# Using a Milk Goat to Feed an Orphan Lamb?



## FlatLakeFarmers (Mar 15, 2011)

Hello,
So currently we only have meat goats, but we have been looking into possibly getting a couple of milk goats. I have a few questions though, and would love to hear what you experience owners have to say.

I was told that goats are great for adopting orphan kids and lambs (we have 100 sheep), and that you can put a lamb with a milk goat and there is a good chance that the goat will feed the lamb. Is this true or was the person telling me this completely out to lunch?

If I have a milk goat, do I have to milk her every day, all year round, or can I slowly dry her up? 
We won't need milk year round, but would love to have some from early spring until fall if at all possible.

Thanks in advance,
Huyana


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

Well hi there.... :greengrin: 

Not sure if a goat will take a lamb ....because it is hard to get them to take goat kids... there are very few animals that will just let another species latch on so I don't see it as a real definite thing to happen or predict.... 

yes ...you can dry her up...but.. you will have to watch her and milk her... if she gets to tight.... while she is drying...otherwise...she will may get mastitis..... don't feed her any grain or not much and don't give her any Alfalfa or high quality hot hay during the dry up time.....

The only way.... to start a Doe in milk... is to allow her to kid... so you will have to work around that.... to when she is bred and when she will kid.... to have milk when you need and want it....

Hope this helps... :wink:


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

I agree with Pam, and if you feel you won't have a need for the milk to feed lambs at the time the doe is fresh, you can milk once a day starting at 2 months post delivery and freeze the milk in ZipLoc bags to be used in the future.(Milking a dairy doe 2x a day during the first 8 weeks if she's not raising kids is recommended to help prevent udder congestion due to high production)


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## Trollmor (Aug 19, 2011)

Be careful not to dry a milk goat when grass is green! I have had many problems due to trying that!  Get a milk goat if you want the MILK!


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## Hobbyfarmer (Sep 7, 2011)

I have no first hand experience. But from people I've talked to I think it depends on the doe. My neighbor has a Nubian he raised calves on. I have 1 doe I'm confident would take a lamb. She loves babies (not just hers) and nurses her kids forever. But be aware that long term goat and sheep won't do well together because of differing copper requirments.


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## ptgoats45 (Nov 28, 2011)

My neighbor who runs a cattle ranch gets his cows to take an orphan calf by spraying hair spray in her nose and all over the calf. That way when she smells the calf, it smells like her. I have also heard of putting vicks in their nose so that is the only thing they smell until they accept the calf. Might work the same with a goat, but it might not. Goats can be pretty stubborn.


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## goathiker (Apr 14, 2011)

The goat might take it. The biggest problem here though is that sheep milk contains a lot more fat then goats milk. You're not to to get good growth out of the lamb because he won't be able to eat enough to make up for the lost calories. Well, you could make for it in the creep feeder.
Main thing is to keep birth fluids from the doe frozen and put the all over the lamb when you try to introduce him. She will be confused enough it might work.


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## tasha642 (Nov 28, 2011)

We had a goat lose her kids prematurely but I kept her in milk. About two weeks later we had a sheep reject a weak lamb. At first I bottle fed the lamb using Spring's milk, but as the lamb got stronger I would just put Spring on the stanchion and the lamb would nurse her fill. Spring never fully accepted the lamb, but she wasn't aggressive to her and she was the reason that lamb survived


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## Paige (Oct 14, 2010)

I have raised about half a dozen lamb on goats milk and they do great! I don't put them in with the does, but when I get the does out and put them on the milk stand, the lambs leap up and suck like crazy. I only do this with my non show does because they really like to slam the udder around.


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## ThreeHavens (Oct 20, 2011)

I have one doe that would take a lamb, but the others wouldn't take a kid that wasn't there own. You could tie them on a milk stand like Paige said, or milk them and bottle feed.


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## sweetgoats (Oct 18, 2007)

goathiker said:


> The goat might take it. The biggest problem here though is that sheep milk contains a lot more fat then goats milk. You're not to to get good growth out of the lamb because he won't be able to eat enough to make up for the lost calories. Well, you could make for it in the creep feeder.
> Main thing is to keep birth fluids from the doe frozen and put the all over the lamb when you try to introduce him. She will be confused enough it might work.


 I was wondering that.

Also, i think you have a 50-50 chance. 

I have seen goats want to be a mom so bad and are so good they will take anything. I have seen them steal them form other mom's, take lambs, and I have even seen a goat let a pup nurse, so anything is possible but VERY rare.


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## keren (Oct 26, 2008)




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## ThreeHavens (Oct 20, 2011)

Aww!


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## keren (Oct 26, 2008)

lol, so thats a "yes" from me  I've done it before several times, with does who are naturally 'nurse goats' and will let any kid suckle off them. My lambs always grew really well despite the difference in milk.


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## JaLyn (Oct 10, 2012)

keren said:


>


 NOw that is just downright precious Keren..


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## geonjenn (Oct 3, 2012)

I have a calf we named Rocky that was nursing from a goat when we bought her. We bottle fed her goat's milk for a while. She became very sick (not from the goat's milk) and we almost lost her twice, and she stopped eating so we had to use an esophageal feeder for a while and ended up changing her over to milk replacer. We have just taken her off the bottle and she tries to nudge up under the goats when she's in the yard with them. It's pretty funny. But from all the attention she received while she was sick, she is the most spoiled rotten cow I have ever seen. We moved her out of the goat pen and tried to put her with the other older calves. She won't stay with them and just paces and moos by the back yard gate. When she sees us drive up or on the other side of the house, she walks through the electric fence and follows us all over the property. It's pretty funny now, but I hope when she weighs 1000 pounds, she will not be quite so clingy. LOL as I'm typing this, I just heard my husband come in the back door saying "NO, stay outside." Rocky just tried to follow him into the house.


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## sweetgoats (Oct 18, 2007)

Keren, those does are always worth keeping no matter what.

That is so sweet.


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