RosieNPearl
Exploring the pasture
- Joined
- Jul 25, 2014
- Messages
- 13
- Reaction score
- 4
- Points
- 18
I learned a ton from byc.com (everything i know!) when i first got chickens 3 yrs ago and was happy to find what im hoping is as much of a support to my new kid additions....two Nigerian dwarf kids weve had 11 days now that are 4 and almost 5 weeks old. My main issue is TMI! Meaning everything I google tells me something different and I dont know if im feeding them correctly, so someone I plea for your guidance. I am feeding whole cows milk, removing a cup from the gallon then adding 8 oz of heavy cream to the gallon. I was feeding 4 times a day, 7-10 oz. Then I read I could be feeding them 3x a day. I went to feeding 9-12 oz (9 for the younger one,12 for the older one). Suddenly they only wanted 6-7 oz tops, so i felt the need to go back to 4x a day feedings and they still are only taking about 6-8 oz. Am I overfeeding? Id like to get back to 3x a day feedings. Cut back on cream? They wont touch their water though its replaced daily and i make sure there are no "straw floaters" or anything in it. The breeder told me to offer miniature rabbit pellets with BOSS. They barely touch it...so today I switched to goat feed. We have an entire fenced orchard for them so they browse the ground and nibble crazy things i cant imagine provide nutrition...lol dried dead leaves...dirt? nibbles of the ground? Its very very dry here so the only green grass is in our leech field where they have no access. So im a nicu nurse and very good at guessing weights though I have not officially weighed them (i like to surprise moms by guessing their babies weigh to nearly the ounce ) I think our Rosie girl is about 10 lbs and her younger cousin Pearl is about 8. I went through 3 pritchard nipples before i got the cut just right (dang those scissors making holes too big!) Anyhoo, thank you for your help. We are loving our new additions! (3 human kids at home....3, 6, 17, and 3 other kids that left the nest..and 23 chickens, one Roo and two rescue dogs). Thanks all!! Oh, fwiw I bought the Raising Goats for Dummies book, borrowed one library book and have 6 more awaiting me to be picked up Monday.