Can you half-bottle feed a baby?

daisychains

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Hello,
my Nigi doe had twin girls on Friday. They are healthy. She bagged up well and had no trouble feeding the girls, however, as of yesterday her milk supply seems to have dropped drastically and I worry she does not have enough to feed the girls.

My question is, can I supplement the girls feeding with a few ounces of milk replacer while keeping them on Mom while her milk gets back up/letting her care for them, or is it bad for their digestion to be on both moms milk and milk replacer?
 

B&B Happy goats

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Unless there is something wrong with your doe, she will start producing enough milk for the kids....give it a day...
Does the doe have a temperature, is her udder hard or hot ?
 

daisychains

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Unless there is something wrong with your doe, she will start producing enough milk for the kids....give it a day...
Does the doe have a temperature, is her udder hard or hot ?
Her udder is a bit warm, but not hard. She is producing some milk, just not as much as they want to drink. Her milk production was high the first few days and now her udder is always "empty", even after hours of the girls napping. It has already been a day, so I would like to make sure the girls continue growing and getting enough food in while they are still energetic and healthy...
 

OneFineAcre

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Not unusual for her udder to look empty all the time when they are nursing twins.

Are the babies crying? If they are hungry they will cry alot.

But, in answer to your question you can bottle feed part time.
I wouldn't use replacer. Try whole cows milk.
 

daisychains

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Not unusual for her udder to look empty all the time when they are nursing twins.

Are the babies crying? If they are hungry they will cry alot.

But, in answer to your question you can bottle feed part time.
I wouldn't use replacer. Try whole cows milk.
Thanks for reply! I guess I am just surprised that she is already "empty" when they are only 4/5 days old. She was very full looking for the first 3 days.

The girls always look "thin" and hollowed out. They are very active and playful but try to nurse often (when they are awake they are almost constantly trying to nurse and cry while on the teat, switch teats often, and generally don't seem satisfied). I gave her teat a squeeze today and there just really wasn't anything beyond a couple drops in it.
 
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