What to feed bottle babies.

[KareyABohr]

I have had great luck with kid milk replacer for my bottle billy's. Just make sure you MEASURE, measure, measure or else they will bloat and over eat. I get it at the feed store, but it is pricey $67 per 50lb. bag.

 

[username taken]

If you follow the instructions/directions on milk replacer - you should not have trouble. Tons of $$$$, and research time goes into these products. Trouble begins when people overfeed or add things to the formula. You also need to pay attention to general health issues and keep the babies clean and comfortable. Deworm on a regualr basis, etc. Watch for Scours.

Mother's milk is always best, but sometimes that option is just not available. I'll go with results - based on research every time...esp. when a baby's health/life depends on it.

Some milk replacers are universal...meaning they are good for foals, calves, kids, lambs etc. Some are species specific. I've used several and have good results with them. Some are easier to mix than others. Some smell better than others...almost like cheesecake. Some have a higher fat ratio than others. We are currently, using "All Star" for a 4-H bucket calf project with great results...we've also used it for kids with very good results.

HALLELUJAH!

Finally a voice of reason!

I've raised hundreds of babies on replacer, there is nothing wrong with it. Get an all milk replacer, no soy, with at the very least 20% fat 20% protein.

Not sure what the deal is in US, but my milk replacer (which is the most expensive on the market) works out to $0.90 per litre, I certainly cant buy milk from the store for that price.

 

[jojo@rolling acres farm]

usernametaken:

Agreed... my use of milk replacer has been nothing but positive! I've used it for 6 years and will continue to do so - based on my results. BTW - thanks for your support! I was feeling pretty beat up over this posting. I was just trying to answer the question and help - based upon on my experience. I think, that's what's expected of us - right? Yikes!

 

[Farmer Kitty]

usernametaken:

Agreed... my use of milk replacer has been nothing but positive! I've used it for 6 years and will continue to do so - based on my results. BTW - thanks for your support! I was feeling pretty beat up over this posting. I was just trying to answer the question and help - based upon on my experience. I think, that's what's expected of us - right? Yikes!

With the calves, if I leave them on milk I have scour trouble. And like I said before, you get what you pay for with milk replacer. A good one is not cheap. We've tried cheaper ones and had problems. This could account for some of the issues the others have had.

 

[jojo@rolling acres farm]

Yes, I agree "cheap" is never really cheap. However there are so many variables involved...how the animal is acquired, where it is acquired, kept, what type of health the breeding stock (the mother) enjoyed - or not. I just don't think you can tell someone that milk replacer never works...because it does. If it didn't - it wouldn't be on the market. And companies that produce it would be out of business. Milk from the baby's mother is always best. But, to dismiss milk replacer as something that never works is wrong. I'm afraid that it scares people away from using it. Issues that people have with babies getting sick maybe secondary to using milk replacer. Cutting corners + animal care = disaster, everytime!

 

[kstaven]

If you follow the instructions/directions on milk replacer - you should not have trouble. Tons of $$$$, and research time goes into these products. Trouble begins when people overfeed or add things to the formula. You also need to pay attention to general health issues and keep the babies clean and comfortable. Deworm on a regualr basis, etc. Watch for Scours.

Mother's milk is always best, but sometimes that option is just not available. I'll go with results - based on research every time...esp. when a baby's health/life depends on it.

Some milk replacers are universal...meaning they are good for foals, calves, kids, lambs etc. Some are species specific. I've used several and have good results with them. Some are easier to mix than others. Some smell better than others...almost like cheesecake. Some have a higher fat ratio than others. We are currently, using "All Star" for a 4-H bucket calf project with great results...we've also used it for kids with very good results.

HALLELUJAH!

Finally a voice of reason!

I've raised hundreds of babies on replacer, there is nothing wrong with it. Get an all milk replacer, no soy, with at the very least 20% fat 20% protein.

Not sure what the deal is in US, but my milk replacer (which is the most expensive on the market) works out to $0.90 per litre, I certainly cant buy milk from the store for that price.

I agree. Never have had an issue when using milk replacer and it still is cheaper than buying milk from the store.

 

[farmergal]

I've been feeding my baby Nigerian Dwarf doeling whole cow milk -- she seems to be doing A-OK. Most recently, I bought some non-homogenized stuff, and it's nice to be able to see the fat/cream that she's getting, although it's probably not too different in terms of nutrition from the on-sale homogenized stuff.

Someone told me that cow's milk works especially well for Nigerian Dwarfs because the milk from Nigis has the highest butterfat content of any of the goats... so fatty cow milk is good for the babies, they need the extra calories.

I was also told to feed 15% of their body weight each day, split between three meals. Does anyone else have input on how much to bottle feed babies? It's been hard for me to find info on Nigis because all of the classic Storey's-type books are geared towards the big dairy goats, not the little ones.

PS -- I'm really excited about this site! I just joined, but I've been with BYC under the same name for almost a year.

 

[haviris]

For me it varies by the kid, some need more, some need less. I feed mine starting w/ 5 feedings a day, cut that to 4 after a few weeks (again depending on the kid). My current kid is nearly 8 weeks and getting 3-4 bottles a day.

I feed as much as the kid wants to eat. That can't be done w/ a kid that has been limited, because they are likely to overeat, but if it's done from the start they do fine.

Don't know if that is exactly what you were asking, but I hope it helps!

 

[Roll farms]

I feed newborns 4 feedings of colostrum over 24 hours, then go to 3 bottles a day (as much as they will take) if they're eating well, until 8 weeks. Then I take them to 2 bottles a day (providing they're eating grain and hay by now), at 10 weeks they go to 1 bottle, and by 3 mos. old I've weaned them.

I've raised everything from pygmies to boers that way and so far it's worked well...probably only by shear dumb luck b/c when I started out, there wasn't near the info out there available, online or in books and magazines, that there is available today.

When I started, you couldn't get good kid replacer anywhere near here. It was the "multi species" or cow-type only, and either I'm an idiot who couldn't mix it, or it wasn't well-tolerated by the kids I had, because I really did have scour issues until I switched to cow's milk.

As always, I say do what works best for you, and I'm glad those of you who use replacer have good luck w/ it.
I just never did.

 

[username taken]

Best thing to do is feed roughly 20% of the kid's body weight

And monitor their sides - you want them just straight on the sides or slightly bulging after a feed - not hollow but also not hugely bulging.