just a note, I wasn't swearing in my last post- That is the way it is said on registration papers-I in no way meant it in the curse word mode.


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## FunnyRiverFarm (Sep 13, 2008)

liz said:


> Thats about how I do it FRF! Kids are separated at 2-3 weeks old at night then with mom all day, the bottle I offer is usually refused though.


I try to give them their first meal from a bottle if I am there for the birth--it makes them much more receptive to bottle-feeding later.


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## Ariel301 (Oct 13, 2009)

We bought our goats from a dairy farm so they raised them on a CAE prevention plan--all kids were bottle fed and never even got licked by their mothers. We prefer to dam raise them though, because it's more natural and I don't like to bottle feed. We bottle fed our buck and our other two kids were dam raised, and I can't tell a difference--they are all friendly. Our does got to experience having babies around for the first time this spring, with little Bucky and one set of twins, and they all loved the babies! Our two older does kidded before we bought them, but they were nursing the kids that were not theirs too! 

We have handled our kids daily since they were born, and even brought them into the house to just cuddle and play with them in the evenings. They spent the first two weeks with mom all the time, and then were put up in their own stall at night so that I could get some milk too. We started training them to lead with leashes at a week old, along with letting us hold their feet, look in their mouths, and touch them all over. They were all getting on the milking stand for me at a month old, and our little doeling now gets 'pretend' milked when I am milking the does, just so she gets to know her place in line and gets used to being handled and having her udder touched.


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## Molly&Monica (Sep 9, 2009)

I am pretty new to this kid raising thing too and I left my does one kid on her. The buckling was just born the first week of September. I had just weaned 3 bottle calves and then having to help a first year heifer with her first calf for 3 weeks. So....I knew I wasn't in any positon time wise to bottle feed a kid. We have had about a quart of milk a day out of her and he is thriving. He is really naughty already, but I think it's because I didn't band or dehorn him. Anyway, my point is that being that time of year, you might seriously consider leaving the kid(s) on her to help you out. I *believe* (you all with more experince can help here) that they are weaned at 6 weeks anyway. So, depending on how many kids she has and how much milk you need....the dam raising and seperating them at night is what I would go for!! :type:


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## Nubiansrus1 (Sep 2, 2009)

Not argueing just learning here myself. But ive always been told that doing both bottle raising and putting them on mom both can lead to what ive usually heard called "nipple confusion" and can lead to poor feeding habits. If your going from moms nipples, to the bottle nipple. Anyone have comment about if this is true? Though I have had little experience with it, its seemed to be true so far.


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

I cant see it being an issue -- I supplemental bottle feed Sweet pea's kids this year and I offered a bottle a couple times and at shows to other goats kids with no issues of confusion on their part :shrug:


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

Nope...bottle and mom feeding usually won't cause confusion with kids...if they are healthy and happy, regardless of the source they will greedily take milk :greengrin: Though some kids will prefer to have just mom, I have seen some happy with both.


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## FunnyRiverFarm (Sep 13, 2008)

Nubiansrus1 said:


> Not argueing just learning here myself. But ive always been told that doing both bottle raising and putting them on mom both can lead to what ive usually heard called "nipple confusion" and can lead to poor feeding habits. If your going from moms nipples, to the bottle nipple. Anyone have comment about if this is true? Though I have had little experience with it, its seemed to be true so far.


That hasn't been a problem in my experience.

The most I ever feed is one bottle a day and it's always at the same time of day--I can see how there might be some confusion if, for instance, you tried exculsively bottle feeding for a few days and then tried to switch back to mom for a few more days and then back to bottle feeding again...but I think as long as the kids are on a regular schedule, they don't get confused.


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## sparks879 (Oct 17, 2007)

I had a set of kids that i started dam raising only to find out mom wasnt making enough milk for the two, so i supplimented with the bottle. It took some work the first few times but after they got the hang of it the hung out with mom and came running to me when i had bottles in my hands. It actually worked quite well.
beth


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## JessaLynn (Aug 30, 2009)

I wanted to update this post to say I am beginning to see that bottle raising kids is not a need to have friendly kids.I have taken the time everyday and spend just a few minutes with our new kids and now as soon as they see me they run to me for a pet hug and kiss.They aren't afraid of me at all and jump up on my lap and nibble at my clothes.Bottle raising just to get friendly goats just seems silly to me now.I wouldn't even dream of pulling the kids from mom just to have friendly goats.I can understand if there is a NEED for it but that's it.I like seeing mom with her babies and them nursing from her.It's such a miracle to see honestly.It's the way God intends it to be the way I see it.Just my opinion though.I wanted to say this just incase someone was debating the issue and needed someone elses own experiences. :wink:


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## logansmommy7 (Nov 11, 2009)

Question though-if you are going to milk, don't you have to pull the kids and bottle feed? What is the procedure for that...


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

separate the kids at night and milk mom 90% out in the morning leaving a bit for the kids to get a belly full and then let the kids nurse all day. I start this at aprox 4 weeks of age till they are sold and picked up


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## WalnutGroveFarm (Sep 27, 2008)

Ok I just got to ask a question. I have been told if you are going to show the mom as a milk goat it is best to pull the babies. That it will mess her udder up to feed them. Is this true?


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

not always.

a single tends to like one side over the other and if you are not on top of milking her a couple times a day the udder can become lopsided.

with twins this is not so much the case as the will eat together and keep the udder evenly milked out.


one thing i have found though with dam raising is that if you dont pull the kids soon enough the dam will start to wean them -- this means if you still plan to show her later in the year she wont have as much milk which can be very frustrating!


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## Nupine (Nov 13, 2007)

I have done mostly bottle raising the past couple years, but am going to try latching this year [with alpines]. It is a lot of work bottle feeding, and milking twice a day. It really ties you down, as you always have kids to feed. It was pointless as I decided not to pasturieze the milk for CAE prevention. So basically I was just milking twice a day, cooling the milk, putting in the fridge, then heating it up and feeding it too kids. I will socialize the kids alot though. I have noticed that I liek the personalities of a well handled, dam raised kid better than most bottle fed kids. The bottle kids of mine always act so spoiled. lol The only exception to this will be my Nubian doe who is CAE pos. so her kids will be bottle raised on another does milk.


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