Bottle feeding newborn

[ladyfarmer10]

I have a doe that kidded tues.night,I bought her as a open doe,so I was pretty suprised when i found the little doe.
Of course the mom had no milk,but i borrowed colostrum and got fresh goat milk,the baby weighs 3.5 lbs.mom dont have anything to do with her.How much and how often do I feed,it has been so long since i've done this im a little rusty.The baby is 1/2 saanen and 1/2 nubian,the doe still dont have a bag.
Sorry so long lol
Thanks

 

[ksalvagno]

I believe you bottle feed like 4 times a day. I'm not sure on the amount. PM Roll Farm, she bottle feeds. Good luck with your little doeling and congratulations!

 

[poorboys]

I give 4oz 5 times a day for the first day or so, than it's up to 6 to8 oz 4 times a day working our way up to week old, getting 16oz 3 times a day, and then by two weeks you should be up to 3 - 20oz bottles a day. start on a little feed (medicated) by 3 weeks, and introduce hay and fresh water. also at 3 weeks you want them on coccidi prevention. hope this helps, I have one now that just turned a week and a couple of days, hes drinking 12oz bottles four times aday, but that's gonna change!!

 

[()relics]

Ok first I don't like bottle feeding...that said I have learned that some kids need to be bottle fed because their mothers, for one reason or another, can't get the job done. I have 4 bottle kids that I have been feeding for 2 weeks. I have been tutored by Kim Roll. If she is on she is the pro, I can simply tell you what she has told me, and it has been working. So after you are sure the kid has gotten colostrum, within the first 24 hours then you can begin to bottle feed whole cows milk, vitamin D milk from the store. Start with 6 oz and offer it 3X a day, no more. A kid will act as though it is starved but don't feed anymore than the 6oz 3X a day, undigested milk left in the stomach puts the kid on the road to FKS,floppy kid syndrome, and you don't want that. I slightly warm the bottles, maybe just room temperature, in a warm water bath. Slowly increase the amount of milk in the bottles until you get to 16(?)oz at 2 weeks or so, again no more than 3X per day. Offer hay and a pelleted feed with a little decox added, they won't eat any of it because they haven't learned from their mothers about feed and hay. I AM NOT A PRO, but I have my kids on the way to weaning...Roll Farms will be on later, I'm sure...She will fill in the missing details...

 

[Roll farms]

Thanks for the nice words, Relics....I just told you what's worked here for years is all.

The only thing I can add to what you've been told is if the kid still seems really hungry when you feed it, you can up the amount of milk by an ounce at ea. feeding until it won't finish the bottle, up to 20 oz....but up the amount gradually, don't go from 6 oz one day to 12 oz the next.

I follow their lead...if they're still hungry, I give them more, I don't care if they're 2 days or 2 weeks old. But only 3 bottles per day.

Yes, you can feed them less milk more often....but why? Sometimes I'm feeding 10 or so, 3x a day is about all I can manage...4x a day would be a nightmare.

Our Boer x Kiko kids come out screaming for a bottle and take a 20 oz one by 3-4 days old. Nubian kids will usually only take 10-12 oz. at that age....but ea. kid is different, there's no set formula.

I don't generally give more than 20 oz per feeding, though...60 oz of milk per day is probably as much (and in some cases more) than they'd get from their dams.

The trick is to make sure they have plenty of time to digest in between meals.....and have the right conditons to do so....a cold kid won't digest as efficiently as a warm (normal body temp) one...

Once there have been a couple good frosts I don't worry so much about cocci prevention at an early age. I've found my winter kids don't seem as bothered by coccidia as spring / summer kids are. This time of year I'd probably have a fecal ran at 2 mos and see if there are any cocci present. No sense using meds you don't need. That said, if you see signs of cocci, by all means treat and then start a prevenative (deccox, sulfa drug, corrid, whatever you prefer.)

 

[ladyfarmer10]

Thank You very much for your replies.I have printed them out and are now in my goat book.
I will try to get a pic of Mocha-thats the name of the doeling now.She is very active and friendly.
Thank you again

 

[theawesomefowl]

Oooh, I wish I could bottle feed it!