Baby goat refusing bottle

[Cjz515]

I posted about a week ago about our Pygmy goat giving us a surprise baby on Christmas Eve. Well mama was taking good care of him and feeding him perfectly up until 8 days old. She absolutely will not let him eat, she butts him and kicks him. We’ve tried restraining her so he can eat but he doesn’t seem to get enough. So, we’ve moved to bottle feeding whole milk.

New problem, he hates the bottle. Won’t take it. We’ve tried opening his mouth and putting it in there and covering his eyes but the most we can get him to drink is half an ounce every 4 hours. I know that’s not anywhere near enough but I don’t know what to do at this point. Any ideas or insight as to how to convince him to drink more?

 

[HipMystic]

Is it whole milk from the store? He may not like the taste if it’s something different from what he’s been used to. Moms milk is best, if you can milk her and then feed him he may be more inclined to eat. When one of my does rejected her kids, I had to do a combination of holding her to nurse them and milking her to bottle feed because they wouldn’t eat enough with just one or the other. Maybe something like that would work for him as well.

 

[The-White-Elephant]

I posted about a week ago about our Pygmy goat giving us a surprise baby on Christmas Eve. Well mama was taking good care of him and feeding him perfectly up until 8 days old. She absolutely will not let him eat, she butts him and kicks him. We’ve tried restraining her so he can eat but he doesn’t seem to get enough. So, we’ve moved to bottle feeding whole milk.

New problem, he hates the bottle. Won’t take it. We’ve tried opening his mouth and putting it in there and covering his eyes but the most we can get him to drink is half an ounce every 4 hours. I know that’s not anywhere near enough but I don’t know what to do at this point. Any ideas or insight as to how to convince him to drink more?

I had this. It is very annoying, and worrying. BUT a make sure you are suing the right nipples for the bottles. What kind are you using now?

I fed them cow’s milk, as we bought them from somebody

 

[Cjz515]

We got one like this photo, and then I read to try a regular baby bottle if they don’t like that and he hates both. We are doing whole cows milk as well.

 

[The-White-Elephant]

We got one like this photo, and then I read to try a regular baby bottle if they don’t like that and he hates both. We are doing whole cows milk as well.

Looks good. Just try feeding him. If it doesn’t work, go to amazon and buy some. Mine didn’t like them at first, but keep trying, eventually it will have to drink it

 

[lomine]

It's harder when they have been nursing from mom. I've had this problem because one of my does is not the greatest mom and has rejected many kids, even after a couple of days.

I suggest not restraining the doe anymore to let him nurse. He won't get much from her because she has to let her milk down and she won't for him. Also, he'll keep trying to nurse from her because he won't know the difference between when you're holding her and when you're not. She may get so aggressive with her rejection that she hurts him.

Just keep trying with the bottle. And if you can, try milking mom like others have suggested. You may also try finding someone nearby that can provide goat's milk. Maybe through a local Facebook group. In the meantime, you can add a little honey to the warmed cow's milk to give him a little boost and extra calories.

I would also suggest giving him a shot of Vit B complex. He'll be feeling pretty stressed right now and it will help him.

 

[cassie]

It's harder when they have been nursing from mom. I've had this problem because one of my does is not the greatest mom and has rejected many kids, even after a couple of days.

I suggest not restraining the doe anymore to let him nurse. He won't get much from her because she has to let her milk down and she won't for him. Also, he'll keep trying to nurse from her because he won't know the difference between when you're holding her and when you're not. She may get so aggressive with her rejection that she hurts him.

Just keep trying with the bottle. And if you can, try milking mom like others have suggested. You may also try finding someone nearby that can provide goat's milk. Maybe through a local Facebook group. In the meantime, you can add a little honey to the warmed cow's milk to give him a little boost and extra calories.

I would also suggest giving him a shot of Vit B complex. He'll be feeling pretty stressed right now and it will help him.

Finding goat milk won't help. It's the bottle he doesn't like, not the milk. Purchasing goat milk may expose him to CAE. I have never found that goats can hold their milk like cows do. Cows can completely shut off the faucet. Goats can't.

 

[cassie]

See if you can borrow a goat in milk. If you put her in a stanchion he may nurse off of her. If you can't get him to nurse, this is serious. I have had kids starve themselves to death rather than take a bottle. You can try tube feeding him. You can buy weak kid syringes. What they are is a 60 cc syringe with a catheter tip. Then you need a urinary catheter to fit it on the end of the syringe. You can get these things from the vet. Tube feeding works on the short run but not the long because the milk goes into the rumen rather than the abomasum. To tube feed you remove the plunger and use the syringe like a funnel. If you do this you will need better directions like how far to put the catheter down the throat.

 

[lomine]

Finding goat milk won't help. It's the bottle he doesn't like, not the milk. Purchasing goat milk may expose him to CAE. I have never found that goats can hold their milk like cows do. Cows can completely shut off the faucet. Goats can't.

That same doe that rejects kids can 100% hold her milk if she doesn't want to let a rejected kid nurse. She even held it from me when I tried to milk her after putting a kid on her on the stand.

 

[Cjz515]

He’s started to take the bottle! Still doesn’t love it but doing better.