geminilady
Just born
- Joined
- May 31, 2012
- Messages
- 6
- Reaction score
- 16
- Points
- 9
Hello all - I am new to the forum and greatly appreciate your help.
We just got two 10 week old Nigerian dwarf goats this last weekend on Saturday. They had been with mom up until that point, so we've been attempting bottle feeding for the past 5 days to no avail. One of them took the bottle once, and even a very little bit this morning (like three seconds worth of sucking.) They are eating cob and hay and have minerals, so they don't seem to be lacking from not drinking the milk - other than I am under the impression that it would be best for them to have the milk and get weaned off it more slowly. BTW, the lady I bought them from gave me several gallons of goat milk and I heat it up and give it to them in a baby bottle with a larger X cut into the nipple. I would like to wean them off the milk in a more slow fashion, but I'm not sure how to get them to drink it. In fact, more of my concern at this point is that milking time is becoming more like torture to them. They are not liking being chased down to have a bottle shoved in their face. I try to hold them, calm them down, pet them, and then shove the bottle into their mouths, but they are generally not liking the whole process much. They are fine with sitting in my lap (once I catch them!) but are beginning to not like the sight of the bottle. Sigh. So, should I keep trying - should I just let them come to the bottle on their own if they choose? Should I just let them not take the bottle if they choose to not want it and consider them weaned?
And as I mentioned, now I fear that I am not socializing them well - since they are starting to fear being caught and then having a bottle shoved in their face. I do spend time with them without bottle feeding, but they are less likely to come near me while I sit in the pen. The first few days, one of them was pretty comfortable with me, but now (after the bottle fiasco I am assuming) they both tend to stay on the opposite side of the pen from me. If I read a book while sitting in their pen, they will come closer, but don't want to jump on me or have me reach towards them. So, before it's too late, how can I make this process go better? Am I wanting things to go too quickly? I have no idea how well they were socialized to people before now - obviously, not that well!
I appreciate any advice you all can share.
Thanks!
We just got two 10 week old Nigerian dwarf goats this last weekend on Saturday. They had been with mom up until that point, so we've been attempting bottle feeding for the past 5 days to no avail. One of them took the bottle once, and even a very little bit this morning (like three seconds worth of sucking.) They are eating cob and hay and have minerals, so they don't seem to be lacking from not drinking the milk - other than I am under the impression that it would be best for them to have the milk and get weaned off it more slowly. BTW, the lady I bought them from gave me several gallons of goat milk and I heat it up and give it to them in a baby bottle with a larger X cut into the nipple. I would like to wean them off the milk in a more slow fashion, but I'm not sure how to get them to drink it. In fact, more of my concern at this point is that milking time is becoming more like torture to them. They are not liking being chased down to have a bottle shoved in their face. I try to hold them, calm them down, pet them, and then shove the bottle into their mouths, but they are generally not liking the whole process much. They are fine with sitting in my lap (once I catch them!) but are beginning to not like the sight of the bottle. Sigh. So, should I keep trying - should I just let them come to the bottle on their own if they choose? Should I just let them not take the bottle if they choose to not want it and consider them weaned?
And as I mentioned, now I fear that I am not socializing them well - since they are starting to fear being caught and then having a bottle shoved in their face. I do spend time with them without bottle feeding, but they are less likely to come near me while I sit in the pen. The first few days, one of them was pretty comfortable with me, but now (after the bottle fiasco I am assuming) they both tend to stay on the opposite side of the pen from me. If I read a book while sitting in their pen, they will come closer, but don't want to jump on me or have me reach towards them. So, before it's too late, how can I make this process go better? Am I wanting things to go too quickly? I have no idea how well they were socialized to people before now - obviously, not that well!
I appreciate any advice you all can share.
Thanks!
