# Raising bottle boers



## DappledBoers (Feb 10, 2013)

I am raising two bottle baby boers. They were triplets and one is still on the mom. My problem is I don't have a scale so I can't weigh them to know how much milk they should get. So I base it on their stomaches Iv been told not sunken in and not sticking out so flat and full, well to make sure I feed them enough I make sure there stomaches are sticking out just a tad. 

The one that's on their mom and twice the size as the two bottle babies. They are 2 weeks old now and getting 8-10 ounces of cows milk and 6-7 ounces of goats milk 4 times a day soooo 14-17 ounces of milk four times a day. Is that not enough so they are growing slower or is it the cows milk? Iv also notices there coat is fuzzier and not so smooth and shiny as the kid on there mom. Iv noticed this in other kids Iv bottle raised to and I was wondering if this happens to all bottle kids or if it's something I'm doing because I really want these two kids to reach there highest possibilities because I think they can turn out great. 

Also how to you get bottle babies to eat grain and hay?? They aren't interested at all.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Hanging fish scales are cheap. You can put them in a bag or sling and weigh them.


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## nancy d (Oct 5, 2007)

Those hanging fish scales are great & very inexpensive. We got one at Karens suggestion.

Mine don't try grain until a couple of weeks or so. When they see their dam or a sibling try it they will follow.
As for your milk; Boer milk has an incredibly high fat content. I don't remember the % but one time I milked out a 50%. Two days later it was nearly a third cream!
If you can get Belgian buttermilk to add to the whole cow and some evap, *not* condensed your bottle kids will grow much better.
If Belgian buttermilk isn't available (they make nearly all Bmilk reduced fat) then add two cups half & half along with a can of evap to a gallon of whole milk.


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## SalteyLove (Jun 18, 2011)

Do you have any friends with a regular bathroom scale? Step on with the baby, note weight, step on without baby and subtract to get kid's weight. Generally a boer kid is 7-10 lbs at birth and gains 0.5 lbs per day. I typically add buttermilk to the whole cows milk to bump up the fat but I never raise then all the way out so not sure of they catch up with dam raised siblings.


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## nancy d (Oct 5, 2007)

Yes Saltey they will catch up around weaning time. I once had to supplement a scrawny quad who kept getting bumped off. He caught up.


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

All my bottle kids always seem to be a bit slower. I think the difference is meals 4 times a day verses probably 20 small meals a day lol really not much you can do about it unless you want to go out every hour or so and give a small bottle. But Nancy is right they will catch up. I can see them slowly start catching up the older they get and are able to eat big goat feed. My 3 I had last kidding are actually bigger at 6 months old then the other ones. 
As for the hair they don't really have a mama to take care of all their needs such as cleaning on them and have a large warm body to curl up to to stay warm. Keeping track of weight wouldn't be a bad idea if your concerned. I do the bathroom scale thing with mine. 


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## DappledBoers (Feb 10, 2013)

Thank you for you guys help. I actually have a bathroom scale I just didn't think about using it like that lol


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## RPC (Nov 6, 2009)

All the bottle babies I raised I would buy vit. D milk at 1 cup buttermilk and half a can of evaporated milk and they grew out almost as well as dam raised and ended up catching up to the other kids. After 2 weeks I had them eating 20oz. At 3 feedings a day.


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## SalteyLove (Jun 18, 2011)

Oh good! Do you have the calculation for how much to feed? It's like kid weight in lbs x 16 to get ounces then lutiply by 0.1 to get 10% body weight and that is the number of ounces to feed in a day (split in to at least 3 feedings at this point)


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## midlothianffa (May 5, 2013)

If you have a bathroom scale hold each baby individually then weigh yourself when not holding them that should you give you an estimate of their weight 


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## midlothianffa (May 5, 2013)

midlothianffa said:


> If you have a bathroom scale hold each baby individually then weigh yourself when not holding them that should you give you an estimate of their weight
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Goat Forum


Oops I didn't read that far never mind lol

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## RPC (Nov 6, 2009)

No I did not to any calculations I just would feel the kids stomachs and make sure they were not over eating. At 2 weeks I also started putting out some pellets to eat in a creep area as long as some hay. Not much at a time until they start really eating it. That way I would give what left to my does and give the kids fresh twice a day. Once they started eating well they got free choice grain to help them grow. They stayed with all the other does and kids so they all had to share. I had a creep area set up for all the kids.


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## lottsagoats1 (Apr 12, 2014)

My bottle kids never lag behind the dam fed kids, they all grow at the same rate. I don't use the % of their weight formula. The kids get as much as they will drink 4 times a day for the 1st week or so. After that, they go to as much as they want from a 20 ounce bottle 4 times a day. At 3 months they drop down to 20 ounces 3 times a day. At 4-5 months (depending on milk supply) they get 20 ounces twice a day until weaned, anywhere from 5 to 8 months. (I always have tons of spare milk) I put a pinch of baking soda in the first bottle of the day as long as they are getting a bottle. Cocci prevention using Baycox until they are eating at least a pound of the medicated feed a day, deworming with cydectin the first time at 15 days, then pending a fecal after that.. 

I usually feed just goat milk. If I need more for other things, I mix goat milk with Sav a Kid milk replacer 50/50%.

I put 16% protein, 5% fat medicated for cocci grain and hay in a creep for them when the oldest is 1 week old. If it's really cold, they stay in the house and 1 of my dogs (a male Siberian Husky/Greyhound cross) teaches them to eat solid food. If it is mild outside, they go out to the barn at 1 month of age.


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## DappledBoers (Feb 10, 2013)

Thanks for that info.. They are 3 weeks old now and still smaller than the dam raised kid but they are keeping up in gaining weight. I don't think they would stop eating though they would drink till they blew up lol


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## RPC (Nov 6, 2009)

I think from the sounds of it you are doing a good job with them. At first they do grow a little slower because the milk they are getting isn't as fatty and they aren't drinking whenever they want but they will catch up. is this the first year this doe has kidded? I am just wondering if maybe next year she will keep all her kids or if she is just a doe that tends to reject them. First time moms can get confused but do way better the next year.


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## DappledBoers (Feb 10, 2013)

RPC said:


> I think from the sounds of it you are doing a good job with them. At first they do grow a little slower because the milk they are getting isn't as fatty and they aren't drinking whenever they want but they will catch up. is this the first year this doe has kidded? I am just wondering if maybe next year she will keep all her kids or if she is just a doe that tends to reject them. First time moms can get confused but do way better the next year.


This is her second time kidding, the first time she had a single buck.. So many boys!


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