[Bumblebear]

We've picked up a day old kid from a local goat farm (they were advertising it on Twitter and the suckers that we are...).  Anyway, he isn't exactly taking to the bottle as I hoped he might (it's early days I know) and I have been reading so much conflicting information about how much to feed/how often to feed/where he should sleep (he is in the kitchen in a dog bed at the moment because I don't trust Simone and Ashia not to squash him!  When he is feeding and stronger then of course he will go out with them in a partioned off bit of the shed.  Vet is out on Monday for castration/disbudding, but any info on raising orphan goats (without the flames/you should more about it comments please ) would be very welcomed right now.     

[jaykay]

Little and often. Every 3-4 hours at this age. I've always found that if you feed them (kids/lambs) often enough, you can let them take what they want.

Are you milking Simone and Aisha? If you can put up with less milk, having one of them do the job for you id probably better all round.

Here is what happened to me, raising Daisy's twins after she died.

For several days, catch goat kid, pin it under arm whilst trying to feed it. Had to put teat in mouth, resisted, spat, wriggled, very fraught.....
Put Ellie (whom I'd 'milked through' that year , so no kids of her own) on milk stand, tried to let kid suckle. Had to hobble Ellie, who kicked, did handstands, very fraught.....
About day 5, caught one goat kid, started the milk-bottle struggle........turned round for the next one, to find Ellie feeding him. Let go of the one I had, who ran straight to Ellie and she fed her too.

After that, she adopted them and the whole thing was sooooooo much easier and nicer.

These kids, in their orphan days, slept out in the goat byre, but behind a mesh partition that was a couple of feet high. The adults could sniff the babies over it, but not actually stand on them or headbutt them.

Once they were Ellie's they were in her pen overnight and loose with everyone during the day.

[ferretkeeper]

It's disheartening when they won't take the bottle but once they do it's brill, so persevere! Presumably baby got some colostrum, if not get some of the powdered stuff. He'll need frequent feeds to begin with, of small amounts. Work up to larger amounts, and the advice I was given was to give them as much as they will take, then reduce the frequency.

My first two kids were an orphan and one away from mum early, they were already on the bottle - thanks Blinkers! At the peak of feeding they took two bottles each twice a day had to then reduce down the milk gradually to nothing.

A year later my next kid was completely different, he had been with his mum so not used to the bottle, and it was more of a struggle. He got there eventually but went off it on his own earlier than I would have liked. But he was in with my other goats, separate to begin with, but with access to hay and coarse mix from the start.

Hopoefully the same thing happens with you!

   

[sokel]

Hopefully he has had Colostrum and the parents are CAE tested ,especially if your coats are clear
Our kids get fed every 4 hrs  at the beginning and gradually reduce it to 4  feeds a day. At the beginning they only take small amounts regular but at  the peak ours get roughly 4 full bottles a day so that's  2 ltrs of milk a day.
I find if they have fed from mum they take to the bottle quicker with goats milk in it than they do formula

[Bumblebear]

The herd are CAE tested (they are a commercial diary herd) and we gave him some defrosted colostrum when we got home.  I have tried to put him on Simone but neither of them were having any of it and it was exactly as you describe Jaykay!  I could put up with no milk if he would feed from her!  think the lamb bottle is too much for him (too fast) so I'm going to buy a baby bottle today.   

[jaykay]

Well, keep trying with Simone, Ellie is a real madam, but in the end, she did the job beautifully and I was very grateful to her.

That 'their own milk through them' thing helps I think - perhaps you can feed Simone's milk in the bottle too, as well as putting him onto her when she's tied up?

[Bumblebear]

How did you tie Ellie up?  Usually when I milk Simone she just has her head in a stancion BUT her legs are still very free!  Did you hobble Ellie whilst she was on the stancion?

[jaykay]

Yes, she had her head in the stanchion and then I tied her back legs together with a dog lead, just to limit the kicking.

[Bumblebear]

4 days old and very cheeky.  Still doesn't open his mouth to feed, but drinks the lot when we put it in for him.

[Lesley Silvester]

  Cute