# Lamancha Bottle Baby - creating a MONSTER



## Southern by choice (Feb 3, 2014)

We picked up our buckling yesterday and this is a first for us. We have never bottle fed! He is 2 days old today. He is 10 lbs.
We are giving  him 2oz colostrum and 3 oz goats milk (from the breeder) so* 5oz every 3 hours*. He is full but not "bulging", just full tummy. He had mom's colostrum for the first 24 hours and then what the breeder has sent home. Today he will finish off the colostrum but we will still have his momma's milk which we want to gradually mix.... 

This is what we are thinking of using....
http://goatspots.com/articles/bottle-feeding/

_*1 gallon whole milk (homogenized)
1 can evaporated milk
1 cup buttermilk
Take the gallon of milk, and pour out about 1/3 and set it aside
Pour in the 1 can of evaporated milk and the 1 cup of buttermilk into the gallon then pour to the remaining milk that you set aside until you reach the top.  Mix gently each time before making up a bottle.*_

Not sure how soon to increase amount and time. I would like to keep him at the 3 hour mark for the first week than skip the overnight....
Any suggestions?


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## Goat Whisperer (Feb 3, 2014)

I don't know much about bottle feeding. Hope someone will see this and give you your answer.


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## 2luv2farm (Feb 3, 2014)

Ditto.


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## ragdollcatlady (Feb 3, 2014)

They can go several hours overnight fine. Last year I bottle fed Spells kids from the start. After the first few days, they were fine going  "overnight" in the dark, without being fed as they don't usually nurse or move much in a dark place. Goats bed down for the night and are quiet so not to draw the predators, so that makes sense. 

I was feeding 4 times a day, during the day, for about the first 2 weeks, then cut back to 3 times for the next 4 weeks, then we went to 2 times a day.  That was for Nigerians.... At first I let them eat all they wanted for a few minutes, sometimes they stop and come back a time or two within 3 or 4 minutes. Kind of like when mom walks a few steps and the kids stop, only to decide they are still hungry and want more. By about 3 weeks, they finish the feeding in one go though. 

Fiasco recommends feeding more bottles, for longer and that is for larger goats so you might see her website.


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## ragdollcatlady (Feb 3, 2014)

RavioliAnna came to me at 7 weeks and I fed her just a 16oz bottle 2 times a day and she ate hay and pellets......so I imagine by 6 weeks, 2 bottles should be good for standard sized goats......I happened to notice that as the kids get bigger, the moms cut the babies opportunities down.....


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## BrownSheep (Feb 3, 2014)

Not kids but we did it pretty similarly with our lambs.


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## taylorm17 (Feb 3, 2014)

We got our little buckling at around 4 weeks old and finished bottle feeding him. I don't know too much though. We did have his mothers milk for a while and then gradually moved him over to a formula as we ran out. I do know, they LOVE feeding time and can get very rough! haha. Do you have any pictures of him? I'd love to see!


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## elevan (Feb 3, 2014)

@Roll farms has a good feeding schedule in her article here.


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## Southern by choice (Feb 4, 2014)

LOL I was going to check Rolls schedule this morning.


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## jodief100 (Feb 4, 2014)

I use Rolls schedule.  3 x a day as much as they want, whole cows milk. I will add some cream the first 2 weeks since cows milk has lower fat than goats. We used the evaporated milk/buttermilk thing the first year without success. 

I went to a seminar with Dr. Pinkerton (The Goat Man)  in October and he presented research he did regarding bottle raised dairy bucks.  His data shows they gain the fastest with 2, 16 oz bottles a day and all the grain they want.  This was on terminal bucks so I am hesitant to use it.  He said kids can and will start eating grain and hay as early as 3 days old.


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## Southern by choice (Feb 5, 2014)

Thanks to You all! 

We will be adjusting his schedule but for now he is getting 7oz every 3 hours... sleeps through the night. He is now on whole milk with the buttermilk/evaporated milk... if he has problems I will be buying goat milk from a friend.
Over the next few days I will move him to a 4 hour schedule with increase and adjust gradually. He is such a big boy for a dairy goat.


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## Southern by choice (Feb 15, 2014)

Just an update... So our boy is 2 weeks old today... we are now kinda inline with @Roll farms schedule. Thanks Roll for all your great info!

I am a bit concerbed though... he has only gained 5.5lbs. 
Birth 10.5lbs Now 16lbs
He is a dairy breed (Lamancha) and not a meat goat but he still seems a bit thin to me. He takes 16oz every 4-6 hours. I have had to go to every 4 hours again because he is screaming at that 4th hour. His tummy does get full but not bulging out on the sides at all. He is getting almost 3/4 gallon in 24 hours on average. He has started nibbling hay (alfalfa). He pees alot!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Poops fine but only 1-2x day. Happy bouncy silly and still in the house.

Does this all sound right?

Enjoying him as a bottle baby but definitely wouldn't want to do this unless I _had_ too. LOL


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## Roll farms (Feb 15, 2014)

That's an ADG of .39.  Not great, but not worrisome either, IMHO, esp. for a dairy kid.  It should go up as his amount of intake increases.  At 2 weeks, I'd be giving him 3 - 20oz. bottles, 6-8 hrs apart.  
That amount given too often will increase the risk of tummy trouble....4 hrs apart is too often, or more often than *I* am comfortable with, to avoid FKS.


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## jodief100 (Feb 15, 2014)

Give him some grain too.  He can digest it at 2 weeks.  You can leave that out and he can help himself.  

I have two bottle tramps in the bathroom and I wash the towels on the floor daily.  I swear all they do all day long it pee.


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## Southern by choice (Feb 15, 2014)

Roll farms said:


> That's an ADG of .39.  Not great, but not worrisome either, IMHO, esp. for a dairy kid.  It should go up as his amount of intake increases.  At 2 weeks, I'd be giving him 3 - 20oz. bottles, 6-8 hrs apart.
> That amount given too often will increase the risk of tummy trouble....4 hrs apart is too often, or more often than *I* am comfortable with, to avoid FKS.



@Roll farms - 3-20oz is less than he is getting now... I was concerned about giving too much at once and it sitting in there too long.  He is getting 96oz now per day. 
He won't nibble at the feed but does at the alfalfa. 
I will go to the 20 oz every 6 hours but that is still only 80 oz. I will keep the pellets in front of him too.

His daddy is huge! So tall and a real giant Lamancha Buckling at 1year old. His Momma is no slouch either-big girl. 

Thank you Roll- I remember a longtime ago asking you about bottle feeding... so funny.... now I have a BB! 

Thanks @jodief100 I thought -dang do all my goats pee this much?


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## Pearce Pastures (Feb 17, 2014)

He might be more apt to nibble hay and grain with his tummy slightly less full.  Maybe back it down to 20 oz and see.  Is he around the other goats so he can mimic their eating?


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## WhiteMountainsRanch (Feb 17, 2014)

This is just how I did it last year: First three days every 6 hours as much as they will eat. After three days old they all eat twice a day as much as they will eat. All my babies did fine and thrived and had great growth rates. Some of the bigger ones (when everyone was a little older) were eating upwards of 30 oz a time...


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## Southern by choice (Feb 27, 2014)

Update... he has really grown! avg daily gain is .56
He does nibble and eat enough hay that I see him cough up his cud and chew... it's only a little though. He will not touch the feed at all. Annd the little stinker like the "basic" field hay we get from our neighbor... he won't touch any of the alfalfa or good stuff... he nibbles then looks for the other hay. 

He is in with the goats through the day but still comes in at night. Either he is afraid of the dark  or is too cold . He is well behaved in the house and sometimes he gets up at 11:30-midnight and will talk to me... I tell him NO- Go back night night! He walks in a circle (like a dog) and then lays back down. In the morning he knows not to holler and he waits PATIENTLY for his bottle.  At night when he is going to bed and not asleep yet if I leave the room he will get loud... then I tell him I am turning off the lights you need to be quiet and lay down. THIs IS A RIOT!

We have him in the field with the does mostly but recently we brought a buck up and put him in the kennel to do a breeding with a doe... we have kept him up here so the buckling can go in with him and make buddies and cuddle with him... easier transition to the buck field. All our bucks are friendly and get along beautifully so no worries there.

I will need to do something soon as he is getting to big for the dog cage at night and he is going to be close to 200 lbs... I cannot have a full grown buck living in my house because he's afraid of the dark!


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## Mike CHS (Feb 27, 2014)

That one almost had me rolling.


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## ThreeBoysChicks (Feb 27, 2014)

I follow Rolls - Whole Cows milk only if I don't have goats milk available.  And they have all done great.


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## taylorm17 (Feb 27, 2014)

AWWWW. he sounds like a little dog or something! DO you have any updated photos? I would love to see him!


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## Southern by choice (Feb 27, 2014)

Will try to get some tomorrow.

I have had computer issues for a week and still trying to figure out the new program.


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## taylorm17 (Feb 27, 2014)




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## Southern by choice (Mar 4, 2014)

I have created a monster! We were at 70 degrees, he has been out in the day and comes in at night... we have had a temp drop and yesterday sleet and ice pellets. This am- 10 degrees... Baby is inside. 
If everyone leaves the room he hollers... he cannot stand it if he is alone.And when I leave him out to go potty when he runs back in he goes flying and leaping all over the  furniture! Oh brother... what am I going to do? This weather needs to break... this boy needs to live outside with all the other goats! He is acting like a spoiled brat.


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