Bottle Feed or let Mama feed

[Emmetts Dairy]

Ahem....I just have to say this....I have a pen full of 80-110# kids that are just as healthy as can be...that I bottle raised.

Bottle raising doesn't necessarily make for 'less healthy' kids...it all depends on the skills of the mom, be it a goat or a human.

I've seen dam-reared kids that look BAD compared to mine...I put that down to management on the owner's part.

I stand corrected..twice!! And they are both absolutely correct.

Apologies!!

There are alot of healthy kids out there bottle raised!! Funny I have three from bottles and I said that???

I am Sorry! It definately depends on the skills of the MOM!!! For certain!!! Goat/Human...well said!!

And thanks for the corrections!!

I just prefer nature to takes its course..and if the Goat Mom cannot then I step in...but that my personal opinion!! But she is absolutely correct...its the management of the herd which makes your animals healthy or not!! Great point! Thanks!!

 

[whetzelmomma]

No personal experience yet, but the woman I got my goats from allows her dams to raise their kids. There are benefits of both of course, but because I'm only milking for my own family, I like the advantage of only having to milk once a day, and letting the kids take the rest. Less work for me, with the benefits to my dams that they will be well milked, and I get to skim off the top, so to speak. AND if we have a really busy day, I can allow the kids to stay with their dam and I can safely skip a milking.

Totally love the idea of taking a book down to the barn and lazing around with the goats for an after noon here and there!!

 

[dhansen]

Since I can not always "play" with each of my babies everyday, I milk one of my goats, put the milk in a bottle, and feed all the kids some each day. They are just as friendly as if they were completely bottle fed. My buck, who was bottle fed exclusively, thinks I am mom and cries for me anytime he sees me. Ugg. That gets old real fast!

 

[warthog]

When I first got my goats, I had to bottle feed my little buck and he was an adorable creature, loving, friendly and sweet. When he was in rut, he was still friendly and sweet, but you needed to take extra care.

I have since had two kids born here, both of which are dam raised. I handled those kids from minutes of being born, helping mum to clean, making sure they could get to the teats all this sort of thing. They were handled daily, and you don't have to spend hours upon hours with them, few minutes several times a day.

Both kids were bucks, the oldest is now nearly six months and wethered, he is as friendly as can be. The youngest is just 1 month old and when I go into the pen, he follows me and not his mum, he will be wethered at about 10/12 weeks.

So IMHO, it not a case of to bottle feed or dam raise but a case of how you handle them and look after them.

 

[Bryannjamie]

I always prefer letting mom with all of our animals (and children). Just a preference, but definitely worth it.