We are wanting to get a baby goat we here not to feed the same milk replacer as a calf. What should we feed?

-- Don Amon (peacelane@certainty.net), November 10, 2001

Answers

I've never been fond of purposely feeding bottle babies... but many have told me that either canned goats milk (either at health food stores, or some WalMarts), or whole cow's milk works much better than powdered replacers ... less chance of scouring. Hope that helps.. :) patty Prairie Oak Miniatures http://www.minifarm.com/prairie_oak http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Littlegoats moderator

-- Patty (littlegoats@wi.rr.com), November 10, 2001.

Land O' Lakes makes a kid milk replacer that can be ordered through Caprine Supply. Also a Lamb Milk replacer can be used and is probably easier to find locally at a feed store. Personally I think these choices are cheaper than canned and better than processed milk. Always keep water and hay in front of the kid and they will take to solid food faster. Start with warm (not hot) replacer first and after about 2 weeks you can gradually reduce the temp until you are feeding cold.

-- Tim Schmidt (tmschmidt@acsnet.com), November 10, 2001.

I use lamb milk replacer & have never had any problems. I always use warm water until weaned. Goats like their milk warmer than calves. I doubt mine would even drink a cold bottle & I'm not sure it would be real good for them. If the weather outside is extremely hot I guess cold would be ok. If it's cold weather or damp, I would give them warm milk.

-- Wendy (weiskids@yahoo.com), November 10, 2001.

I raise goats and always bottle feed them to make them omprint on me. I either use fresh goats milk (preferably). Sometimes you can check in your area and a goat breeder is selling their excess. (or maybe where you bought the baby they have milk they can sell you) You can use canned goats milk, but that is expensive. Their is also a goat milk replacer that comes in a tub and you reconstitute it like Similac (yuk!). Call you area feed n weed stores and see what they have and/or can order for you. I find with bottle raising, you have a best friend in your back pocket for life! Good luck!

-- Susan (baaamaid@goatweb.com), November 11, 2001.

How old is the baby you are looking at ? Are they near by ? If so maybe you can get milk from them for a few weeks.

-- Patty {NY State} (fodfarms@slic.com), November 11, 2001.

Last spring I had several lambs on bottles for various reasons. I was able to get goats milk which they did better on than lamb milk replacer and cheaper too. For convenience, I only went once every ten days, bought what I needed, and put it in freezer. My goat friend was milking 26 a day and had lots of extra milk for sale. I still have some in freezer that we are using for us.

-- Kate henderson (kate@sheepyvalley.com), November 11, 2001.

Don, Back in the "good old days", I fed my babies calf milk replacer without any problems. I got the highest fat content, I either did not know about lamb milk replacer or they didn't make it yet.LOL I now feed lamb milk replacer to all my bottle babies. Goat milk is always better, but do not have a pasturizer. Pasturized goat milk, or milk replacer helps prevent the spread of CAE. That is why I feed my replacement doelings or any that will sell as dairygoats, lamb milk replacer, and pasturize the colostrum. I usually leave the meat goats with their mothers since they grow out faster. Have fun with your new baby, they are so adorable and will be your friend forever.

-- Karen in Kansas (kansasgoats@iwon.com), November 11, 2001.

It isn't that you shouldn't feed calf or uni-milk replacers, it is that you don't feed soy replacers. Make sure whichever one you choose is all milk products, and unless you are a tag guru like I am, they can slip soy into the milk replacers in all sorts of interesting ways. Soy doesn't allow a young kid to form a curd in its stomach, making the milk stay liquid, and the poop will also be liquid. This also happens to folks who add water to their milk. Problem is then you don't know if you have scours from this or scours from worms or cocci, so you buy medicated replacer and the vicious cycle begins. Without curd formation in the stomach you also don't slow down the time the milk and nutrients are in the intestine, so the kid has little chance to absorb the nutrients as this liquid poop slides by. Without huge amounts of calicum and protein absorbed the kid stays small. Though if purchased stricktly as a future pet this slowed growth isn't that big of a deal, it does matter the longer you are in goats, and that 100 pound milker simply can't make a profit in the milk pail, even in the back yard milking family milk. The milk replacer, cocci stunted, wormy goat is also the one who is compared to the cow on "which one I should keep as a homesteader". Rarely do the comparisions start with the well kept cow and the well kept goat who is 185 pounds and milking with a peak of 12 to 15 pounds, then milking 9 pounds daily for 10 months, 3 months of which she is rebred.

Bottom line is that you need to use grocery store or goats milk for the first couple of weeks, then slowly switch over to a good all milk product in which you mix the product exactly like you should, or stay on the grocery store milk. If you put Land 0 lakes or Purina's price up against Vitamin D Grocery Store milk, the price is comparable. And if you are letting children do this it is much easier to get milk already mixed in the fridge, warm it up and feed!

If this type of information isn't coming from the folks you are buying the kid from than you should pass on buying that kid. A doe kid purchased at birth or purchased at 12 weeks/weaned should only be about 50$ to 75$ more (ironically the price of milk replacer or buying goats milk at 3$ a gallon), certainly worth the price if you aren't up on goats. This also puts the worm and cocci, ecoli, scours :) burden on the owner, also picking a weaned, healthy, lively kid is much eaiser than picking an infant! Good luck, and buy 2 not one! Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), November 11, 2001.

Thanks for all the response, it has been a great help. This forum is new to us and we enjoy all the great info in it.

-- Don Amon (peacelane@certainty.net), November 11, 2001.