How much to bottle feed baby Bucklings
- Thread starter Wisco55
- Start date
Hens and Roos
Herd Master
Welcome 
, glad you joined us! Congrats on the new baby goats!
We have nigies so I'm not sure how much yours should be getting per feeding but will tags some others.
@Goat Whisperer @babsbag @Southern by choice @Latestarter @Wehner Homestead @samssimonsays @OneFineAcre
, glad you joined us! Congrats on the new baby goats!We have nigies so I'm not sure how much yours should be getting per feeding but will tags some others.
@Goat Whisperer @babsbag @Southern by choice @Latestarter @Wehner Homestead @samssimonsays @OneFineAcre
Southern by choice
Herd Master
This is extremely underweight at 3 weeks for the breed you have. A nigerian would be underweight at that age.
How much are they taking now and how often do you feed?
Sounds like they are not getting fed enough and you may need to work your way up. At the age and breed they should take a minimum of 20oz 3x a day at this point. Having access to hay and some goat feed available.
They need 10% of their weight in colostrum the first 6-12 hours of birth. As far as feeding it is thought of 20%. However we don't feed that way. If you want an animal to grow and only base on the weight then there is no "extra" for them to grow.
How much are they taking now and how often do you feed?
Sounds like they are not getting fed enough and you may need to work your way up. At the age and breed they should take a minimum of 20oz 3x a day at this point. Having access to hay and some goat feed available.
They need 10% of their weight in colostrum the first 6-12 hours of birth. As far as feeding it is thought of 20%. However we don't feed that way. If you want an animal to grow and only base on the weight then there is no "extra" for them to grow.
Wehner Homestead
Herd Master
My LaMancha bottle babies came from SBC so we follow her recommendations. My girls are 6 weeks and over 20#. (They need weighed!) They control how much they want. We feed three times a day. Roughly 8am, 2-3pm, and 10pm. They each take at least a 20 oz bottle each feeding. One of our doelings was a single from a mature mother and sometimes she takes almost two 20 oz bottles in the morning or evening. Mine get to refuse the bottle three times before I assume that they are full. (Got that from @babsbag) We also let them out for extra exercise if they don’t seem to finish their 20oz base bottle and let them try again. They usually guzzle it then. We feed warmed whole cow’s milk.
- Thread starter
- #5
I just got them this week and have been following the instructions from the lady I got them from.. she was only feeding 4 oz at a time
samssimonsays
Milo & Me Hoppy Tail Acres
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I have very limited experience and my only experience was ODD to say the least. My Nubian doe's milk was 3/4 cream so compared to formula and Alpine/saanan milk my Nubian kids ate about half what they did on other milks (we bought from a local farm and then switched to formula when her goats started to dry off). I offered the recommended amount by SBC and GW as well as other breeders in my area and let them eat til they were done. If it was Alpine, Saanan or formula they were still hungry by the end but if it was their mothers, they would stop long before it was close to the end of their bottles. I tried everything but her milk was so heavy they filled up.
Good luck!
Good luck!
babsbag
Herd Master
I too feed until they refuse the bottle. I have Alpines and right now four 1 week old kids are going through about 50 oz. of milk in their morning feeding. The biggest doeling takes almost 20 oz. by herself, at one week of age. The rest of the day the kids are with their dams so can't really say how much they are eating.
Greetings and welcome. Glad you joined us. There's some real good goat folks here and lots of great info in the various threads. Make yourself at home. When I bottle fed a Lamancha doeling (full sized goat) last spring, she was taking 12-16oz per feeding (3x/day) by the time she was 1 week old and was doing 28oz bottles twice a day along with pellets and hay by 4-5 weeks. I always let her take as much (or little) as she wanted up till she emptied the bottle.
missyb
Herd lurker
hi am new to bottle feeding goats too! I am wondering what to do if they guzzled and then started coughing and sneezing a little I have only had them 2 days of the three I month old Nubian does 1 is a little more petite than the others and she is the one with the little cough and sneeze she also didn't finish her bottle this am and went to stand off by herself when I picked her up she did not feel warm but she snuggled right in my arms they traveled about 8 hours to get to me.
babsbag
Herd Master
I would take the temp on the little one and watch her closely. Sometimes the stress of the move can cause respiratory infections and these little babies can go down hill fast. Do you think she inhaled some milk? Do you have a vet? If so you might want to call them and get their advice.
