Baby food

[Teeah3612]

I just want to make sure I am doing the right thing...

My baby, Peanut, is three months old. He was been eating all the hay he wants, taking 3 bottles per day of goat milk replacer, and getting outside to eat fresh grass as often as it possible. Today we started giving him a small amount (1/4 cup) of grain twice a day since he was wanting more and more milk. Is this a good amount? He is a nigerian dwarf/fainter cross and weighs about 10 pounds.

When do I need to start putting loose minerals out for him?

 

[Queen Mum]

That little one is old enough to be on ONE bottle a day and eating a little grain, and the rest just hay and fodder. He has a rumen and teeth and is not a baby anymore, he's a kid. If he were on his mother she would let him nurse, but he would also be grazing and eating mostly regular goat stuff.

At this point, cut him back to two bottles a day for a week (one in the am and one at bed time.) Then one bottle a day for two weeks. (One in the morning) Then stop bottle feeding him. Give him loves and hugs and he will be just fine. He can eat almost anything an adult can eat.

 

[elevan]

That little one is old enough to be on ONE bottle a day and eating a little grain, and the rest just hay and fodder. He has a rumen and teeth and is not a baby anymore, he's a kid. If he were on his mother she would let him nurse, but he would also be grazing and eating mostly regular goat stuff.

At this point, cut him back to two bottles a day for a week (one in the am and one at bed time.) Then one bottle a day for two weeks. (One in the morning) Then stop bottle feeding him. Give him loves and hugs and he will be just fine. He can eat almost anything an adult can eat.

 

[20kidsonhill]

That little one is old enough to be on ONE bottle a day and eating a little grain, and the rest just hay and fodder. He has a rumen and teeth and is not a baby anymore, he's a kid. If he were on his mother she would let him nurse, but he would also be grazing and eating mostly regular goat stuff.

At this point, cut him back to two bottles a day for a week (one in the am and one at bed time.) Then one bottle a day for two weeks. (One in the morning) Then stop bottle feeding him. Give him loves and hugs and he will be just fine. He can eat almost anything an adult can eat.

I was thinking the same thing.

 

[Teeah3612]

We just had such a hard time in the beginning with him eating that I am afraid he will get sick again. I will cut him down to the morning and evening feedings.

Does he need the minerals at this point?

 

[Chaty]

Yes he can have loose minerals as they learn to eat them by watching the mommas. I agree he does need to be cut back on the bottles as I wean mine when they are 8 wks old. Does he drink water? if he is drinking and eating everything in sight he is old enough to wean.

 

[Queen Mum]

You may need to teach him to eat things by shoving them in to his mouth. He will like raisins (one at a time) and small bits of carrot. Goats also love sunflower seeds, with shells, pumpkin seeds, bananas cucumbers, etcetera. These are great training aids.

You should also be clicker training him by now as well.

Put a harness on him and whenever a dog comes near (other than the LGD) click say "DOG" and train him to stand perfectly still, by holding firmly to the harness and holding him close. (It prevents him from being chased and possibly killed by a strange dog.

I also teach goats the command, STAND. by clicker. which is like "Hold still for me." It's great when you are on a walk and a car comes by or a kid wants to pet him or he's doing something naughty and you want him to stop. Clicks. "STAND"

Other good commands "LEAVE IT" (don't eat that.)
FOOT (give me your foot)

STOP (obviously Stop right there)

COME

RIGHT (turn right)

LEFT (turn left)

BACK (back up)

FORWARD (go forward)

Those last four are for when he's bigger and he stands on your foot or is stuck in a fence or whatever. A panicked goat will respond well to early baby training.

 

[Mamaboid]

Those last four are for when he's bigger and he stands on your foot or is stuck in a fence or whatever. A panicked goat will respond well to early baby training.

Hmmm. I have never tried clicker training a goat. It sounds interesting and kinda fun. Right now, mine respond quite well to "move lunkhead".

 

[redtailgal]

lol, my respond to "get out of the way butthead"

and "You sure are a stooopid goat" (it puts them into a silly phase, you know, the hippy hoppy happy goat bounce)

And of course "gonna ge ur booty". they tuck their butts, stick up their tails and wag like crazy until I pinch their butt.......then we resort to "you sure are a stoooopid goat".

 

[Teeah3612]

I will get him some goat minerals tomorrow. He is eating the goat feed just fine. We started him on that at night because he was wanting a second bottle. Actually, he doesn't really take a bottle. He has a rabbit waterer that he drinks the milk from. He also has a large waterer that has water in it. He will not drink from a bucket. How should I get him to drink from a bucket?

As for training him, he follows me around and if my son's large pup tries to chase him he hides behind me. He has learned that I will make Dison stop. If he gets out of my sight in the yard he starts to cry "mamamamama" and all I have to do is say "whaaat" and he comes running to me. It's really kind of cute

Thanks for all the information!