Hi, I am very new in raising goats and one of my goats bacame pregnant and we did not know it until she had her baby. I was told that you were able to bottle feed a baby to help it trust you. Right now the baby runs from me and I hate it. What do I need to do? When can I start bottle feeding it? It is only a week and couple days old.

-- Gentry Baird (gbbairdus@hotmail.com), February 03, 2002

Answers

In my experience, it is best to either start bottle feeding within the first 2 or 3 days, or try to make friends with it in other ways (like by providing the kid and its mother with special treats). Trying to convince a kid that is more than a few days old to take a bottle can be a very frustrating experience for all involved, and can result in a kid that is always skittish. Other people may have other experiences, but this has been mine.

Is the mother very friendly? If so, the baby will learn this behavior from its mother. Baby goats are instinctively afraid of other animals...that's what would keep them alive in the wild. As the kid gets older and starts eating grain, keep some pelleted feed with you and give the little one a reason to want to be friends. Little bits of other treats like carrots and apples (in VERY small quantities...kids need a fairly standardized diet when they are small) will also help. Make sure to offer treats to his mom, since a friend of his/her mom will be a friend of his/hers.

-- Sheryl in ME (radams@sacoriver.net), February 03, 2002.

You'll want to get ahold of the baby and smother it with touching and attention. Get it and rub it all over, scratching & massaging so it feels good. Do this for at least 15 minutes each day, a full body massage, and you'll see results quickly. I had to do this with our pony filly last fall. She wouldn't come near us, and was completely not tame. After a week of these sessions, she was a different animal. Now she is a little pest! The bottle feeding isn't necessary. Let mama feed, and you make the baby happy with cuddles and love. She'll come around.

-- Shannon at Grateful Acres Animal Sanctuary (gratacres@aol.com), February 04, 2002.

I learned real fast that if you want a goat to love you as much as you love it you have to bottle feed it. I have three that I have to wrestle every time that I need to give it care. You can start after 24 hours of birth. I leave mine on the mother for three to seven days, depending upon if someone in in a hurry to buy them. They will refuse the bottle for up to 3 days [usally 1] until they get hungry enough. They will ball & the mother will ball for 3 days until she dries & forgets & they think you are mommy. I had triplets 2/3.Susan

-- Susan Dunn (sld5825@comteck.com), February 04, 2002.