I just bought a Saanen doe who lost her baby and is in milk. While I was at the farm, I decided to buy a 4 week old doeling and a 6 week old buckling. My crazy plan was to milk the doe and bottle feed it to the kids. The problem is that the kids won't take the bottle! They are eating alfalfa and grain and seem to be fine...should I be worried? :?
It is extremely hard to get kids to take a bottle at that age...you will just have to keep trying. Try several different types of nipples and try putting some in a bowl...sometimes they will drink it that way. They should be drinking water by that age...but keep an eye out for signs of dehydration. They will survive without milk...but probably won't grow very well and may be sickly for the first couple years of their lives.
I agree -- I would keep working with them on the bottle, its not going to be easy. You might also try letting them just nurse off the doe a couple times a day - in the end their health and well being is most important. WHY did the breeder let you purchase such young kids who were not on the bottle UGH!
I have a similar situation- now with a doe that was on a bottle but now refused it (she only wants to nurse on my nigerians). It is extremely frusterating to keep trying at the bottle but I agree with Stacey to just keep trying. Also a "j" syringe works too to give them the taste of milk and then then give the bottle.
I will keep trying. I haven't seen them nurse from the doe (not their mom), but maybe they are....? The woman I bought them from said they would take a bottle with no problem, and I believed her because she had been raising goats for a long time. I should have asked here on the forum before I took the babies home!!! Darn!!!
if they are eating normally then maybe you should just put the milk in a pan... we had some babies that pan trained themselves and did this instead of bootle feeding and then pan training. some people just pan train. if it was me i would see if they drank it from a pan... good luck!
Great ideas! I milk the doe on a stand, so I will try to put them on her then. I like the pan idea, too. I will try everything until I find out how to get some milk into them! Note to self- do not buy 1 month old kids and think they will take to a bottle like newborns!!! I could kick myself right now!!!
We do it on the stand too. I put up one of my milkers and let the baby run around. After I get the milk "to let down" I call her over. The first time I guided her head but now she gets the idea quickly.
When I got Angel at 6 weeks, though she was eating well on her own I was able to get her milk by allowing her to nurse a doe on the stand, the doe accepted her while on the stand but would not allow her to nurse any other time, 2 x a day I'd let her get a good fill.
Yeah!!!!! I saw them nursing from the doe!!! I was so excited that I stayed and watched for a while and they were all over her- she had no problem with them under her. She is such an amazing doe!!! Now I don't have to worry about milking her and forcing them to take a bottle....woohoo! I sure lucked out, but I will NEVER take this chance again! :hi5:
