# Try bottle feeding a 6 week old buckling?



## woodsie (Feb 28, 2013)

I have a deposit on a NG buckling and would love to go pick him up but wondering if he will take a bottle at 6 weeks old? He is ready to be weaned on March 11, but would love to pick him up sooner. Would you pick him up and try to bottle feed for a couple weeks or just wait until he's weaned? Opinions please!


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## Straw Hat Kikos (Feb 28, 2013)

Just wean him at 6 weeks.


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## RainySunday (Feb 28, 2013)

I'd wait.  2 more weeks isn't that long, and their growth on mom vs off (or on bottle vs off) are sooo different, in my (somewhat limited) experience.  I did get a couple of 3 weeks olds to take a supplemental bottle with this group of kids, but they were hungry.  At 6 weeks...I would assume you'd have a huge battle on your hands (to get him to take a bottle).

I assume by NG, you mean nigerian dwarf (that's what I have too), and we mom, or bottle feed until more like 10-14 weeks, if we can.  Intact boys on mom, obviously get weaned at 8 weeks, but especially keeper does get bottles/mom for a few more weeks.  They grow so nicely that way.

Everyone does what works for them, their farm, and their animals though, so this is just what we do/what works for us.


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## Southern by choice (Feb 28, 2013)

Our ND's are dam raised... the mom's "help" their kids wean. By 5 weeks they are rarely on mom..sometimes try to nab a bit but mom knows best at 6weeks they really are done. That doesn't mean that all kids don't still try to get to mom, and some mom's will let those kids stay on for 6- 8 months! CRAZY! Our kids are eating hay full time at 3 weeks but still nibbling on mom here and there... by 5-6 they are done.

All of The Nigerians we've  bought were weaned (naturally, as they were all dam raised) by 6 weeks some we purchased at 6 wks and others at 8 wks.  ND's mature fast so often the males must be removed from all females at 6wks, don't know anyone that leaves an 8 week old in with females. 

Our ND mom's are great mom's but very good at properly weaning their kids they would never tolerate a kid at 8 weeks still trying to nurse. If the kid is on hay and started eating goat feed then he will be fine at 6 weeks. 

Larger goats need longer than a ND

You will not need to bottle feed and if he wasn't a bottle baby he won't take it now.


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## babsbag (Feb 28, 2013)

Southern by choice said:
			
		

> Our ND's are dam raised... the mom's "help" their kids wean. By 5 weeks they are rarely on mom..sometimes try to nab a bit but mom knows best at 6weeks they really are done. That doesn't mean that all kids don't still try to get to mom, and some mom's will let those kids stay on for 6- 8 months! CRAZY! Our kids are eating hay full time at 3 weeks but still nibbling on mom here and there... by 5-6 they are done.
> 
> All of The Nigerians we've  bought were weaned (naturally, as they were all dam raised) by 6 weeks some we purchased at 6 wks and others at 8 wks.  ND's mature fast so often the males must be removed from all females at 6wks, don't know anyone that leaves an 8 week old in with females.
> 
> ...


I wish mine would take lessons from your does. I have "babies" nursing on mom when they are a year old and have kids of thier own nursing on them. Crazy goats. Quite hilarious to watch.


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## StoneWallFarmer (Mar 1, 2013)

Southern, I'm very glad to hear that! My ND doe has been kicking her boy off since about 4 weeks and I've worried she isnt a good mother. He's fat ad sassy and honestly so rough nursing on her that I can't blame her! He's going in with the boys with in the next couple days. 

Glad to know its normal!


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## Egg_Newton (Mar 11, 2013)

Edited to start own tread and not try to hijack yours. Sorry.


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## Pearce Pastures (Mar 11, 2013)

Wait at least until 8 weeks and make sure he is eating hay/grain and drinking water well enough on his own before taking him from mom.  He is not going to do a bottle now.  I know two weeks feels like forever when you are wanting that little cutie now but it will be for the best to give him enough time with mom to ensure he has a good start (and I am a bottle feeder here).


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## madcow (Mar 11, 2013)

The information I just read on weaning kids says that you should wean by weight, and not age.  Once a kid has reached 2-1/2 times their birth weight they are ready to be weaned.  So a kid at birth that weighed 4 pounds could be weaned as soon as they reach 10 lbs.  It made sense to me and sounded like good advice and a sure fire way of knowing if the kid is ready to begin the weaning process.  My little pygmy doeling reached her weaning weight by the time she was 5 weeks old and she's been eating more feed and hay.  So she will be getting weaned completely as soon as we get our new pen finished in a week or 2.


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## 20kidsonhill (Mar 12, 2013)

madcow said:
			
		

> The information I just read on weaning kids says that you should wean by weight, and not age.  Once a kid has reached 2-1/2 times their birth weight they are ready to be weaned.  So a kid at birth that weighed 4 pounds could be weaned as soon as they reach 10 lbs.  It made sense to me and sounded like good advice and a sure fire way of knowing if the kid is ready to begin the weaning process.  My little pygmy doeling reached her weaning weight by the time she was 5 weeks old and she's been eating more feed and hay.  So she will be getting weaned completely as soon as we get our new pen finished in a week or 2.


maybe depends on breed, but that makes no sense to me.  My kids will weigh 8 to 10 lbs at birth. and I don't wean them until they are 40 or 50 lbs.  they would be like 5 weeks old when they are 2 1/2 times their weight.  We wean at 8 week and they are still normally good sized at that age.  I have weaned as young as 7 weeks and did have a couple emergency situations that we weaned at 6 weeks and they did okay on grain, but did slow down on growth for a while.


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## madcow (Mar 12, 2013)

20kidsonhill said:
			
		

> madcow said:
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I agree, probably depends on breed, especially those that are meat breeds needing to grow more than most before weaning.  I have pygmies and they are pretty fast growing considering their size at birth.  Probably applies mostly to them.


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## RainySunday (Mar 12, 2013)

Yeah, everyone needs to do what works best on their farm...I know my nigerian dwarf babies are generally 2-2.5 times birthweight by 3-4 weeks old, and to me, that is way too early to wean, for our herd.


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