Lamancha Bottle Baby - creating a MONSTER

[Southern by choice]

Thanks to You all!

We will be adjusting his schedule but for now he is getting 7oz every 3 hours... sleeps through the night. He is now on whole milk with the buttermilk/evaporated milk... if he has problems I will be buying goat milk from a friend.
Over the next few days I will move him to a 4 hour schedule with increase and adjust gradually. He is such a big boy for a dairy goat.

 

[Southern by choice]

Just an update... So our boy is 2 weeks old today... we are now kinda inline with @Roll farms schedule. Thanks Roll for all your great info!

I am a bit concerbed though... he has only gained 5.5lbs.
Birth 10.5lbs Now 16lbs
He is a dairy breed (Lamancha) and not a meat goat but he still seems a bit thin to me. He takes 16oz every 4-6 hours. I have had to go to every 4 hours again because he is screaming at that 4th hour. His tummy does get full but not bulging out on the sides at all. He is getting almost 3/4 gallon in 24 hours on average. He has started nibbling hay (alfalfa). He pees alot!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Poops fine but only 1-2x day. Happy bouncy silly and still in the house.

Does this all sound right?

Enjoying him as a bottle baby but definitely wouldn't want to do this unless I had too. LOL

 

[Roll farms]

That's an ADG of .39. Not great, but not worrisome either, IMHO, esp. for a dairy kid. It should go up as his amount of intake increases. At 2 weeks, I'd be giving him 3 - 20oz. bottles, 6-8 hrs apart.
That amount given too often will increase the risk of tummy trouble....4 hrs apart is too often, or more often than *I* am comfortable with, to avoid FKS.

 

[jodief100]

Give him some grain too. He can digest it at 2 weeks. You can leave that out and he can help himself.

I have two bottle tramps in the bathroom and I wash the towels on the floor daily. I swear all they do all day long it pee.

 

[Southern by choice]

That's an ADG of .39. Not great, but not worrisome either, IMHO, esp. for a dairy kid. It should go up as his amount of intake increases. At 2 weeks, I'd be giving him 3 - 20oz. bottles, 6-8 hrs apart.
That amount given too often will increase the risk of tummy trouble....4 hrs apart is too often, or more often than *I* am comfortable with, to avoid FKS.

@Roll farms - 3-20oz is less than he is getting now... I was concerned about giving too much at once and it sitting in there too long. He is getting 96oz now per day.
He won't nibble at the feed but does at the alfalfa.
I will go to the 20 oz every 6 hours but that is still only 80 oz. I will keep the pellets in front of him too.

His daddy is huge! So tall and a real giant Lamancha Buckling at 1year old. His Momma is no slouch either-big girl.

Thank you Roll- I remember a longtime ago asking you about bottle feeding... so funny.... now I have a BB!

Thanks @jodief100 I thought -dang do all my goats pee this much?

 

[Pearce Pastures]

He might be more apt to nibble hay and grain with his tummy slightly less full. Maybe back it down to 20 oz and see. Is he around the other goats so he can mimic their eating?

 

[WhiteMountainsRanch]

This is just how I did it last year: First three days every 6 hours as much as they will eat. After three days old they all eat twice a day as much as they will eat. All my babies did fine and thrived and had great growth rates. Some of the bigger ones (when everyone was a little older) were eating upwards of 30 oz a time...

 

[Southern by choice]

Update... he has really grown! avg daily gain is .56
He does nibble and eat enough hay that I see him cough up his cud and chew... it's only a little though. He will not touch the feed at all. Annd the little stinker like the "basic" field hay we get from our neighbor... he won't touch any of the alfalfa or good stuff... he nibbles then looks for the other hay.

He is in with the goats through the day but still comes in at night. Either he is afraid of the dark or is too cold . He is well behaved in the house and sometimes he gets up at 11:30-midnight and will talk to me... I tell him NO- Go back night night! He walks in a circle (like a dog) and then lays back down. In the morning he knows not to holler and he waits PATIENTLY for his bottle. At night when he is going to bed and not asleep yet if I leave the room he will get loud... then I tell him I am turning off the lights you need to be quiet and lay down. THIs IS A RIOT!

We have him in the field with the does mostly but recently we brought a buck up and put him in the kennel to do a breeding with a doe... we have kept him up here so the buckling can go in with him and make buddies and cuddle with him... easier transition to the buck field. All our bucks are friendly and get along beautifully so no worries there.

I will need to do something soon as he is getting to big for the dog cage at night and he is going to be close to 200 lbs... I cannot have a full grown buck living in my house because he's afraid of the dark!

 

[Mike CHS]

That one almost had me rolling.

 

[ThreeBoysChicks]

I follow Rolls - Whole Cows milk only if I don't have goats milk available. And they have all done great.