Changing bottle babies milk replacer (should I?)

[animaniac]

Hello!

I have been lurking on BYH forum for awhile. The amount of information is amazing! I need advice re my 6 week old bottle babies. When they came home with me 3 weeks ago they were on Manna Pro Kid Replacer. They had only been on it for a couple days before they came home with me. They had diarrhea- which I thought was due to the change of diet and getting vaccinated before coming home. I ran out of the Manna Pro and couldn't find it, so I started them on Land o Lakes. I also had them tested for cocci (positive) around the same time. Before having them tested I ordered a medicated milk replacer (Sav a Kid DX). Well the medicated came today, I still have a few days left of the Land o Lakes- I am not sure if I should use the medicated replacer or if I should stick with the Land o Lakes. They no longer have the scours, and have a few days left of their perscription.

If you were able to follow that- what are your thoughts? I appreciate your input!

 

[Livinwright Farm]

Personally, I would stick with the Land O Lakes. Any of the Save A Kid milk replacer that we have dealt with, has had mites crawling through it.

If your kids ever require medicating, just give them the medication. Medicated feed is hard to know exactly how much medication they are getting per feeding... one feeding may be under medicating, the next you could be over medicating. Better to keep feed and medicating seperate, in my opinion, so you can KNOW that they are getting the proper dosage.

 

[kstaven]

I agree. Medicated milk replacers kept in a warehouse exposed to heat and humidity can render them virtually useless also.

 

[that's*satyrical]

I thought milk replacers gave baby goats the scoots & you were supposed to use whole cow's milk with a touch of buttermilk & polyvisol if necessary??

 

[Roll farms]

Well, I'm not a fan of switching milk, be it replacer or cow's milk, mid-stream when feeding kids. Sudden changes are bad. Also not a fan of using meds in feed, as previously stated by others.

Another thing to keep in mind - DX sounds like it has Deccox in it, which won't KILL cocci, it just prevents it from developing, and then only IF they get enough of the medication at ea. feeding. So if they still have coccidiosis, the Deccox won't do much to help the situation.

You said they're on a prescription, I'm assuming the vet is giving them something to 'cure / kill' the coccidia?
I would have a fecal ran before I did anything to verify that the meds the vet gave worked / are working to get rid of the cocci load they have.

Me, I would just gradually switch them over to whole cow milk....but I also understand that you've spent money on this product, and probably can't send it back....so you feel compelled to use it.
If you really want to use the Sav A Kid, after having a fecal ran to make sure they're clear, I would gradually start mixing it in w/ the LOL until you have them switched over that way.
1st time, use 75% - LOL, 25% SAK, do that for 2-3 feedings and see how they do...then go 50-50 for a couple and watch for a reaction, etc.

I always give them a bit of probiotic to help ward off any upset the change may cause.

If they get a clean fecal, and still scour, I'd blame the replacer and either go back to LOL or switch to whole milk - but again, do it gradually.

I would definitely have a fecal ran again 2-3 wks after their medicine from the vet stopped, even if they're 'clean' this time...to verify they still are.

FYI - I've never added buttermilk or anything else to whole cows milk, I just feed it 'straight'.

 

[SDGsoap&dairy]

Same here as far as the cow's milk is concerned- when we didn't have does in milk we fed whole cow's milk without buttermilk, condensed milk, yogurt, etc. added. We did add polyvisol to their bottles occasionally. Now that we always have does in milk when we have bottle babies we feed straight goat's milk with nothing added. Never had an issue with scouring.

 

[aggieterpkatie]

I thought milk replacers gave baby goats the scoots & you were supposed to use whole cow's milk with a touch of buttermilk & polyvisol if necessary??

Milk replacer is not always a bad thing. I use it and never have issues with scouring and my kids grow very well on it.

 

[Livinwright Farm]

I thought milk replacers gave baby goats the scoots & you were supposed to use whole cow's milk with a touch of buttermilk & polyvisol if necessary??

Milk replacer is not always a bad thing. I use it and never have issues with scouring and my kids grow very well on it.

Ditto... and If you have worked hard to maintain a Johnes free herd, you don't want to use cow's milk, since that is where Johnes disease in goats came from.

 

[that's*satyrical]

wow so much conflicting info. what's a goat owner to do?? lol.

 

[Roll farms]

If you get a kid who's on replacer, and does fine on it, I always suggest you keep it on THAT particular replacer, don't go changing it. Constantly changing their diet can be harder on them than even the cheapest replacer. So if you go to buy whatever you're using...and they are out...yes, it DOES matter....go to the next place and get the same thing.

I prefer to use cow's milk when I don't have enough goat milk to go around (vitamin D from the store, that's been pastuerized - which reduces the likelihood of contracting diseases, and it's homogenized, which makes it easier to digest), but I'm not going to beat up on those who don't...

I will suggest, if someone posts that they've got a bottle baby who is scouring, that they try switching it over to whole milk....a lot of times, that alone is proven to 'fix' what ailed them.

One thing to remember - what works for one won't work for all, and you may have to modify what 'everyone' else says to get it to work for you.

My advice comes from 10+ yrs of rearing 50 or so kids a year. Mostly on pasteurized goat milk, but I use cow milk when I don't have enough to go around.
I did a cost study on it 3 yrs ago (worthless now, the prices for everything have gone up) and if you buy the milk on sale / stock up / freeze ahead, it is cheaper than ANY of the good replacers. Regardless on where you stand on it, cheap replacers are a bad idea - soy based, usually and THAT is where the problems tend to start.

This is my BUSINESS, not just a hobby, so believe me, I have researched the heck out of it, and I do what I have found to be best for the kids AND our bottom line.