Bottle baby help! *new question post #10

[PotterWatch]

So we will be bringing home two bottle bucklings, probably tomorrow. I have never raised bottle babies before. Do I have to keep them in the house? If not, what kind of setup would they need outside? We are in So. California, so we don't have freezing weather or anything like that, but I know it's too cold at night if they don't have their Mom to keep them warm.

I don't have any does in milk right now so I don't have a way of getting goat's milk. I know lots of people use cow's milk. Can we put them straight on cow's milk or do I need to mix it with goat milk at first? The breeder said she may have a little that she can give us with the babies.

What else should I know about bottle babies? At what age can I put them out with our does?

I was so not prepared for this, but at least they are cute boys!

 

[poorboys]

they are stinking cute, get you some whole vit d milk and start them out, if they have already been using bottle it should'nt be that much problem. I feed 3 times a day as much as they want, that little. i never get up at night to feed them. When i have very wee ones they come in the house for a week, and then moved to a small stall in the garage untill 3 weeks of age, at that time you want to give them dimethox for coccidia every 21 days, and give them their cdt shots and again in 21 days, you should weight them with a tape measurement to make sure they are gaining, also at 3 weeks introduce grain(medicated)pellets, free choice hay and water, minerals. I don't put my babies with the big girls till their yearlings, but others on here do it different, mine go to an area just for the babies, untill they reach a year old. Here's to hoping you have good luck, Remember if you need them disbudded it should be done with boys within a week of age. you should let them stay on bottle for at least 12 weeks.

 

[PotterWatch]

I'm hoping the breeder can disbud them for us before we bring them home as I don't have an iron and have never done it myself before.

 

[CrazyChickenLady]

First things first: You can PM me anytime day or night and I will at least try to answer any questions that you might have.

Second things second: Don't instantly switch them to cow's milk. This will give them scours and can kill them. Try to first do 3/4 goat 1/4 cow. Then 1/2 goat 1/2 cow. Next 1/4 goat 3/4 cow. Finally 0/4 goat 4/4 cow. This may still give a small bought of scours, but it will help make the switch.

Give the babies lots of Probios. This comes in a paste and a cookie. The cookies may be listed for horses, but if there small enough for a goat they will be fine. Only give a small amount a day (two or three rolls on the paste form syringe).

You can probably put them with your other goats at about 2-4 months of age depending on the size of the goat.

Their poops will be yellow/yellow orange. Do not be alarmed. This simply meens the babies are nursing.

You may have trouble getting them on a bottle, but do not give up. Try feeding them when they are hungry. They will get it eventually. Just don't sqeeze to hard on the bottle. You don't want them to get milk in there lungs.

It would be best to keep them in the house, but outside might work. You should buy them a heat lamp (or two). These can be found online or at tractor supply, rainbow ag., etc.

I'll add more when I think of it.

Try searching google for a feeding schedule for LaManchas.

 

[CheerioLounge]

They are adorable!! I'll be following this thread!

 

[Roll farms]

http://www.backyardherds.com/web/viewblog.php?id=586

That link is to a page I wrote about bottle babies, how much to feed, how often, etc.

If they're not going to be wethered, you may want to build them a seperate pen, bucks and does that live together will breed year round (esp. in a warm climate) and that's not always a good thing.

If your nights aren't any colder than 40 degrees, they'll be fine together in a draft-free place. You can put a heat lamp on them if it makes you feel better. Bringing them in and then putting them back out can be a shock to their system, we tend to put ours out at 24 hrs old (in a room w/ a heat lamp in the barn) where it's usually 35-45 degrees in winter here in IN.

They're beautiful, congrats, and sorry about their mama.

 

[ThreeBoysChicks]

They are cute. Good luck with your bottle babies. And the doe you eventually get.

 

[PotterWatch]

Thanks for the help everyone! I will be picking them up today. My youngest son, who took the loss of the doe pretty hard, is very glad we are keeping the boys. I told him he gets to pick one, name it, and take care of it. As much as I wish things had turned out differently, I am looking forward to having these adorable boys around!

 

[PotterWatch]

We just gave them their first bottles (first from us, the breeder had already sucessfully gotten them to take bottles). It went very well! They will stay in the garage in a dog crate tonight and tomorrow they will go into their own house in our goat pen. So far, it's looking good. Thanks again for all the help!

 

[PotterWatch]

Well bottle feeding is going very well! They are over a week old now and going to be disbudded tomorrow. :/ I have never done any disbudding myself, I've always taken my kids to someone else. The breeder is going to teach me how to do it though. I figure it's something I am going to need to learn if I continue to raise goats and don't want them to have horns.

I have one question about bottle feeding. Right now, one of the kids is getting 12oz per feeding and usually seems content with that. The other gets 14oz and is still looking for more. Should I increase the amount he gets or just let him complain a little?