# Nigerian dwarf goats



## Ctubbs90 (Aug 29, 2020)

I am getting my goats tonight, they are almost 4 weeks old. I am bottle feeding them. Any advice for me and i have read it’s good to start training them young. What do you give them at this age as a treat for training? Here is my female


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## Mountain view acres (Aug 29, 2020)

I used unsalted peanuts


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## Ctubbs90 (Aug 29, 2020)

Mountain view acres said:


> I used unsalted peanuts


Thank you


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## B&B Happy goats (Aug 29, 2020)

Thinly sliced carrots work well as treats ...and welcome to BYH...cute looking goat kids, congratulations


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## animalmom (Aug 29, 2020)

Mine are addicted to raisins.  Now I have to find the person who did that to the poor dears.


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## Ctubbs90 (Aug 30, 2020)

Any good advice or techniques on getting them to eat from a bottle? They were born aug 3 and i received them yesterday. They were nursing on their mom until i received them.


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## chickens really (Aug 30, 2020)

Strange the breeder would sell them without them being bottle trained. Sometimes they will not take a bottle. Hopefully someone has some advice to share.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie (Aug 31, 2020)

Miss @Ctubbs90 and Miss @Mountain view acres,

Welcome to Backyard herds!  You will find a lot of helpful and friendly people on the forum.  A lot of folks here know about goats, and sheep, and horses, and chickens, and tractors and all things homestead related.  I encourage each of you to start your own journal.  You can find other folks' journals in the forum "Members' "Backyard Herds Journal"", which you can find by traversing "Forums > Social".  There is a suggested journal opener there at the top, but you are free to invent your own style.  Miss @B&B Happy goats and Miss @chickens really each has her own journal, as do several others.

Again, welcome aboard!


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## Mountain view acres (Aug 31, 2020)

Thank you very much. I am actually a goat owner and breeder of 15 years.thank you tho


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie (Sep 1, 2020)

Miss @Mountain view acres,

Wow!  That is a wealth of knowledge!  I strongly encourage you to start your own journal, as you have a lot of knowledge to share with others!

Senile Texas Aggie


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## OneFineAcre (Sep 1, 2020)

How's the bottle feeding going?

The seller did you a huge disservice in selling you dam raised kids at 4 weeks old to switch to a bottle.  That's a tough thing to do.

You just have to work with them.  You are going to have to hold them and literally pry their mouth open and force them at first.  If they get hungry enough they will hopefully get the hang of it.

What are you trying to feed them? Did you get goats milk from the seller?


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## Hoosierbelle (Sep 2, 2020)

Ctubbs90 said:


> I am getting my goats tonight, they are almost 4 weeks old. I am bottle feeding them. Any advice for me and i have read it’s good to start training them young. What do you give them at this age as a treat for training? Here is my female


Get familiar with signs of goat polio. It can appear suddenly due to stress or grain.  It can be treated with thiamine but it is really scary to see you goats appearing blind and paralysis. Can be cured but act quickly.  Find a good vet.


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## Judy-Ron (Sep 2, 2020)

Ctubbs90 said:


> I am getting my goats tonight, they are almost 4 weeks old. I am bottle feeding them. Any advice for me and i have read it’s good to start training them young. What do you give them at this age as a treat for training? Here is my female


Congratulations on your new babies.  My advise to you is to handle them when they are young.  Get them used to your voice and your smiles (they love smiling faces)  If they are to be in the house diaper them and put a onesie on them to keep the diapers in place.  Please use whole cows milk instead of milk replacer as they seem to do better on it (my opinion) offer a small amount of soft hay (like orchard hay) for them to nibble on.  If they are to be outside make sure they have a secure place to sleep at night.  They are babies and need protection.  We kept out little guys in a crate on our lanai for several weeks before we had their shelter constructed.  They are the most loving creatures on the planet right now because we spent so much time with them....  If you have more questions feel free to ask me anything.  I'll be happy to help you anyway I can.


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## Judy-Ron (Sep 2, 2020)

Ctubbs90 said:


> Any good advice or techniques on getting them to eat from a bottle? They were born aug 3 and i received them yesterday. They were nursing on their mom until i received them.


You may try to cover their eyes with a cloth and offer the bottle.  If they are having trouble with the brand of nipple you have.  They feel most comfortable eating in an upright position (all four on the floor and head up) rather than in the position used with a human baby.  Right now they are scared and away from mom so be patient.  You may have to use a syringe to get some milk into them for a while until they settle down in their new environment.


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## Judy-Ron (Sep 2, 2020)

Ctubbs90 said:


> I am getting my goats tonight, they are almost 4 weeks old. I am bottle feeding them. Any advice for me and i have read it’s good to start training them young. What do you give them at this age as a treat for training? Here is my female


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## Judy-Ron (Sep 2, 2020)

At this age you really don't need treats.  they are very young and will learn what you want them to know just through repetition and reinforcement from you.  Later as they get older you will find some like certain things and others don't.  I have four and not all of them like the same treats so it depends on who I'm working with as to what treats they get.


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## Michele (Sep 2, 2020)

congratulations on your new babies! Ive had bottle babies a few times and fortunately never had an issue getting them to take a bottle. Once they figure out there’s milk in the bottle and you are their food source they will come running.  Little pieces of fruit and veggies are nice treats. I find just spending time with them (with some treats too) is the best for training.  Keeping them safe is the most important thing at this age, they are easy prey for predator. Enjoy your babies!


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## Jeanne Sheridan (Sep 3, 2020)

Ctubbs90 said:


> I am getting my goats tonight, they are almost 4 weeks old. I am bottle feeding them. Any advice for me and i have read it’s good to start training them young. What do you give them at this age as a treat for training? Here is my female


I agree with the comment about someone selling a kid as a bottle baby that isn't already trained to feed on a bottle.  Try holding them on your lap and stroking their throats as you feed them.  I breed dairy goats and don't use any treats to train though i do give my herd windfall apples from our tree.  The main thing is consistent handling.  Though we are down to 21 goats now at the end of the last kidding season we had 46 goats.  We make sure we handle everyone everyday.  I get a lot of repeat customers because my goats are so friendly


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## Curlyconservative (May 22, 2021)

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Miss @Mountain view acres,
> 
> Wow!  That is a wealth of knowledge!  I strongly encourage you to start your own journal, as you have a lot of knowledge to share with others!
> 
> Senile Texas Aggie


yes please!


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