# 2 month old refuses bottle



## mc156 (Apr 23, 2012)

Hello! I have been reading this site for about a year now and love the info on it!

I have acquired a 2-month old pygora doeling who is healthy and spunky :> However, she was dam-raised and I cannot get her to recognise/drink from a bottle - even with her dam's milk inside it.

She is currently eating grain (Purina goat mix) about 1/2 cup morning and night, greens (grass/weeds) and alfalfa hay. I have seen her drinking water as well.

How important is it that she takes the bottle for the next month or two? I will continue to try to get her interested in it, but if she never accepts it, will she suffer nutritional deficit? Is there any supplement I can add to her grain to help offset this?

Thanks for all the help!

Marlene


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

welcome to the forum 

although 8 weeks weening is not ideal as long as she is eating hay well and chewing a cud she will be fine...if you want to work with her on the bottle...put a little honey on the nipple..put some on your finger and let her taste it, if she sucks on your finger, even better..: ) ...do this a few times then slip the nipple in..it might take a bit of coaxing and patients but if she wants the milk she will take it...


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## nancy d (Oct 5, 2007)

It's tough getting them on bottle when they are older. 2mos is a little early for weaning & it might her her extra time to grow.
Have you tried different nipples? Smear a little corn syrup on nipple.


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## mc156 (Apr 23, 2012)

Thank you Happybleats and NancyD...

I understand the milk is the best. I will continue to offer her the bottle - especially when she cries for Mama. I will try both the syrup and honey and even molasses.

I will also be looking for signs of cud-chewing ;>

She is crying now so I'll warm up a little milk )


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## dizzygal04 (Jun 6, 2013)

2 of my 4 human babies, refused a bottle and would ONLY nurse (not even sippy cups and i tried them ALL). i feel your pain! did you try to pan/shallow bucket feed her the milk? Heather


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## midlothianffa (May 5, 2013)

You can try squirting some milk in her mouth with a medicine dropper


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## Bonfire98 (May 25, 2013)

When we get baby's that have to be bottle fed to get them to take the bottle we won't feed them in the morning cause thats when they are really hungry and only try with a bottle no feed or hay and we put a little honey on the nipple and put a little milk in their mouth and they figure out where the good stuff is pretty fast haha  good luck


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## Sensible (Jun 14, 2013)

If you just got her and she has been nursing, it may take a few feedings to get her on the bottle, but what you describe is also classic for a kid which is already being weaned, if not is altogether. I have rountinely weaned most of my kids at 8 weeks for years, and I have not had any problems. Of course it's gradual, which is preferable to doing it cold turkey, but some people do have success with that as well. It's not an ideal situation to pull an 8 week kid and start to wean anyway, but obviously she is at least part way there. If you never got another bottle into her, it wouldn't be what I'd recommend, but probably not the end of the world either. If for no other reason, I'd still stick with it and try to get her to accept the bottle, and give her at least one feeding per day, just to help tame her down and imprint on humans a little.

It is never recommended to give honey to a young animal, including humans. Corn syrup, molasses, OK, but never honey.


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## goathiker (Apr 14, 2011)

The extremely rare botulism spores sometimes contained in honey are also present in molasses and corn syrup. Honey is just made a bigger deal of.


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