# Bilbo Update but i have a few questions



## Budlady (Jan 29, 2011)

hes up and about he woke me up about 2 am bleeting loudly asking for a bottle lol 
he was not likeing the fact all he got was gator aide


I didnt mention his breed hes a spanish boer cross

1. how many times a day do i feed him 
and most importantky how much
hes a little pig when it comes to estting 
he will drink his bottle abut 12oz and but me for more .......of course i think one bottle if enough so i dont give him more i just dont want him to be sick again


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## SDGsoap&dairy (Jan 29, 2011)

I have miniature goats, so I can't answer specifics about how many ounces he should get but at 3 weeks mine would be getting fed 4 times per day.


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## Budlady (Jan 29, 2011)

and most importantly what age do i wean him i forgot that question i would love a few pygmys  arround here but it seems im destied to have a bigger breed


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## ksalvagno (Jan 29, 2011)

Do you know what his weight is?

The smaller breeds can be weaned at 8 weeks but I think some people wean at 12 weeks with the larger breeds.


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## Budlady (Jan 29, 2011)

i dont know his exact weight but hes close to maybe 8/10 closer to 10 maybe pounds


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## Roll farms (Jan 29, 2011)

I feed our Boer and Boer x kids 3x a day from birth and they do fine.
I have a boer boy who just weighed in at 30# at 28 days old.

They eat at 7am, 2pm, and 9pm.  The big kid is getting 20 oz. at ea. feeding.  

I have a 2 wk old doe who weighs 15# who's eating 16 oz at ea. feeding.

Basically I let them have as much as they want (within reason...fat boy would eat 40oz if I'd let him, ) up to 20 oz per feeding the first month.  

The MOST I ever feed a kid at a time is 24 oz...and that's when they're over a month old.

The important thing is:  give him plenty of time between feedings to let him digest the milk so they don't get FKS.

I would try feeding him 3 12 oz bottles today of Vitamin D.  If he handles that well, go to 3 14oz bottles tomorrow.  He may not be able to finish them but if he can, great....hold him at that for a few days and then you can increase the amount gradually (an oz. at a time) until he gets to the 20 oz mark.

I keep them on 3 bottles a day until they are 2 mos old.  At 2 mos they should be eating some pellets and hay, so they go to 2 20oz bottles per day.  At 10 weeks I take them down to 1 20 oz bottle, and at 3 mos I wean them.

Mind, the only kids I'm feeding out that long are my 'keepers' and I want maximum growth / size on them....you don't HAVE to feed him that long...it's just how I do it.

I think I read you post that you have flavored yogurt?  You could put a TBS of that in his morning bottle, the flavor won't hurt (so long as a strawberry doesn't plug the nipple, lol) and give him another TBS tonight in his evening bottle.


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## Budlady (Jan 29, 2011)

alright will do he been nibbleing some some hay i bring in some every night  we also have a mini donkey so there is plenty of grass hay he seems to want to nibble every thing includeing my hair lol he had some more diareah this morning im guessing its left overs from yesterday i just gave him a bottle of pedilite for breakfat ill try the half milk half pedilite for lunch and a teaspoon of yogurt in the mix hes sleeping now


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## Roll farms (Jan 29, 2011)

As far as the shots, IMHO he needs:  
2cc of CDT toxoid now and a booster of 2 cc in 3-4 weeks....and that's all.

There are other vaccines, but IMHO he doesn't need to be hit w/ a bunch of extra stuff, and the CDT covers the most important ones.

Typically it's sold in either 10 or 20 dose vials.  Just pop the remainder in the fridge for next year.  He'll need an annual booster shot.

I use a 20 ga. 1/2" needle for vaccinations.  Keep the vaccine refrigerated at all times, shake well, and fill the syringe.  Warm the syringe for a minute in your hand before you inject it SQ....cold stuff hitting a warm body hurts.

I keep probios, DiMethox, Ivermectin 1% injectable (for deworming when needed), and Pen G on hand.  
I've found they'll 'fix' 90% of what goes wrong...the remaining 10% will usually take a vet's involvement anyhow.

(Just trying to keep you from picking up a bunch of stuff you won't need...if anyone sees anything I'm overlooking, please feel free to hop in and remind me...)

He shouldn't need dewormed yet.  Here is some good info on deworming:

http://www.extension.org/pages/Goat_Dewormers

http://www2.luresext.edu/goats/training/parasites.html

A great list of goat meds for future reference:

http://www.goatworld.com/health/meds/dosages.shtml

If  / when he does get sick again, and you need help....it's always best to list what breed / age  the goat is, his temp, and any possible issues he may have / be having (scouring, not eating, got into something, etc.)

I think you're off to a great start.


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## elevan (Jan 29, 2011)

Budlady said:
			
		

> and most importantly what age do i wean him i forgot that question i would love a few pygmys  arround here but it seems im destied to have a bigger breed


No reason you  can't have some pygmies too  

Glad he's doing better this morning


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## Budlady (Jan 29, 2011)

hes doing fantastic got the CDT shot and a vitimin b just for good measure and he already shots done and over with hes back to his old self putting his front hooves on my leg for some head scratches and bouncing arround head butting the chihuahuas and kelpie , lol shes so jelouse of him she could bust this morning i woke up and found Bilbo curled up on an old couch we let Baby my kelpie sleep on he had his head on her back sleeping like babys lol Baby just turned 13 this month but shes still a good momma . I realy need to clean up his but its all dried i tryed with the comb like suggested and even baby wipes it didnt work so im gona use a bucket of warm water and a brush see if that helps poor baby  thanks for all of your help and thanks for the links ill check them out i read the post before i went to the feed store so thats why he got just the cdt and the vit b shot


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## Ariel301 (Jan 29, 2011)

Glad to hear he's doing better! Raising bottle babies can be tricky sometimes.

I feed 4 times a day when I bottle feed, (times depends on my schedule) and at each feeding I let them eat as much as they want to take, UNLESS I've got one that is prone to overeat and get a tummy ache every time...my buckling this year was that way, he'd down over half a gallon of milk and then get diarrhea and obviously feel sick, but by the next feeding, he'd forgotten all about how bad he felt and do it again!  Most will be better about only taking as much as they can comfortably hold. (I also find that for an over-eater or one who drinks too fast, giving them the milk room temperature or slightly cool will slow them down.)


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## Budlady (Jan 31, 2011)

lol we weighed Bilbo today he weighs 24 lbs boy was my guesstimation off hes eatting like a little pig  he would probly drink a half gallon of milk if i let him i give him about 18 oz now he wants more but i figure i will let him work his way up i dont want to make him sick again he is eatting grass hay not jut nibbling  he nibbles it like spehgetti and down the hatch


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## Roll farms (Jan 31, 2011)




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## ksalvagno (Jan 31, 2011)

That is great that he is ok now. Glad he is eating good again for you.


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## Budlady (Jan 31, 2011)

me to lol just wish he would keep his head out of the fridge this morning he stole a jalapino and had a nibble then flipped his lip up and ran across the room  that will teach him to grab stuff from the fridge when some one opens the door my hubby laughed so hard he spilled his coffe  bilbo ran over and licked it all up  and wanted more followed my husband all over bleeting for his coffe


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## ksalvagno (Jan 31, 2011)

I think that little guy is going to have one heck of a good life with you guys.


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## Budlady (Jan 31, 2011)

Im am trying very hard not to spoil him lol he dont have any bumps on his head for horns so i am hopeing and praying he dosent we had a huge buck named Bill Bob Thorton and he was very aggressive, i sold him and his ladies and his son willow last year 10 in all I miss him but im sure the neighbors dont he ran loose here on the 25 acres becuase he broke every pen we put him in if i can figure out how to post the pics ill post them. he was the terror of west he was so mean to every one but me he would try and suck on my finger but he would ram or chase every one else he was a boer hes probly weighed any where from 250  to 300 lbs yes that big every one who saw him said wow that the biggest billy ive ever saw


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## ksalvagno (Jan 31, 2011)

If he is 2-3 weeks old and no horn buds, then he is probably polled. That is great if you don't have to worry about horns.


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## Budlady (Jan 31, 2011)

yeah thats awsome i wont have to worry about horns we are planning on buying him a doe or two would it matter if they are older then him or should i wait till hes weaned, also should i buy the same breed a spanish x or is it ok to mix them we realy just want them to eat down the brush and maybe sell a few babies along the way


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## ksalvagno (Jan 31, 2011)

As long as everyone gets along, you can mix them. It shouldn't matter if the does are older but when introducing them, you would want to supervise what is going on. Certainly if there is a big size difference, they could really injure him. It would also be important to give him places to go to get away from them that they can't get to. I'm sure others would have other suggestions as well.


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## 20kidsonhill (Jan 31, 2011)

Just a thought, but by my calculations he is possibly near 4 weeks old, 

The average boer kid weighs 8 to 10 lbs at birth. In good health they put on half a pound a day. So If he weighs 24 lbs. He has probably gained atleast 14lbs since birth. Making him around 28 days old.  My guess is he is between 4 to 5 weeks old.  Just a thought.


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## Budlady (Jan 31, 2011)

he could possibly be that old i asked them how old he was they said a few days they wernt very helpfull with any information on him i do know if they call again with more bottle babies ill get them and raise them because the guy was just gona put him in a pen by himself and feed him if he got the time if he didnt oh well so thats why i took him hes doing fantastic it seems like heas acctually grown quite a bit since he got here


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## Budlady (Jan 31, 2011)

> As long as everyone gets along, you can mix them. It shouldn't matter if the does are older but when introducing them, you would want to supervise what is going on. Certainly if there is a big size difference, they could really injure him. It would also be important to give him places to go to get away from them that they can't get to. I'm sure others would have other suggestions as well.


ok will do i might wait till the cold weather is over with i dont realy have a shed up yet except for nester and brenda sue my pot bellied pig i plan on putting a new one up in the spring for bilbo we have a back porch with a roof and a dog house back there so when hes bigger ill put him out side in the back yard till his new pen and shed are built


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