Baby Goat Feeding/Weaning Strategy Cliff Notes?

[PJisaMom]

I have two Alpine wethers that just turned a year that were bottle raised by idiots who didn't take the time to check CAE status and bottle fed them CAE milk (although they were so *proud* of their pastuerizer

If all the milk was pasteurized then the CAE virus would have been killed.

That's the *point*... they pasteurized the milk... for themselves... NOT for the kids...

eta: It's just a long story, and I'm just a wee bit bitter... (yanno, just in case you couldn't tell... LOL!)

 

[SDGsoap&dairy]

A bottle baby doesn't HAVE to grow up to be an obnoxious, no boundaries, in your face goat. Just like a puppy that jumps all over you doesn't HAVE to grow up to be a 90 lb menace. Clear, consistent rules see to that. Goats aren't completely stupid... they can learn to respect space. Just like those wild, dam raised kids can learn people aren't alway dangerous, an imprinted goat can learn that people are not jungle gyms.

I think getting stuck with a poorly raised bottle sire/whether, really can be more than you bargain for.

Won't argue with you there! Particularly with the full sized bucks, folks should use common sense.

 

[20kidsonhill]

A bottle baby doesn't HAVE to grow up to be an obnoxious, no boundaries, in your face goat. Just like a puppy that jumps all over you doesn't HAVE to grow up to be a 90 lb menace. Clear, consistent rules see to that. Goats aren't completely stupid... they can learn to respect space. Just like those wild, dam raised kids can learn people aren't alway dangerous, an imprinted goat can learn that people are not jungle gyms.

I think getting stuck with a poorly raised bottle sire/whether, really can be more than you bargain for.

Won't argue with you there! Particularly with the full sized bucks, folks should use common sense.

My husband and I have two lifetimes of livestock experience behind us and he is still a handful for us. I couldn't imagine someone with no experience handling him. and I am not joking about the club. Call it what you want, I call it survival of the fittest, this buck would laugh at a squirt of water in his face. It has been years since I carried a hot stick on the job, but I was starting to price around and decide which one I was going to buy.

He has been doing better, and doesn't even try to rush through the fence any more and stands about 4 feet from me when I am in the pen working, although that still requires never turning away from him. What I did for a while to work in the pen, was halter him and tie him to a post, so you could work with out constantly having to defend yourself.

 

[whetzelmomma]

"This does great wonders, usually, for breaking that attachment, so by the time they're hormonal, they're just "there" and not "all up in there"

BWAHAHAHAHAAAAA Love it!!

 

[Cadillac Jill]

I can't tell you how helpful the diversity of opinions in this thread has been to me! Having them presented all together in a point/counterpoint dialogue (complete with rationale) really helps me think through the issues as they would apply to my circumstance.

This is so much better than trying to piece together the wisdom of all the various websites and books I've read through. They're all very convincing until you go to the next source that offers a complete contradiction. (As it is written, "The first to plead his case seems right until another comes and examines him.")

Certainly there's no single "right" way to raise kids, and the breadth of experience represented on this forum is a tremendous resource. Thank you for taking the time to respond to my question. I'll continue to follow along and take notes.

 

[20kidsonhill]

Certainly there's no single "right" way to raise kids, and the breadth of experience represented on this forum is a tremendous resource. Thank you for taking the time to respond to my question. I'll continue to follow along and take notes.

Have you thought of any new questions while reading this thread?