Got a new baby, bottle-feeding, how much??? UPDATE

[craftymama86]

I just got a new doeling today. She will be 3 weeks old tomorrow. She is a triplet and the smallest of the three and has been bottle fed. This is my first bottle baby so I need to know how much to feed her and how often. Right now she is so small that I'm just letting her drink what she will take..... I'll have to take pics and compare how little she is compared to Cookie who is only a few days old.....

 

[Bedste]

I had triplets last year and quads this year

I gave as much as they would drink 5 times a day for the first week-- about 5 oz each feeding.



3 times a day for week two ---- three -- and week four -- about 10 oz

then at 5 weeks old we went to 20 oz twice a day and offered med goat kid food also......

at 8 weeks old they only got their morning bottles. always keeping med goat kid food available


somewhere between 9 and 10 weeks old I cut them off the bottle

 

[ksalvagno]

What size goat is she?

 

[craftymama86]

@Bedste - Thank you!

@ksalvagno - She is 3/4 Nubian and 1/4 Kiko.

 

[craftymama86]

Here she is! I took her up to be introduced to Patricia and Cookie.

 

[ksalvagno]

How much was the previous owner feeding her? If she is 3 weeks old, I wouldn't feed her more than 3 times a day. If you don't have anything else to go on, weigh her and feed her 1 ounce per pound of body weight. If she seems to hungry, then slowly add more. Don't give more than a 20 ounce bottle no matter what age. Normally I start out with the amount of ounces per what they weigh (this is from birth though) and then slowly add more milk as they get hungrier. I have Nigerians so I don't go more than 12 ounces per bottle.

 

[Bedste]

omg she is darling!

So is the black and white polka dots..... Such cute kids!

 

[SDBoerGoats]

She's gorgeous! She doesn't look that little to me though, at least not in the pic. I have 2 new babies I am bottle feeding, they are half Kiko/half Boer. The doeling is white like her mom, with long Boer ears, and the buckling has reddish roan hairs all through his coat, makes him look almost pink!

 

[craftymama86]

I'm concerned b/c she is now 3 weeks[ old and as little as our 3 day old.

This baby was free and now I think I know why... I have seen her pee but no poo. Every once in a while her belly rumbles and she has kind of sneezed.... She is doing better on the bottle since I got her. She is already starting to fill out but I'm still concerned about her pooping, or lack of..... :/

Any and all suggestions/advice is greatly appreciated!

 

[chubbydog811]

I'm concerned b/c she is now 3 weeks[ old and as little as our 3 day old.

This baby was free and now I think I know why... I have seen her pee but no poo. Every once in a while her belly rumbles and she has kind of sneezed.... She is doing better on the bottle since I got her. She is already starting to fill out but I'm still concerned about her pooping, or lack of..... :/

Any and all suggestions/advice is greatly appreciated!

I think unless she looks uncomfortable, I wouldn't worry about poop - chances are, she's doing it when you aren't watching (They are sneaky like that...Especially when you want the poop for fecals!!)
My kids usually sneeze/cough a little after feeding. Maybe there is something dusty she is getting into? Unless her nose is really running, with goopy stuff, also wouldn't worry about that (unless the sneezing turns into a more often thing, and she seems like she depressed/health going down hill).
As far as the small, that is probably exactly why she was free. She was a runt, and they didn't want to deal with it. If she were older, I'd say maybe stunted growth from cocci. or something of the like, but she's too young for that to show the stunted growth...
Sounds like she is just the runt

Also, for feeding - I feed up to 24oz per kid 3 times a day starting at a week old - previous to that, I feed every 2-6 hours as much as they want...time gets longer as the week goes on... (I have (2) 12 oz soda bottles that I fill to the rim), then cut them back to 2 times a day between 4-6 weeks old. I am running a herd of Saanens, just for comparison.

Good luck with her!