# Cows milk for baby goats



## SDBoerGoats

I know most every one on the forum uses cows milk for bottle babies. I usually use goats milk if I have a goat with only one that I can milk. These last two bottle babies, someone gave me a huge bag of milk replacer and I fed that to them with no ill effects at all, no scours etc. The 3 I bought yesterday have been on cow's milk from day 1. So I have to keep them on cows milk. (Good thing, yesterday it went on sale for $1.99 a gallon, whole milk! But only for the next 5 days and I can only buy 2 a day.)

My question.....if cows milk causes so many problems for humans, and that is why many prefer and can drink goats milk, then why is it that cows milk is good for baby goats? 

The lady I bought these babies from is a veterinarian, raises 300 Boers and Kikos, has hundreds of kids a year, and pulls any babies from triplets and quads, so the doe only feeds 2. So she has lots of bottle babies, and they all drink cows milk. So I would think she knows what she is doing, but I still question this. 

I am almost out of milk replacer, and since I am putting all the bottle babies together, I want to feed them out of the same bucket, so of course the same milk. So I will have to start slowly mixing in some cows milk with the replacer. I am also wondering about cost? Is it really cheaper to feed milk bought from the store? The replacer is like $55 a bag for the 25 lb bag. Milk is normally $2.59 a gallon. I know I have already fed a gallon of milk to the new ones and will feed another gallon today.


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## 20kidsonhill

We asked our nutritionist at the feed store, and she didn't think cows milk had high enough protein in it for a baby, nor does it have adequate vitamins.  With that said, I know plenty of people who just use whole cows milk.  There are a couple fancier recipees out there, if you really want to go crazy and make your own mix.  

We use Does Match, made by Land-o-Lakes. I often  give them mother's milk for a couple days, and then go with a few days of the whole milk, with  buttermilk and evaporated milk added. then switch to the Does Match.  I don't have that much experience with bottle babies.  The onse I have raised have done pretty well. Maybe a total of 5 over the years.


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## SDBoerGoats

See, I agree with the nutritionist! That's what I fed the others, Does Match. I fed the first 2 I had this year the same thing, they all did awesome, and ended up bigger than their twins that were left on mom. 

I just don't like the idea that cow's milk should be good for goats, when people drink goats milk cause cow's milk isn't good for them. I want them fed the best way that I can, and since I don't have a goat I can milk to do it, I have to do either replacer, or cow's milk. I am leaning towards keeping my 2 already started on replacer, on the replacer, and I might wean the others onto it too.


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## Godsgrl

$2.59 for a gallon of milk? We're paying a dollar more than that at least per gallon. Best of luck with your goat kids.


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## SDBoerGoats

I know, it has gone down and I am surprised. There is also a sale the next 5 days for $1.99, I can only buy 2 a day but I have been stocking up since the babies I bought yesterday are on cowls milk. You coulda knocked me over with a feather when I saw that price.


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## Catahoula

Cows milk may be hard on some human and many animals...it turns out goat milk is hard on me too.  
At our super market, sometimes you can get two gal of milk at the same time for less money than buying one gal...
Good Luck with the kids.


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## Godsgrl

SDBoerGoats said:
			
		

> I know, it has gone down and I am surprised. There is also a sale the next 5 days for $1.99, I can only buy 2 a day but I have been stocking up since the babies I bought yesterday are on cowls milk. You coulda knocked me over with a feather when I saw that price.


A great time for milk prices to fall when you have two hungry mouths to feed as well.


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## SDBoerGoats

Well, I bought more replacer, and compared it to whole cows milk. Right off, whole milk is only 8g of fat per serving and replacer is 23% fat! Plus the replacer has copper in it, which of course, cows milk doesn't. So I am mixing whole milk with the replacer right now to get them all on the replacer. So far, no scours!


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## Bedste

These are all very good points.  I have been keeping mine on goat milk from their mother for the first three weeks and then switch over to whole cow milk from grocery store from 3 weeks to 10 weeks only because I want all the goat milk for myself. On occasion, because I am a newby, my milking doe would stick her foot in the bucket or my dog would stick his face in my milk bucket and when that happened I would give that milk to the babies so it would not go to waste.  I went right back to cow milk .

Never had any problem.


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## pridegoethb4thefall

What a deal on milk! You know, you can usually buy more than 2 a day, you just have to buy it in seperate transactions, or leave the store, go to your car, then go back in and use a different checker. Its not illegal or anything.

At those prices, you should stock up- milk freezes really well you know! I would stock my freezer if I could get it so cheap!

Oh, and I give my bottle babies goat milk (store bought) the first 2 weeks, then slowly transition to whole cows milk until weaned. Has worked great for us so far.


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## Roll farms

I raise our kids on goat milk for the most part.   I try to keep our small freezer stocked w/ 30 gallons year round.
Occasionally I'll be given an orphan to save or have trips or quads before my dairy does are in full production and run short, and I use whole milk / goat milk combo.

The reason I advocate whole milk is because the LOL Does Match is not available anywhere in my area (unless I want to pay the freight $).  It's the only one I've heard good results about.

The replacers that TSC carries are junk.  Not milk based, but soy, and will scour kids.  Also, not everyone can mix properly.  It seems basic, but I dunno HOW many times people have gotten the instructions wrong and scoured kids.

I did a cost analysis of milk $ vs. replacer cost a couple years ago but can't find it now....and don't have time to do another at the moment.  I buy cows milk from the cheapest source (Aldis or Wal Mart on sale) and freeze it when needed.
The comparison I did was "UniMilk" (which is junk, but what's easily found around here - and 'cheap') vs. whole milk and it was still cheaper to use whole milk.  

Vitamin D milk has been homogenized, which makes it easier to digest (closer to goat milk in fat particle size).  That's part of why goat kids do well on it, vs. (cheap) replacers.  Reconstituted milk, esp. soy-based replacer, isn't the same as the 'real' thing.

Figure up how many gallons you get out of a bag of replacer, divide that by your $ spent and you'll know which is more cost effective.

To me, if you're not going to use 'good stuff'....you don't need the animals at all.  I can't get the 'good stuff' as far as replacer, so in my situation, whole milk IS the good stuff.

Plus, when advising the average newbie here, I'd say 50% of the time, they've impulse-bought a goat kid at a sale barn, bought cheap replacer, and the kid is sick.  
The quickest way to straighten them out is pull the replacer and switch to cow's milk.  

If you mention they then need to go out and buy a 50$ bag of replacer, some will balk.  "But...I only paid $20 for the kid."-type responses.

You get what you pay for...just, some folks don't wanna pay nuttin'.

There are traces of copper, selenium, etc. in cows milk...if the cows had mineral in their diet.  They just don't list them on the milk jug b/c trace minerals aren't part of the required label info.


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## Mossy Stone Farm

Always here if we run short of Goats milk we go for whole store bought milk... The babies are big and healthy no problems with  poopy or runs....

I  stay away from all Soy based anything for animals and humans!

I do try and frezz all my extra goat milk but around here if the kids are drinking it all down the two legged ones are


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## SDBoerGoats

Roll farms said:
			
		

> I raise our kids on goat milk for the most part.   I try to keep our small freezer stocked w/ 30 gallons year round.
> Occasionally I'll be given an orphan to save or have trips or quads before my dairy does are in full production and run short, and I use whole milk / goat milk combo.
> 
> The reason I advocate whole milk is because the LOL Does Match is not available anywhere in my area (unless I want to pay the freight $).  It's the only one I've heard good results about.
> 
> The replacers that TSC carries are junk.  Not milk based, but soy, and will scour kids.  Also, not everyone can mix properly.  It seems basic, but I dunno HOW many times people have gotten the instructions wrong and scoured kids.
> 
> I did a cost analysis of milk $ vs. replacer cost a couple years ago but can't find it now....and don't have time to do another at the moment.  I buy cows milk from the cheapest source (Aldis or Wal Mart on sale) and freeze it when needed.
> The comparison I did was "UniMilk" (which is junk, but what's easily found around here - and 'cheap') vs. whole milk and it was still cheaper to use whole milk.
> 
> Vitamin D milk has been homogenized, which makes it easier to digest (closer to goat milk in fat particle size).  That's part of why goat kids do well on it, vs. (cheap) replacers.  Reconstituted milk, esp. soy-based replacer, isn't the same as the 'real' thing.
> 
> Figure up how many gallons you get out of a bag of replacer, divide that by your $ spent and you'll know which is more cost effective.
> 
> Thanks Rolls. I just did the math, the replacer comes out to about $5.46 a gallon. Whole milk, when it's NOT on sale, is $2.59. I've been getting a good deal this past week at $1.99 and today is the last day. I will try to get more than just the 2 gallons per day! It goes on your store card, so only 2 will be allowed, at least that is what I am told.
> Well, I want what is best for the babies, regardless the cost. I bought these 3 knowing they were bottle babies because they have the breeding I have been dying to have. So of course I want the best for them! I will say, they are big, fat and healthy and show no ill effects from the cow's milk. And like I said. my "mentor" is a vet tech and goat raiser for 30 years, and is well known all over for being THE goat lady, she suggested the cow's milk. And the veterinarian I bought them from raised them on cow's milk also. Who am I to question them? HAHAHA! I have been giving my first bottle babies half and half replacer and cow's milk cause I want them all to be drinking the same thing, way too confusing the other way, and I have others helping feed them sometimes.
> 
> To me, if you're not going to use 'good stuff'....you don't need the animals at all.  I can't get the 'good stuff' as far as replacer, so in my situation, whole milk IS the good stuff.
> 
> Plus, when advising the average newbie here, I'd say 50% of the time, they've impulse-bought a goat kid at a sale barn, bought cheap replacer, and the kid is sick.
> The quickest way to straighten them out is pull the replacer and switch to cow's milk.
> 
> If you mention they then need to go out and buy a 50$ bag of replacer, some will balk.  "But...I only paid $20 for the kid."-type responses.
> 
> You get what you pay for...just, some folks don't wanna pay nuttin'.
> 
> There are traces of copper, selenium, etc. in cows milk...if the cows had mineral in their diet.  They just don't list them on the milk jug b/c trace minerals aren't part of the required label info.


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## SDBoerGoats

OMGOSH! Where is my reply????? Oh man, do I have to write it all over again????


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## SDBoerGoats

OK, somehow MY reply is in the middle of the quote of Rolls. Sorry, I have NO IDEA how I did that.


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