Bottle feeding my 8 and 9 week old kids

[Lynn O]

I have been so reticent to post because we did this whole goat ownership thing all very backwards - so, I am aware I was probably not ready but my sweet husband bought us two backyard bred pygmy kids for Holiday. They were born on 12-2-15 and 12-7-15 (the farmer "thinks"). They were on formula when I got them but were with their mothers the first two weeks. I have since very slowly transitioned them to whole cow's milk. I have added probiotic and GI Soother to every bottle. I introduced a handful of pelleted food which they love and a couple of liberal handfuls of Alfalfa (I have read that is problematic for males though) so I give them that twice a day. I freely offer them Bermuda, a loose mineral, an offering of baking soda and of course water. They have frequent times of being loose in our wild yard where they browse. They have thrived from the get go as far as I can tell. Sooo, all that to say I wonder if I am giving them enough milk. I took the farmers advice and when they came here were only having 3.5 oz. per bottle every 4 hours. I have upped those to 5 oz. every 5 hours but by what I read, people are giving theirs as much as 20 oz. 3 times a day. I have been so leery of increasing the milk too much, also because of what I have read about that causing issues. I feel like we are on the tail end of the bottles but realize we may still have a few weeks before weaning. One of the girls just cries and cries around the fourth hour for her bottle. As an aside, this particular girl can not wait to come indoors for the night and I wonder if I will ever get her to love being an outdoor goat... I just need a little feedback on my feeding management if there is anyone willing to chime in. Go easy on me - I am a super successful hen wife, raised numerous parrots, dogs and kittens and seem to be doing okay with my two human girls but the learning curve on the goats is steep!

In gratitude as I know our time is our greatest commodity and I appreciate yours.

 

[Latestarter]

Greetings @Lynn O from the front range in Colorado Glad you made it! Sorry I didn't catch your post earlier in the day. Lots of good info in the various threads if you've had a chance to peruse. We also have a lot of active goaties. I'm sure some will be along after a bit to give you a warm welcome and provide a little guidance. Since you have Pygmies, Maybe @frustratedearthmother could help? Or perhaps @OneFineAcre @animalmom @Southern by choice @babsbag @goatgurl or some others could share their views? I think most have either started or are planning to weaning at 8-9 weeks... Some feed milk longer...

 

[OneFineAcre]

I don't bottle feed my goats but I don't thing you would ever feed a Pygmy 20 oz 3 times a day
Maybe a standard goat
I don't think you need to add the probiotics to their milk and the other additive to their milk
I don't think you need to give baking soda free choice we only offer if they seem gassy
Sounds like you are doing ok
You can start to wean now so I wouldn't worry about feeding more milk
You indicate they are doing well
Have they gained weight?
I think you are worrying for nothing

 

[kccjer]

@Lynn O You are definitely at the tail end of bottle feeding. You can taper them off the bottle now or leave them on a little longer....whatever works best for you! I would definitely drop them to 2 bottles a day. Yep, they will be drama queens and you will be STARVING them! LOL Take the amount you are feeding in a full day. Divide that into 3 feedings for a few days and then into 2 feedings. As long as they are getting solid foods they will be fine. If they are actually eating solid foods now, you are ahead of the game! Feeding too much milk will make them too full to actually eat solids. Alfalfa does not cause issues for bucks. What causes Urinary Calculi is an improper ratio of Calcium: phosphorous. There should be a 2:1 Ca: ph. Grain is high in Ph, grass hay is higher in Ph. Alfalfa is high in Calcium. I know many successful breeders that feed straight alfalfa to bucks and wethers. You should also have some good loose mineral out for them. They won't eat a lot of it, but they will eat some. Welcome to the Bottle Brat world! hehe

 

[OneFineAcre]

Oh and she cries for the bottle because she knows it's time for the bottle
She's conditioned to expect it
I don't bring mine in the house so I can't help with that

 

[Southern by choice]

Welcome to BYH!

We have Nigerians so we are use to small goats as well... it sounds like you are doing great BTW!

The milk could have been increased by volume and decreased by hours... but the 20 oz feedings 3x a day is not for pygmy's or dwarfs so GLAD you didn't do that.

I am going to defer you to my farm partner @Goat Whisperer - she is awesome at bottle feeding! Also your little guys are already at weaning age... I'm sure she will touch on that as well. I have tagged her so at some point I am sure she will chime in.

Congratulations on your little additions.

BTW - we love pics... we thrive off of them! soooo pics when you can!

 

[Goat Whisperer]

Welcome to BYH!

I introduced a handful of pelleted food which they love and a couple of liberal handfuls of Alfalfa (I have read that is problematic for males though) so I give them that twice a day.

The Alfalfa is fine

I took the farmers advice and when they came here were only having 3.5 oz. per bottle every 4 hours. I have upped those to 5 oz. every 5 hours but by what I read, people are giving theirs as much as 20 oz. 3 times a day.

Doing the 20oz 3x/day is for the larger goats, glad you didn't give them that much!

You say they were getting 3.5oz every 4hrs, do you feed throughout the night? How many ounces were they getting in a 24hr period? How many ounces are they getting in a 24hr period now? I ask this because many will say that they feed every XXX hours but will skip overnight feed. (Not that there is a big issue with that- I just need to know if you are doing this)

Adding probiotics is fine, I do that occasionally when I raise a goat on whole cows milk.

What do they weigh? If they are small for the breed it might be better to leave them on milk. If they are okay, you can work on weaning them. Do you have any pics?

My Nigi's get weaned anywhere from 7-9 weeks (I have been suckered in to feeding some longer) and the large breeds get 10-14 weeks, depending on the size.

Goats are smart, they know when its feeding time! It can get pretty loud when you have 20 bottle babies screaming for me to bring them food!

Once you answer these questions, I should be able to help

 

[animalmom]

A big howdy and welcome from the Great Lone Star State, where the stars at night are big and bright. Well, nothing like jumping into the deep end what with the hubby bringing two home for you. First off don't let the little girl's screaming for a bottle bother you... all goaties have a DIVA gene and her's is just acting up. Goaties will not starve themselves and you mentioned they had hay available so you know she isn't starving.

I transition my bottle babies down to 2 bottles/day by 8 weeks and 1 a day at 9 weeks and then they are off the bottle. Yeah, I spoil them but I love having the baby snuggle in your arms for the bottle and then doze off for a few minutes. I have Nigerian Dwarfs so they are small like your Pygmies.

Check your loose minerals to make sure it includes copper. Not all goat minerals has copper and the goats need the copper. I second taking away the baking soda and using it only when they have a tummy problem.

Other than that, welcome to the crazy world of goaties. They will enchant you, they will endear themselves to you, they will frustrate the living daylights out of you. You will find yourself referring to them as if they were your third and fourth child. You will one day find yourself wondering how you ever got through life without them.

Pictures are really appreciated, please and thank you.

 

[Lynn O]

Oh YAY for me!! I feel like I got to sit at the knees of the pros here! Okay, since last week I took all of your advice and we have reduced their bottles to 2 a day and I have moved them to their playpen outside. The first two nights were grim - they cried, I cried. I couldn't help but think that you seasoned ones would have just giggled at the whole lot of us! The girls are certainly gaining weight - 15 and 16 pounds happy. They seem to prefer the Alfalfa to the Bermuda so I am just going with that and my minerals have copper 1750 ppm min. I have one who is finicky but the other is not so finding a treat has not really happened yet - a black raisin or two and a hand full of Black Oiled Sunflower Seed. I also have a thriving old flock of hens and I have shared some of their AVC with then kids - they seem to love the sour in their water. Now the only unknown I am dealing with is a bit of hair loss around the edges of the ears but I suppose that is for another thread!

The picture in the profile is of them still indoors, napping all in their indoor bliss. You should see them paw at my door!
Here is one of them awake in their play yard.



So many thanks for your wisdom and time!!!
xoxoxo
Lynn, Maude and Gigi

 

[Latestarter]

Awwwww they are real cuties! They look great! Glad things are going well for you! Thanks for sharing pics