# Need advice for bottle baby ASAP..



## Janie (Feb 3, 2019)

I am new to goats and could really use some advice/reassurance because this goat mama is getting a little paranoid. My female nigerian dwarf kid, Fern, is about 3 weeks old. We bought her from a breeder outside of town and have had her for about 4 days. I'm kicking myself a bit for not double checking the persons advice/instructions, because after getting home and struggling to get her to take to the bottle, I come to find that the older the kid, the harder to transition from teat to plastic nipple. On top of this, I was instructed to feed DuMor Goats Kid Milk Replacer for the next 3-4 weeks before weaning, come to find many have issues with feeding milk replacer as well as switching from dams milk straight over. I have been nervously adhering to this instruction, hoping that if the seller told me it was fine then this baby goat will be fine but now I have my doubts!

I have been mixing (and /trying/ to feed) Fern around 24 oz of milk replacer (calculated as 15% of her body weight of 10lbs) spread throughout the day, usually at 5 am, 9 am, 12 PM, 2pm, 6 PM and 8 PM. I know the hours between feedings are inconsistent, but really I give her the bottle whenever she acts hungry because I have been having such a hard time getting her to accept the nipple. Sometimes she only takes an oz or two at a time. I have at max gotten her to drink about 16-18 oz through the course of the day and I'm so worried she is not eating enough. I cant tell if maybe she just doesnt like the milk replacer or she is just still figuring out the nipple? I worry most that she has a lack of appetite, though she nibbles grain and browses the yard between naps. 

Her poo has gone from pellets the first few days to clumpy and more mucous, but I don't know if that is because she is just being introduced to all new milk/hay/feed (I feed free alfalfa hay and put about a handful of grain out a day but she only seems to nibble at it for now). She has also been browsing our yard and munching on a good bit of new foliage. Could this be the cause of the abnormal poo or should I be worried about her being sick? I fed her about 3 oz of homemade electrolyte (salt, baking soda, water, molasses) this morning an hour and a half before her first bottle because I was worried about dehydration from not drinking enough milk and it seemed to help clump up the poop more. 

A note: I'm worried about switching from the milk replacer suddenly to a whole milk or something because of all the changes and issues already..

This part may be silly, but could anyone give me a gauge on average behaviour of goats this age? I feel like she sleeps a lot and if I am not out with her or she is not with the other animals, she will just lay by the door waiting for someone to come out. Sometimes she cries, but only for a minute then she finds a good place to lay down. Otherwise she is bouncy and likes to run the yard and hike with the pack of dogs and I. I did purchase her as a single goat, as the seller told me that if she was born as a single kid rather than a twin that she would do fine as a single goat. Now, with my belated research, I hope she wont get too lonely. I work from home and spend multiple hours a day just with my animals. When she is alone I have been putting my sweet old little dog who is the same size as her in the barn outside of her pen to keep her company (I never ever leave her alone/out of sight with the dogs without barriers). We have talked about maybe getting another goat, but I can't imagine the stress of another bottle baby right now..

I just realized as I type that this is so much but i am just so nervous and I want to do the best for baby Fern. Any advice is appreciated.


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## Hens and Roos (Feb 3, 2019)

Welcome to BYH, sorry you are having some struggles with your new baby!

I am tagging a few who raise bottle kids on a regular basis for their advice. @Goat Whisperer @Southern by choice  and a few others @OneFineAcre @babsbag


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## SonRise Acres (Feb 3, 2019)

This person sounds fishy to me. His advice on a single birth = goat doesn’t need a partner is junk. Their inate mechanisms don’t change based on how many are born at once. They are herd animals which means they need a herd. It doesn’t have to be a large herd, but they need a buddy. 

The other issue could actually be caused by the food you are giving. I would wean to whole cow’s milk and add a safe supplement to help with the gut.


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## Janie (Feb 3, 2019)

I am pretty competent on animal relationships and knew they were herd animals that need animal companions, but as I am not familiar with goats up until now I thought that this (single birth etc) was just a "goat thing" that this seemingly experienced goat person had to share. 

She is currently sharing the company of my dogs and the neighbors chickens, but no other herd animals. She seems happy enough and I spend most of my day with the animals. I have read that goats raised as pets with lots of quality time can be very happy and healthy animals. We are talking about getting another doe or maybe a bottle raised junior who is friendly but already weaned, but now I am back to trying to find another reputable seller in our area and figuring out what option would be the best as far as a companion for Fern and what age kid to get. 

Any advice on how to wean to whole cows milk? I know any change in diet can cause an upset. Will she be more likely to take to the bottle with cows milk?


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## Latestarter (Feb 3, 2019)

Greetings and welcome to BYH from NE TX! So glad you joined us. She's still very young. Over time she may "adapt" to being a "single" or may not... Every animal is different and there are success stories with single animals. That doesn't seem to be the "norm" however and she (& y'all) would probably be better with a goat companion (added at some point). It doesn't have to be another bottle baby... you can get a slightly older, already weaned wether (castrated male) to be her companion and not have to worry about breeding and babies down the road. If you were to add said weaned wether soon, he would be able to show her about eating hay and pellets, and teach her other goats stuff. Typically Nigies can be weaned at 8 weeks. some like to prolong and wait, dam raised, the mother decides and may allow the kid to suckle for 6 months... or shut it down at 6 weeks...

I would start switching over to the whole milk 25%:75% then 50:50, 75:25 then 100% over about a week's time. Also, at 3 weeks old, she shouldn't need to be fed quite so often... You can set up a schedule for 3 times a day at this point (4 if you feel it's really necessary) and the kid should be eating 8-10oz or more at each feeding. I don't have Nigies but when I bottle fed, I let the kid have as much as it wanted at each feeding.

There's a wealth of info, knowledge and experience shared in the multitude of threads. Browse around and see what interesting stuff you can find. You'll get to "meet" folks at the same time. By all means post away when the desire strikes you, especially if you have questions (provide as much detail/info as possible and pictures truly help)... With all the great folks here, generally someone will respond in no time at all. Oh, and we all love pics, so post them anytime you feel the need! Please make yourself at home!

PLEASE put at least your general location in your profile. It could be very important if/when you ask for or offer help or advice. You know, climate issues and such. I recommend at least your state as most folks won't be able to figure out where if you put anything more specific (county, town, street, etc) by itself.  Old folks like me  will never remember from this post & look there first. To add it, mouse hover over Account top right and a drop down will appear. Click on Personal Details and scan down. You'll see the spot for Location. Then go to the bottom and save changes.  Thanks! Hope you enjoy the site!

https://www.backyardherds.com/threa...ning-and-raising-young-goats.1225/#post-36882

https://www.backyardherds.com/resources/so-you-bought-a-baby-goat-now-what.59/


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## Southern by choice (Feb 3, 2019)

The so called breeder should have never sold a kid as a bottle baby without training to a bottle. Some never take it and do die.


Ran over.

As far as your girl, cows milk is generally better. Stop feeding so  often go to 3x day minimum 8oz up to 12 oz. When she is taking all the milk down per feeding then go to 12oz - then by 6 weeks 2x 16oz 
I know you are concerned therefore trying a little and more frequent but she needs to get hungry enough to eat.

Good she is nibbling some.

I advice you get some probiotics for tummy. Powder form is what we use, there is also a paste.

Yes all the feed changes will cause tummy issues. Keep watch like you are doing and see if it starts to firm up. 



Latestarter said:


> https://www.backyardherds.com/threa...ning-and-raising-young-goats.1225/#post-36882
> 
> https://www.backyardherds.com/resources/so-you-bought-a-baby-goat-now-what.59/



The above are both good resources however the one resource on bottle feeding is not for Nigerian Dwarfs, that is for standard goats. The recommendations for minis is not accurate.  Nigerians can be fully weaned by 8 weeks.

I recoomend another kid asap. This time, now that you know (so sorry that someone would do this to you) get a bottle baby that is already trained. It is a night and day difference. A kid is trained easily from birth by a breeder- we have trips that were born on Friday- they take their bottles like a champ... that is what you want to see. So if you find a BB then make sure when you go  and see that the breeder or you can easily feed the bottle without any issues.


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## Janie (Feb 3, 2019)

Thank you guys so much for the advice! I thought I might be feeding her too often and not pushing her towards my schedule rather than like off the dam where she gets to sip on milk whenever. I will try to not feed as often, but what if she does not take very much milk even if it has been a while since last feed? Just wait until she is hungrier?

Will talk to the hubby about a whether, sounded to me like a good idea too for all the goat skills!

Thanks so much for the replies it has helped a lot.


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## Southern by choice (Feb 3, 2019)

I would spread it out. 
As far as a wether. Keep in mind a Nigerian should NOT be wethered til 8 weeks-10 weeks at earliest because they need to grow that urethra.
The down side to this is male dwarfs can breed by 8 weeks and doelings can cyle between 9-12 weeks. Even once castrated it takes weeks to have the "pipes clean" so to speak.

You will need to find out if the goat was given a CDT or the dam.
Always keep probiotics on hand.
Is the goat disbudded?


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## Janie (Feb 3, 2019)

Making a vet appt to have a preventative care exam done and to the store for probiotics and whole milk. 

May just look at other goat breeds for a companion as we would like to have a larger goat to train to pack (when they are old enough and ready) for longer hikes than little Fern could probably handle.

She is not disbudded (assuming that means horns removed). We had originally desired to leave her growing as naturally as possible, but should it be a concern? And for what reasons? Is training a gentle animal and discouraging butting/hitting with horns not enough to reduce the risks?


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## Janie (Feb 3, 2019)

Thanks again for the many replies, I clearly have tons of questions!


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## Southern by choice (Feb 3, 2019)

Janie said:


> Making a vet appt to have a preventative care exam done and to the store for probiotics and whole milk.
> 
> May just look at other goat breeds for a companion as we would like to have a larger goat to train to pack (when they are old enough and ready) for longer hikes than little Fern could probably handle.
> 
> She is not disbudded (assuming that means horns removed). We had originally desired to leave her growing as naturally as possible, but should it be a concern? And for what reasons? Is training a gentle animal and discouraging butting/hitting with horns not enough to reduce the risks?


If you have children please disbud. All our goats are sweet, friendly and well mannered and at one time I was extremely pro horn. But time, experience has changed that.  
Rescuing horned goats from vines and trees before they strangle is an issue, horns stuck in fencing is an issue. Although your goat may never try to hurt you it happens, horns get massive too. All that has to happen is the goat suddenly jerk back, startle and there is your face.
I wrote several articles here on BYH- they have not been updated in forever but  I will do  a brief update- we no longer sedate but do disbud all our goats. Safer, no losses since we stopped using sedation. Recovery better. IOW Instant.

Millie is still in our herd and will live her life here. 

https://www.backyardherds.com/resources/horns-dis-bud-polled.31/
millie story dangerous horns- https://www.backyardherds.com/threads/de-horned-2yr-old-doe-week-3-update.28257/page-2#post-358403


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