Meet Chrissy Snow and Janet Wood!

[EggsForIHOP]

So...if you read in the disease section I was a little worried about bringing these 2 girls home...we already have tested and know that our current herd of dairy goats is CAE/CL negative...but these 2 were rejected by their mothers and I'm HOPING they have missed that bullet IF it even was an issue (to the naked eye, not so, but you just never know, I know, but just saying....)


we went out to look at them and see the herd they came from today - everyone there was fat happy and healthy...it's just these 2 were too much for their mamas I guess....


SO....Meet Chrissy Snow:

(This is her "mad face" when i was trying to catch her and put her on lock down in her play pen! She is NOT my friend right now...)

Smallest out of triplets, and found shivering on a cold day...she weighs in at all of 12 pounds at 2 weeks old, and is NOT my friend after being disbudded this evening (though I think her bottle of revitalyte and scour halt didn't help make her love me any - but he had them on a powdered multi-species replacer that MUSt have been doing a number on their little tummies because the BATH they both got to remove the scoury-poo may not have helped endear me to her any either...)

Then we have Janet Wood:

She was the runt out of quads, born in a storm, a week behind Chrissy and she is TINY TINY TINY! She weighed in at all of 4 pounds this evening! She too is a touch mad at me for her bath, though she is still too itty bitty small to be needing any disbudding...but she also had been rejected - the elderly man that had them "thought she was dead, so I grabbed the shovel and went to grab her and then she yelled at me so I put her on a bottle" he told me again today while we were there...she also got jabbed with a little BoSe this evening because I don't like how floppy weak her legs are...she needed a little boost I think And seems to be feeling better for it already judging by the way she yelled at her own reflection in the window by their playpen a while ago! That 3rd goat came outta NOWHERE and scared her...but it was just her own reflection...poor thing....


The only thing I am worried about is how much to feed the little critter! He was just giving them 4oz HUMAN baby bottles every few hours...starting tomorrow ALL that is going to change once these scours clear up...and they will be going on cows milk until further notice...but we are NOT going to be stopping every 2 hours for a 4oz bottle! I just don't want to pop such a tiny baby!

Here's a pic of them together for to compare:

The blue haze is the playpen netting - sorry - but it was the only way I could get them to hold still side by side! Baby Goat Jail...they hate it, but I love it!

So...here's hoping they eventually come back disease free upon all testing and can be mixed with the other girls one day...until then it's house arrest and then their own pen out by the horses...just had to share because they are super sweetie petite-y!

 

[elevan]

Cute! And good for you for taking them in. Good call on the Bo-Se too.

 

[EggsForIHOP]

Thank you I try to take in things I lurk and research and talk to people and come across and then apply as needed...and NOT owrry my tail off in the mean time (which is what I do best my husband says)

I do have one question though...with boer-ish type goats (I know they have a LITTLE dairy in them because their sire "Checkers" was admittedly 75% or 50% nubian, and 12 years old...and HUGE....but anyways...

With boer goats, what kind of growth should I be looking for? Same as your bigger dairy types? Like for instance, my nubians tended to put on about 10lbs a month or more as they grew...should I be looking for that as a milestone of sorts in them?

And I'm guessing feeding is the same with the bottle babies when one compares a boer goat to a nubian...but what about the little one? That squirt is SO SO tiny! I just can't imagine her ANY time soon being on any more than an 8oz bottle - a people baby bottle that big is longer than she is! I checked!

So hopefully I don't pop her or anything...lord knows her "sissy" is a pig and I have no worries with her...I just haven't had a baby yet this tiny!

What kind of feeding schedule / amount should I be shooting for with the runt? Any thoughts?

 

[that's*satyrical]

Cuties! I'm sure they will thrive with all that personal attention

 

[MuttlyCrew]

They look so sweet, good luck with them.

 

[Queen Mum]

Right now, three times a day for the bigger baby. And three times during the day and once at night for the first week then three times a day after that for the little one. I'd also give the wee one a little colostrum replacer for a week mixed in with her cows milk, just for a boost. She may not really "need" it, but it won't hurt her and might give her some help with growth.

I'd also put a little probios into both of their milk for a couple days.

After a month, both babies can be reduced to twice a day feedings when they are nibbling hay and browse. That little one might take longer to get her rumen developed, though so she may benefit from 3 times a day feeding a bit longer.

You probably already know it, but make sure you give them a CD/T shot if they haven't had it. When you disbud, they should have a CD/T shot the same day. Don't forget the booster in a month.

BTW, very lovely babies!

 

[Roll farms]

I'm going to respectfully disagree about cutting back to 2 bottles a day at 1 month.

I've found our kids grow so much better if kept to 3 bottles a day until 2 mos. of age, then 2 bottles until 2.5 mos, then weaned at 3 mos.
I've been known to let them go longer if I feel they need it.
Yes, they can cut back / be weaned sooner....but they grow soooo much better if they get that milk longer.

Esp. if you're worried about the wee girl 'catching up', I wouldn't cut her back early.

 

[Queen Mum]

Well, I think it isn't cut and dried how long and how often you bottle feed. It kind of depends on the babies. You have to balance it with growth, health, condition and rumen development. If they aren't eating and nibbling by one month, you need to make sure you aren't delaying that by overfeeding with the bottle.

When I cut back on frequency, I usually increase the volume at the morning and nighttime feedings. So they aren't getting less milk, they are just getting it less frequently. That way, they nibble and taste hay, browse and other things during the day and have their bottle in the morning and evening. I also don't just suddenly stop the third feeding. I gradually decrease the mid day bottle over two weeks so they get less and less until they are getting most of their nutrition at night and in the morning.

But with the wee one especially, I would definitely agree that she would benefit from being on the bottle three times a day for a lot longer.

 

[EggsForIHOP]

See...I was more worried about HOW much per feeding and should I ADD a feeding for her in regards to the tiny one? She's so wee...I don't want her to explode...though she would keep eating if I let her lord knows...little fatty!

I tend more to keep them on 3/20 oz bottles until they are 2 - 3 months old and then cut back when I realize DARN! You are GROWN now! THEN they go down to less and less...I haven't had any problems getting them to nibble and gnaw on "solid" goat foods...usually all they need is to watch the older goats and then they realize "HEY! Waaaiittt a minute...WHAT do they have???" With these 2 that may be an issue this time around as I won't be letting them share that fenceline for a LONG while...

BUT...with a 4pound baby I don't even want to entertain 20 ounces at one feeding at this point as a thought - she's half as big as anything else we ever brought home! I was thinking AT LEAST 4 6ounce bottles for her? Until she reaches at least 6 or 7 pounds and then increasing it from there? Or am I being too cautious with that?

It's so much harder to figure out what to do with a goat who is smaller than her own bottle! Not to mention they have been on PEOPLE bottles...so show them a pritchard nipple and they have no clue where to start with THAT! It's the wrong shape, size, color...they kept looking at the wrong end of the bottle waiting for it to sprout their OLD nipple I think!

Ah goats...always a new challenge at least once a month

 

[redtailgal]

They are both adorable. lol, I had many a puppy and a few pigs, and even a calf behind a very similar "blue haze" jail cell.

I kept my Hoover on three times a day for quite a while, I wanted him to grow out well and I was spoiling him. HE eventually quit wanting the whole thing and weaned himself off the noon bottle at around 13 weeks. Then, shortly after that, he weaned himself off the evening bottle cuz he wanted to have grain with the big goats. It was ME that missed bottle time!

I'd bet you I will never have another critter so easy to wean as he was, lol.

I'm jealous. I want a bottle baby!