Raising a goat on powdered formula

[Goatgirl47]

Has anyone ever raised a goat kid completely off milk replacer? I have a chance to get a Nubian bottle buckling. Right now he is on fresh goat milk I think. He is slightly crippled in his back legs, which his owner thinks is due to him coming hocks first, and her (the owner) having to pull him. He walks a little awkwardly on those legs, because of his muscles being sprained or something from being pulled.

Anyway, we are low on milk from our cows right now, and my cow whom I milked last year to feed our bottle goat now has a three-week-old foster calf on her. She is a Dutch Belted, and although she's on rye grass, she just produces just a little more than enough for the foster, but still not enough for the buckling to survive on. Our other three milk cows we milk 4 times a week for us, and on the weekends they feed their calves, so I couldn't milk them either to feed him.

So my question is, could I safely (and healthfully) raise a goat kid on just milk replacer for 2-3 months?

Thanks!

 

[samssimonsays]

I don't know. I know whole milk is ideal if not goats milk. @Goat Whisperer

 

[Goat Whisperer]

I only raised 2 kids off of replacer ($60 a bag…) and they didn't do well on it.

I'd stick to whole cows milk from the grocery. Some add yogurt and buttermilk to the milk, but I go the easy route and just some goat probiotic power to the bottle as I feel needed.

How old is the kid? I'd keep him on the bottle for at least 12 weeks.

 

[OneFineAcre]

We didn't know if we were going to have to supplement our goats milk or not so far we haven't
But our vet said that the Land O Lakes Replacer for goats was actually better for them than cows milk

 

[Goat Whisperer]

We had 2 kids on the land o lakes and they didn't thrive until I put them on cows milk. My vet recommended the land o lakes too.

Weight gains went way up when they were switched to cows milk too.

 

[OneFineAcre]

We had 2 kids on the land o lakes and they didn't thrive until I put them on cows milk. My vet recommended the land o lakes too.

Weight gains went way up when they were switched to cows milk too.

We've never used either so I couldn't say either way
We shouldn't have too this time

 

[Goat Whisperer]

We shouldn't have too this time

Good girl Molasses

 

[nstone630]

I only raised 2 kids off of replacer ($60 a bag…) and they didn't do well on it.

I'd stick to whole cows milk from the grocery. Some add yogurt and buttermilk to the milk, but I go the easy route and just some goat probiotic power to the bottle as I feel needed.

How old is the kid? I'd keep him on the bottle for at least 12 weeks.

^^^ What @Goat Whisperer said. We supplemented cow's milk to our kids for a couple weeks until mom started producing enough milk for them. They doubled in size while drinking the whole cows milk from the store. And, a lot of people will tell you that this will upset their bellies and be hard on them. We didn't experience ANY of that. And the kids absolutely LOVED the cows milk. Chugged it down no problem.

 

[Goatgirl47]

Thanks for all the replies!

Wow, that would be pretty expensive to feed whole milk from the store for 3 months! The kid was probably at most one week old.

Since we couldn't decide whether or not we would be able get him (they were four hours away, and - to my parents, not to me - it would be kind of crazy going four hours for a free crippled buckling who we weren't even sure would survive) my Mom told her if she had someone else who was interested in him, to go ahead and let that person have him (which, BTW, she did have someone else interested).

 

[Mini Horses]

GOOD decision -- let next in line have the baby. Drive, expense & health issues. We can't save them all. Being realistic, not harsh. Sometimes it is better to let another do the rescue.

As to powdered .... In years past, that attempt gave poor results. I have raised with whole milk from store, added some whole milk, plain greek yogurt with live bacteria to help add those to the gut. I have also added some whole milk cream, for added fat...every couple days a teaspoon of Power Punch added., vit/min needs. Good tolerance, weight gain, healthy, no scours. Now, you have those cows who are producing and milking. I am not a believer that you could not get enough milk to raise one goat kid. In beginning, the production may be less but, to a degree, they will produce what is needed. A little more taking will help increase to max output. MOST importantly is that these cows, goats, sheep, do have some limits and ONE of the critical situations is that the owner needs to remember to increase the amount and quality of their feed during lactation for max output.

Even just milking a doe/cow for own use, they require more feed than one laying around dry. It takes more to keep in milk than to grow a fetus. Ask any dairyperson..! Some who have a "family" milker and do not need or want top production are not trying to feed for best production, simply maintenance & good health.

If raising dairy animals for sales, production more important. If raising dairy for producing more & better dairy animals, production more important. Their feed concerns will be greater and owner researched for optimum results.

Just thought for any "next time".