Bottle feed a buckling?

[woodsie]

I was wondering if it is a good idea to get a bottlefed buckling or a dam raised buckling? I made the mistake of buying a bottlefed ram and it was a disaster and he is now on the table as he had no fear of people. I was wondering if the same rule applies to the goat world?

 

[Catahoula]

I think it is all about how you allow your bottle babies behaved. They can be very friendly but you still need to enforced some behavior so they don't become a pest. Just like any pets...dogs, cats..etc. People make the mistakes of allowing those 'cute' behavior. They may be cute when they are 10, 20 lbs but not so cute at 200 lbs. Dam raised kids can be friendly also. Just don't 'spoil' the kids...

 

[babsbag]

My bottle raised buck is still small, but he LOVES me; a little too much. He is always following me around and I have to watch him as he does try to mount me from behind. Not going to be fun when he weighs 200lbs. He is not mean at all so I don't think he would intentionally try to hurt me, but he might love me to death.

Hard call, they are all different.

 

[Mamaboid]

I don't think it makes a bit of difference how they were fed, if you let them know right from word one that you are the 'big goat' and they are not to mess with you, you can still make them sweet, lovable boys. I have 5 bucks, one of them is 8 months old and is about to have this message reinforced for him. They all will try you once. I have never had one try me more than once.


ETA: I reread this and it sounds like I mistreat my goats. I do not. I love on em all the time. When I say they only try once, it just means that they are smart animals and will learn very quickly. The biggest thing is consistency. If it is wrong to day, it will be tomorrow. Like the dog whisperer says, rules, respect and boundaries.

 

[ThreeBoysChicks]

My bottle baby TRIP is 3 months old. I am not concerned. I treat my buckling just like a puppy. He must respect my space. I do not allow him to jump on me or anyone else. At 3 months, he is already starting to seperate from me. He is willing to go off on his own, which I encourage.

 

[BlondeSquirrel04]

My herdsire is a bottle baby. He's the same as my other goats. Sure, he's a little more in your face because he was a BB, but he's never been a pain in the neck. He's never tried to mount or hurt me. He's just a big puppy dog who happens to have a giant set of...you know...

 

[ragdollcatlady]

I had so much fun bottle feeding my Jax. I had no choice he was purchased that way so they could sell them sooner. I think he is harder to handle than my dam raised, not quite as friendly other buck. I would choose my girls bottle fed and my boys dam raised if I could. Jax loves us, but will always put his hooves on my and is constantly in your face no matter what. Ugh!

 

[Oakroot]

With any animal just do what the rest of the herd would do. If a young kid is getting to full of him self shove him aside maybe chase him off a bit like the boss doe would. If a young buck is getting to aggressive go after him like the big older buck would. Most of my experience is in horses but the same works for any animal. When you speak the right language to them they understand pretty fast and you don't have to repeat yourself. "Speak" dog to dogs, cat to cats, goat to goats etc by interacting with them the way they interact with each other. Follow the cue from how the top animal in the herd acts. 90% of it is all show, bravado and attitude. Act like the boss and you will be the boss pretty fast.

 

[PotterWatch]

My herdsire is a bottle baby. He's the same as my other goats. Sure, he's a little more in your face because he was a BB, but he's never been a pain in the neck. He's never tried to mount or hurt me. He's just a big puppy dog who happens to have a giant set of...you know...

Same here. Our buck was a bottle baby and is a little more in my pocket than the others, but not much and we don't have problems with him hurting anyone. As he has grown, there have been times he needed to be put in his place just like our other goats. We are bottle feeding the lamb that will become our ram when he is grown and I anticipate the same thing with him.

 

[woodsie]

Well sounds like it would have been fine to bottle feed him, especially since he is a small Nigerian Dwarf but getting escape proof fencing for my dogs has taken priority over bottlefeeding a baby goat. I look forward to bottle feeding in the future though!

I would caution about bottle feeding a ram you are planning to keep. It seems that when they are in breeding season they can be so aggressive and territorial that if they don't have the fear of people they can be very scary. I picked up a bottle fed ram lamb to breed my girls and he was AWFUL, although he was new to me so perhaps if you put him in his place earlier it would be okay? I did some research after the fact, and most suggest to NEVER bottle feed a ram. My new ram is very respectful and always stays at the back of the pack but is not skiddish either...I never attempt to pet him...we just keep a distance from eachother and I make sure he gets out of my way and life is good.

Thanks for all the input and I will be sure to "put him in his place" when the time comes!