# Bottle Feeding instead of Dam Raising to make quick profit?



## GotmygoatMTJ (Apr 25, 2009)

Is there a profit in selling bottle babies compared to waiting until the kids are 2 months to sell them? Do any of you bottle feed the babies to make a quicker sale, not just for CAE prevention?

Those are a couple of questions that have haunted me for a few days..


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## Itchysmom (Apr 3, 2010)

*Re: Bottle Feeding instead of Dam Raising to make quick prof*

I really don't have an answer to your questions, but me personally would not want to buy a bottle baby. I don't like having to feed more than I have to! I would rather buy a 2 month old that is weaned. LMO tho.


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## GotmygoatMTJ (Apr 25, 2009)

*Re: Bottle Feeding instead of Dam Raising to make quick prof*

I guess I'm a little different  I love bottle babies, I'd raise 20 if I could!

But I know of one farm that bottle feeds all of her babies, and they sell fairly quick, for a good price too. Its interesting to say the least...


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## freedomstarfarm (Mar 25, 2011)

*Re: Bottle Feeding instead of Dam Raising to make quick prof*

I prefer my kids that I raise and also that I buy to be dam raised. This is just my personal preference. I do have a kid that was raised on a bottle and also understand that it is sometimes necessary so am not opposed to it.


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## KW Farms (Jun 21, 2008)

*Re: Bottle Feeding instead of Dam Raising to make quick prof*

I personally don't bottle feed unless it's completely necessary. I prefer dam raised kids and also don't like taking time bottle feeding.

The main concern I see with selling kids on the bottle soon after birth is that if you don't find a buyer quickly, your stuck bottlefeeding until you get a buyer. Also, from my experience, i've found a lot of unknowledgable or new to goats people want bottle kids because they think it will be fun or they're much friendlier than a dam raised kid. However, if they don't know a lot about goat care, it's taking a big risk for the kid to have them go to that type of home because if something comes up it probably won't be as easy for them to take care of the problem vs. an experienced home.

I personally wouldn't purchase a kid that was days old on the bottle and needed a few weeks of bottlefeeding unless it was something that I just had to have and was a really good deal. I also don't see there being a big profit unless the breeder owned some highly sought after animals and had buyers lined up for the kids.


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

*Re: Bottle Feeding instead of Dam Raising to make quick prof*

I've thought of this too. But then I always end up with the buyers who can't get their kids till like 10 weeks due to new pen needing to be built, vacations or arranging transport via shows. So I would end up bottle feeding for their entire milk fed life!

If you have buyers lined up and you tell them you are selling on the bottle then yeah it works great


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## GotmygoatMTJ (Apr 25, 2009)

*Re: Bottle Feeding instead of Dam Raising to make quick prof*

Good statements KW.

Youre right right about people wanting to buy bottle kids because they are 'cute'. And normally they know nothing about the care fo them. I personally don't want to sell endless bottle babies, I was just wondering if anybody on here did it, and if they did, what their approach to it would be.
I like bottle babies, but usually only 1 or 2 at at time (contradicting to my above post, but that would only be if I had a lamb bar! LOL). I've raised 5 at one time, and that wasn't easy. Lots of bottles to heat. (But I've heard you can feed them cold milk from another forum, I dont really want to try it for fear of a stomach ache.)

Stacey you were posting as I was. :hi5:

That's another thing I was thinking about, a line up of FOR SURE people that want bottle babies. I actually had one that wanted 2 bottle does out of a particular doe, but she ended up having buck/doe twins. I didn't want to take the doe off and leave mom lopsided, and I wanted to keep the doe. :slapfloor: 
I'd say its hard to decide which babies to keep and which babies to sell at 2 weeks old...


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## 4kids (Jul 21, 2009)

*Re: Bottle Feeding instead of Dam Raising to make quick prof*

I never bottle feed unless I have to (have human kids that need me) and I always tell potential buyers that it will be 8 weeks. Most people are fine with that and even need time to get ready like Stacey said. Also, I personally would like to make sure everything is okay with the kid. Sometimes issues take a little while to show and I also like to be the one to deal with coccidiosis (if it becomes an issue- which it is lately!)


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## RMADairyGoats (Jun 20, 2011)

*Re: Bottle Feeding instead of Dam Raising to make quick prof*

I will only buy a bottle baby. I have nothing agaist people who dam raise, but do not like their personalitys at all. They are not very friendly(I think) and are almost impossible to handle as adults. We pull all of our kids at birth and bottle raise them for there sweet temperaments. Many of the people that have bought babies from us have wanted bottle babies, I don't know if we would have sold most of our kids if we had not bottle raised them. Just my take on it, but I know there are many more people out there that think differently.


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## nubians2 (Feb 20, 2011)

*Re: Bottle Feeding instead of Dam Raising to make quick prof*

I considered both options with these first babies. I choose to dam raise but I spend alot of time when I can to make them friendly. many people are surprised how friendly they are. My adult wether was a bottle baby. He cried Alot when I got him. The family he came from had 8 kids and he always had company. It was very frustrating. I will bottle feed if necessary but with work, family, and life if I have a choice I will dam raise.


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## Hidden Waters Farm (Oct 3, 2010)

*Re: Bottle Feeding instead of Dam Raising to make quick prof*

With our goats, Almost every one of my bottle babies are messed up in some way. They either are stunted(no matter what I fed them, even goats milk!), Too dependent on the bottle and refuse to eat or drink anything else, Attack your fingers for the rest of their lives or are waayy too attached to you and underfoot getting stepped on all the time(Giving you the gut punching feeling that you just broke their leg or something). They don't reach a good breeding weight in a reasonable amount of time. Only 1 bottle baby mother I have actually fed their babies and took care of them. Ive still goat a doe that was born last march who was bottle fed, She is still under breeding weight at 60-70 lbs and shes a Nubian! I will have lost 2 years of breeding/kidding with her come spring unless I just breed her anyways.

My dam raised kids grow better even if they are the runts, keep weight easier and bulk up faster, eat hay, browse and loose minerals better and earlier than my bottle kids, they learn what water is at 1-2 weeks old. They tend to have better mothering skills. Right now I have 2 12 week old doeling's who are both pushing 35-40lbs they are growing so well. If you spend the right amount of time with them, They can be just as friendly or friendlier than bottle kids.

I will only ever buy another bottle baby if its got the conformation and ultimate genetics that I must have in my herd and at a good price. Now I have a few goats who will take on orphans so with luck I wouldn't have to bottle feed them anyways.

Now, Having said all that I do offer bottle feeding at an additional price for a reserved kid with a deposit on it. That makes it a better task to deal with because I don't care if they are under foot, They won't be at my place!

This is my opinion based on experiences at my farm.


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## Kristenkay26 (Jun 16, 2011)

*Re: Bottle Feeding instead of Dam Raising to make quick prof*

I have 2 dam raised about 15-18 months old and one is meaner than a u know what.. but the other is pretty friendly.. I am bottle feeding 2 babies now who lost their momma in birth.. and they are the sweetest things ever.. I am not sure if it has to do with that, I spend a lot of time with all of my Goats. They are all good with ME.


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## WalnutGroveFarm (Sep 27, 2008)

*Re: Bottle Feeding instead of Dam Raising to make quick prof*

I do both bottle raise and dam raise. I dont sell the babies untill they are about two weeks old if on the bottle . That way they can be disbudded and tattooed before leaving. But I do have to say bottle babies are a little annoying when they are little, but I so like their attitudes alot better when they are older. Cause its seems like no matter how much time I spend with a dam raised kid they are just not as friendly and sometimes just dont like to be messed with when they are older. But like others have said if you have people lined up to buy bottle babies then it would be a great way to go.

Just wanted to add I have always fed regular cow's milk to the babies but this year I did nothing but goat milk and they all look really good and are growing great. They eat grain and hay great and have been since they where about 4-5 weeks old. But I bottle feed my kids untill they are about 3-5 months old.


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## RowdyKidz (Apr 2, 2009)

*Re: Bottle Feeding instead of Dam Raising to make quick prof*

I mostly dam raise but I had a few does who rejected babies.

I much prefer dam raising because around here it is expensive to get or ship the milk replacer! I handle my babies LOTS when they are little and they turn out to be great showmanship goats as well as super friendly (just as good as bottle babies)

I've had a few does who were raised from bottles by me and ALL they ever do is get under foot and they NEVER behave on leads! Maybe that is just me?? But I think the bottle makes them a bit too spoiled??

I like bottle babies, but I'd much prefer dam raised! jmo


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## Itchysmom (Apr 3, 2010)

*Re: Bottle Feeding instead of Dam Raising to make quick prof*

Lots of good pros and cons here! That is why I like this board so much! 

LAst year I got my doe with a single on her. Neither were handles and my doe is a pain if I say so myself. I also got a bottle weanling at the same time. She is very friendly. Right now she is a bit jealous of the attention the doe and her kids are getting, so she is much more in my pocket!

This year when my unfriendly doe had her kids I decided to let her raise them. But, I spend time with the kids and they are pretty friendly. I doubt they will be as friendly as the bottle doe, but they will be easy to handle in the future as I am taking the time to handle then now. That's just two kids tho! If I had a whole herd of them, I doubt I would have the time to spend with all the kids as I do with these two.

The bottle babies that I know are sometimes a real pain as they will not leave you alone! They are always wanting attention and to me that is a pain. But, they are babies yet and I do not know how they will be when adults. All I can go by is my one yearling who was bottle raised. She is friendly, not real pushy now. She was when she was a baby tho! Pushy I mean.

I really think it is a personal preference.


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## GotmygoatMTJ (Apr 25, 2009)

*Re: Bottle Feeding instead of Dam Raising to make quick prof*

I agree itchysmom, lots of pros and cons! Thank you guys for sharing!

I actually have a 5 and 1/2 year old boer wether that I raised from 2 days old. He was my first bottle baby, and was stunted for the longest time. But now he is as big as a boer buck. He was fed Replacer.

I guess I just love bottle babies.  I have taken a few to school with me since I was a Junior in high school. They went with me, on the bus in the morning, 3-4 times a week, on the days my mom was working, and she would come to school and get me, because her work schedule worked out like that. I kept them in a cage, brought puppy pads and towels, and diapers. Brought the milk I needed, a measuring cup to heat water in, and the bottle, and I was set. There was a microwave and sink in my teacher's closet, and the baby just stayed in one classroom, and I came before first block, during homeroom, and then during 4th block-which was the class I was supposed to be in-Livestock Management.

Sometimes my dam raised babies got friendly with a lot of mussing, but a lot of times our not friendly does, had non friendly babies. It's very frusterating.


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## nubians2 (Feb 20, 2011)

*Re: Bottle Feeding instead of Dam Raising to make quick prof*

I think that is a good point about the dams being friendly and how that effects the babies. My doe is a sweetheart and always comes running when she sees us, therefore so do the babies. She trust us and she is teaching that to them.


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## cyanne (Jan 7, 2009)

*Re: Bottle Feeding instead of Dam Raising to make quick prof*

I now bottle raise all of my babies but not because I want to sell them early. I just HATE dealing with wild goats! Every single goat I have that was dam raised is a pain. No matter how much I handle them, they are never as easy to work with when they are grown as the bottle babies are. With the bottle-raised goats, you can walk right up to them any time and lead them out of the pasture to milk, trim hooves, etc. The dam-raised will come up to you for treats but you have to CATCH them if you want to do anything else and I just don't have the time or patience to chase a goat around the pasture twice a day for milking.

I have a bottle raising system where I leave them on their dam for the first 3 weeks, then move them to a bottle (goat milk, no artificial replacer). Then to the lambar. I wean them at 8-9 wks (later if they are small and need more time). I have had no issues with size or health, in fact, I took a bunch to some shows this Spring and mine were 2 or 3 times the size of some of the other babies of the same age that other people brought.

The difference for me is just night and day, I have two types of goat in my herd now, the ones from before I started bottle raising that I have to chase around and set traps whenever they need their hooves trimmed and the ones that follow me around begging for attention.

I have not sold any yet that were still on the bottle, I don't really feel comfortable doing that unless the buyer is an experienced goat owner who has bottle raised before. But, I have noticed that the bottle-raised goats sell much better. When someone comes to look at goats and they see one that has to be chased down and caught, and another is trying to climb in their lap, which do you think they end up going home with? ;o)


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## Goat Song (May 4, 2011)

*Re: Bottle Feeding instead of Dam Raising to make quick prof*

I have a doeling who started out as a dam raised kid, and I did NOT like her at first! I could never touch her, I couldn't catch her; nothin'. Then her dam died, and I had to start bottlefeeding her. I LOVE her now!! She has blossomed into the sweetest little thing!

But to answer your question directly, I would only sell bottle babies if they were already reserved, and I felt that they were going to a responsible home. I see a lot of the big breeders doing that. They ask you to reserve a kid, and then they ship it to you when it's 10 days old, or something like that.... I think it helps that their prices are --- pricey. :wink: No one is going to spend $800 to $1300 on a bottle kid and then not take good care of it! I plan on trying to bottle feed all of next year's kids to see how I like it. I did dam raised kids this year, and while the majority of the kids were very sweet tempered, weaning was an utter nightmare...

This is definitely a hot topic in the goat world, and I think it is a very personal choice as to what the end decision is. Either way, we can all agree that we just want healthy, friendly goats!


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## cyanne (Jan 7, 2009)

*Re: Bottle Feeding instead of Dam Raising to make quick prof*

Oh yeah, definitely a personal choice and also depends a lot on your situation. If you are home all the time or have a work schedule where you have time to handle them constantly from birth then dam-raised might work out for you. Especially if you have a small number of goats.

Also helps if you have children...we have some friends who raise nigerians and they have the tamest, best behaved goats because their little girls spend HOURS every day cuddling and leading them around from the time they are born.

In my case, we have a pretty good-sized herd (core group is between 20 to 30) and both hubby and I work full time so there just aren't enough hours in the day to take each kid and handle them enough to make them tame when they are dam raised.


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## nancy d (Oct 5, 2007)

*Re: Bottle Feeding instead of Dam Raising to make quick prof*

Dam raised here unless someone needs supplement bottles or the dam has clearly rejected a kid.
My first reject was a bottle baby now herd queen & thinks no one else owns me.
The wether, being a quad, had supplement bottles as well as being on mom. He's a friendly fellow. His penmate is a Boer buck who was bottle fed. He's also a loveable hunk but not in your face.
I wouldnt sell kids to be bottle raised either unless I knew for sure the new owners are experienced.
As for the dam raised kids and adults, they are all friendly enough; even the one who's dam isnt; she just doesnt care about attention. Her 5 mo old comes up to me alot.


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## Graffogefarms (Oct 11, 2007)

*Re: Bottle Feeding instead of Dam Raising to make quick prof*

Generally - I leave the kids with the moms, but I also when we just bring them to the shows etc for petting, bottle feed them, so essentially if we end up selling a kid or a mom - kid will at least know to take the bottle when offered. profit - don't know - about that part. I generally try to find nice homes and tell them how to take care of the kid, ask about shelter fencing, etc. I have found a couple of kids who were not thriving - to be chewers, didn't know how to suckle by teaching the bottle,if I didn't try to bottle them - I wouldn't know, those ones - I try to get to drink out of a small bowl instead, not always successful though.


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