3 month old, STILL NOT DRINKING ON HER OWN!!!

[julierx1]

I have a bottle raised pygmy who will be 3 months old on the first. She has been indoors since birth and weather pernitting she joins the herd thru the day. I have just now got her to eat grain!! And of course she is eating hay!! But I have never seen her drink. When she is out all day, I believe she goes w/ nothing. I am still giving a bottle morning and night just because I would hate to have her dehydrate. What do I do?? I have tried everything I can think of and doesnt work! With warm temps coming soon she has got to learn to drink on her own right!!!
Would it hurt to give only water in bottle now that she is way past weaninh age or would I be making a mistake. I really do not know what to do and she doesnt want to learn either!!

 

[Godsgrl]

Hmmm...have you taken her over to the water bucket, and dunked her face in it to give her the idea to drink? Does she see the other goats drink from the bucket?

 

[julierx1]

I have showed her the water put her face in it, I have put a nipple in her bucket in hopes that she would catch on, I have splashed it on her nose and let it trikle down so she could get a taste of it. I have tried it all. Yes she does see the others drinking while she is outside but she could care less.

 

[rebelINny]

Add something to the water to flavor it? Maybe she would like the taste and drink on her own?

 

[Mamaboid]

Not a good idea to put water in the bottle unless absolutely necessary. If she thinks that is where she gets water she will never learn to drink. If she was here, and this is just a suggestion so please take it for what it is worth, but if she was here, I would let her get darn good and thirsty. Give her no choice but to drink the water. If she is eating hay and grain, I would put her in a stall by herself, provide her with feed and lots of water, and let her be for 12-15 hours. Make sure you have the water in something that you can tell if she has been taking any of it. Sounds nasty, but sometimes you have to force the issues with kids. Good luck, hope it works out for you.

ETA: a little molasses in the water wouldn't hurt either.

 

[purplequeenvt]

Are you sure she isn't drinking? I have a buckling that is just barely a week old and he was drinking water out of a bucket at 3 days.

 

[CrazyCatNChickenLady]

Not a good idea to put water in the bottle unless absolutely necessary. If she thinks that is where she gets water she will never learn to drink. If she was here, and this is just a suggestion so please take it for what it is worth, but if she was here, I would let her get darn good and thirsty. Give her no choice but to drink the water. If she is eating hay and grain, I would put her in a stall by herself, provide her with feed and lots of water, and let her be for 12-15 hours. Make sure you have the water in something that you can tell if she has been taking any of it. Sounds nasty, but sometimes you have to force the issues with kids. Good luck, hope it works out for you.

ETA: a little molasses in the water wouldn't hurt either.

X2 on all of it. Definately dont give the water in the bottle. I gave a bottle baby to my neighbors and I couldn't get them to stop giving him a water bottle after his formula. I had him on whole milk but the guy at the feed store insisted they put him on formula. Welp.. He bloated and died at 6-8 weeks old. I did a bunch of research on it at the time.. Hemoglobinuria (Water intoxication)

She's old enough to be weaned. I would wean her and make her get thirsty. Otherwise she's just going to think you releive her thirst with the bottles.

 

[julierx1]

Well Im going to take everyone's advise and stop the bottles. She did have 1 this morning before I put her ouside w/ the others for the day. She is usually looking for me at dark to bring her in and give her a bottle. Tonight when I bring her in, I will just give grain and some water w/ kyro!! I have tried this in the past but it hasnt worked w/ her. She is out all day so I know she has got to be thirsty!!! If she goes all day today and thru the night w/ out water and still continues to eat, How long can she go with out a drink??

 

[madcow]

I would think she would eventually drink once you don't offer bottles any longer. It might take a while for her to make up her mind and take the plunge (no pun intended), maybe a day or 2 at the most. After that it would be difficult to decide what to do after that. Goats have a really good sense of smell. I would try some anise flavoring along with the molasses. You can get at the grocery store and sometimes in Hobby Lobby in the candy making section. Goats are supposed to really love anise. If that gets her going, just gradually cut down the amount of flavoring and molasses you put into the water over a couple of days. She's bound to get the idea with some time. I understand your fear of her getting dehydrated. I would just keep a real close eye on her during all of this to be sure that doesn't happen. In a couple of weeks I will be weaning our 2 kids and I've never seen them drink water either. I plan on trying these 2 things to get them interested in the water. So let us know what works, as it could help many of us who are faced with the same thing later. Good luck!

 

[julierx1]

Just giving everyone an update. Bailey has not had a drink since yesterday evening. I could not tell that any had been drank thru the night. I put her out this morning w/ out the morning milk bottle and just brought her in about an hr ago. Put in some fresh warm water w/ molasses and she sniffed and went on. She is now yelling her head off for a bottle but for now I am not budging. Will wait atleast until bedtime to decide. Depending on how bad she is carrying on. One stubborn little goat is all I can say. She did pee this morning and I saw her pee outside earlier also but not a whole lot. Will keep an eye on her