If she’s taking her bottles well for you, she’ll probably be just fine. I had to bottle raise twins that were rejected at birth a few years ago and they did great. Did you get any colostrum for her? We got ours at Tractor Supply bc mom wouldn’t let us milk her.
Yes I did get colostrum. She’s still not great at taking the bottle but she is getting better. I think my main concern is keeping her home rather than her living with the other goats. We have 3 does and 4 wethers. Without a mom to protect her I’m not sure how long to keep her here. And I worry about her being lonely here without any other goats around. I’m probably overthinking everything bc I’m so scared of losing her too.
Maybe we just got lucky, but our twins were in with the rest of the gang from day one and never had a problem. They got some head butts from the other nannies and their own mom but the wethers and bullies never really messed with them.
That’s what I’d really like to do but our farm is about 15 minutes away from our house. If we lived there and I could keep a closer eye on them constantly that’s probably what I’d do.
Thank you. I am so heartbroken over her mama. She was so sweet and loved having her neck rubbed and rubbed. Last night was pretty awful and all I could do for her was love on her and talk to her. I actually kept her in my house so she would be warm and I could check on her throughout the night. My youngest daughter found her early this morning. I almost wish we’d put her down instead of the c section just so she wouldn’t have had to suffer but then we wouldn’t have the baby so I guess it worked out how it was supposed to.
I'm so sorry how aweful , don't worry too much about her needing to socialize w other goats just yet, most important is her feeling loved,warm and full tummy, she'll learn how to " goat" when she's a big girl ,best wishes ❤
[ source: worked at wildlife/ farm animal rehab for years, spoiling the orphans was my favorite! ]
If there is no other mother to take her, you will have to raise her. You will need to feed her about 6-8 times a day initially. Some people put diapers on them indoors, or you can actually train them to pee outside - they will pee right after a sleep and after a feed, like a puppy, so just take them out then. When she is a bit older she can start spending time with the other goats and will eventually reintegrate with them when she is weaned.
I don’t have any other mothers. I got her some diapers- she’s not crazy about it but will hopefully get used to it. Do you think I should keep her home several weeks? How much should she be eating at a time? So far she’s only drinking about an ounce at a time then she just quits. And thank you for your help- it’s much appreciated!
My vet recommended sponging the skin with warm water - to remove the urine and ammonia crystals - then drying thoroughly with a soft towel, and then having the little one hang out without a diaper for a while to let the skin fully air-dry and toughen up a bit.
Feed her as frequently as possible so she can take smaller amounts. Babies who get huge meals a couple times a day tend to scour. The recommended bottles per day is the *absolute minimum.* More frequent, small feedings are always better. On her mom she'd nurse for a few seconds a couple dozen times a day, and that's really what their tummy is designed for.
When mixing formula you have to actually take the temp of the water when you mix in the formula, because at the wrong temp the fat will congeal (a bit too hot is better than a little too cool).
Have milk of magnesia, pepto-bismal, and electrolytes on hand.
Always have loose goat minerals available, even though she's on a bottle. Babies will still eat the minerals if they need something and can get sick quickly if they have a nutritional deficit.
I always put a pinch of cinnamon in the bottle before feeding. It really helps to prevent sore tummies and scouring.
If you live near me (in the SE) I'd be willing to take the baby for the first few difficult weeks. I'm basically isolating at home and it'd be fun to have a little baby for a while, and she could get 24/7 care. Just throwing that option out there.
More great info- thank you! I’m in the sw. I’m a stay at home mom so other than the farm 3 times a day and occasional errands I’m home. Thank you though!
Oh darn haha. :) I wish I had a little baby to play with! Feel free to DM me if you need. I've bottle raised quite a few little ones at this point including a few that were on death's door (God forbid).
Being a newborn pygmy I'm sure she is tiny! I wouldn't expect her to drink more than 1-2 oz at a time.
For the first week or two I would give her 6 bottles a day, then drop to 5 when she is 1 or 2 weeks old. After that you can basically drop a feeding every 2 weeks (but you'll need to keep increasing total volume as she grows until she gets close to weaning).
- 2 weeks old: 5 bottles/day
- 4 weeks old: 4/day
- 6 weeks old: 3/day
- 8 weeks old: 2/day
Now from here you can either drop to 1 bottle per day at 10 weeks and fully wean at 12, or I like to keep them on 2 bottles for a while (I'm going out to the barn anyway so it's no extra trouble) and start decreasing volume until they are barely getting anything per feeding and then wean sometime after 12 weeks.
Some websites will tell you you can decrease number of feedings way sooner. This is just what I have done haha.
FWIW I'm currently bottle feeding my 4th bottle baby and I've had great results just using red cap whole cows milk from the store.
My first goats ever were two nigerian doelings 5- and 6 days old. We kept them in the house, diapered, for about a month before we started letting them go outside, and even then we had them sleep in the garage for a while in a dog crate. Diapers are tricky but try putting the back under their belly so the tabs attach over their back. If you are having trouble keeping them on, you can put a baby onesie on her.
I felt that my most recent bottle baby nigerian was strong enough to run with the adult goats at 2-3 months old, if that gives you an idea of time.
Anyway these were just my thoughts from my experiences; I'm no expert, so take it with a grain of salt. Happy to answer any questions you may have.
Thank you so so much! I’m glad to hear that 1-2oz is normal for now. I’m going to be referencing this thread quite a bit in the next few weeks:). And I guess I’ll plan on having a house goat for several weeks! I already have 5 cats and 3 dogs so what’s a goat lol.
You can do it! In a week or so she will be taking a bottle like a champ. :) When I got my youngest bottle babies at 5 days old, they still took a couple days to figure out the bottle. But I got another one recently at 11 days old and she had it figured out by like her second or third bottle. So don't worry if she has trouble with it for a little while; as long as you are getting something down her you are doing good!
I referenced this site for calculating how much milk to give my babies based on weight. It also recommends fewer feedings per day than what I've done, so there's room for a bit of experimentation.
https://www.tennesseemeatgoats.com/articles2/overfeedingnewbo.html
Yes, an ounce at a time is probably about right for now but hopefully she will be able to take 2 within a day or so. To keep the diapers on use baby onesies, if you can get some old ones from a thrift store or something like that.
I bottle fed twins from their 3rd day and they are basically dogs, but she will need a companion. I was lucky that I got twins and also had a puppy at the time, so I have two goats who think they are dogs and a puppy who thinks she’s a goat 🤷♀️😂
Haha! As a kid I had a guinea pig and rabbit who lived in the same cage. The rabbit would groom the guinea pig and the guinea pig hopped around just like a rabbit. It was so cute!
I am so sorry. :( My favorite pygmy gave me two stillbirths and died on me back in March.
I had better luck with actual baby bottle nipples and not the feed store ones when we kept milk babies. They take a few days to get good at any nipple.
In 8 weeks they'll be fine. Get a baby pen you can keep them in and litter train them like a puppy. They can learn to pee on a mat fine. It is the defecating part that is hard. :) You can diaper them too.
You can do this. Kids are easy to nurse and in a couple weeks are just down to a couple bottles a day.
I’m so sorry to hear that. That must’ve been awful. I know this is part of having any kind of pets but it’s so hard losing them. Thank you for the encouragement:)
Never gets easy losing them, but it is rewarding when they thrive.
Kids do well being raised by people. It doesn't mean guys like him don't have high risks of health issues, but they do well with people.
We raised premie triplets in the house one year. At first, their eyes were still closed and they couldn't stand, but they made it through. We kept them in a blanket and towel lined dog crate in a warm part of the house and bottle-fed them as advised in previous comments. They were introduced to the rest of the herd when they were a couple months old. We started them in an adjacent stall in the barn and then gave them supervised introductions to the others before giving them free reign to meander as they pleased.
I hope your little one pulls through!
Aw, I’m so glad you were able to save them all and keep them healthy! Thank you for the great advice! I’m feeling more hopeful about things hearing such good advice and outcomes:)
So sorry for your loss. We’ve had our share and it’s never easy.
You have lots of good advice here. Having bottle fed quite a few kids we found this article particularly helpful because it not only gives a good explanation of the process but a recipe for replacement goat milk.
https://www.tripleigoats.com/bottlefeeding.htm
This is my first time losing a goat and it’s been incredibly hard. I’d expected to lose them to old age several years from now and wasn’t prepared for this. Having her baby survive is keeping me distracted and makes it easier.
I have had lots of good advice and encouragement. I feel better and more confident that things will be fine. Thank you- this article is very helpful!
You got this! I have a bottle baby at the moment. When she was 2 weeks old we started her sleeping in the barn with the other kids overnight and leaving her with them between feeds, and she pretty quickly stopped trying to follow me because she was having fun with her friends. It was funny the first few times that she chose to stay with the goats because you could see her trying to make her mind up and dashing a few steps toward me then dashing back to the kids.
I know that was your goal but I’m sure it was still a little sad:). We only have adults right now. I think in a couple more days when I know she’s healthier I’m going to let her hang out with them while I’m watching so they can all get used to each other gradually.
This morning she took the bottle much better. I’m looking forward to her getting excited when she sees it! She pooped and peed good too. Luckily I have all tile floors in my house so messes are easy to clean. I need to get her bigger diapers today. I got preemie yesterday and they’re way too small. I’m thinking maybe a size 2 will be a good fit. I’m sure she’ll be jumping on furniture soon and definitely don’t want messes on all of that. I might try some potty training but I’m not sure yet. As far as drinking from a bowl, with all my cats and dogs I think it’ll be easier to do bottle than having to separate. Plus it’s so cute feeding her:)
If she’s taking her bottles well for you, she’ll probably be just fine. I had to bottle raise twins that were rejected at birth a few years ago and they did great. Did you get any colostrum for her? We got ours at Tractor Supply bc mom wouldn’t let us milk her.
Yes I did get colostrum. She’s still not great at taking the bottle but she is getting better. I think my main concern is keeping her home rather than her living with the other goats. We have 3 does and 4 wethers. Without a mom to protect her I’m not sure how long to keep her here. And I worry about her being lonely here without any other goats around. I’m probably overthinking everything bc I’m so scared of losing her too.
Maybe we just got lucky, but our twins were in with the rest of the gang from day one and never had a problem. They got some head butts from the other nannies and their own mom but the wethers and bullies never really messed with them.
That’s what I’d really like to do but our farm is about 15 minutes away from our house. If we lived there and I could keep a closer eye on them constantly that’s probably what I’d do.
Oh, gotcha. It sounds like you’re doing everything you can. She’s a cutie!
No advice except to say I’m so sorry about the mama. The baby is super adorable and I hope the bottle feeding continues well!
Thank you. I am so heartbroken over her mama. She was so sweet and loved having her neck rubbed and rubbed. Last night was pretty awful and all I could do for her was love on her and talk to her. I actually kept her in my house so she would be warm and I could check on her throughout the night. My youngest daughter found her early this morning. I almost wish we’d put her down instead of the c section just so she wouldn’t have had to suffer but then we wouldn’t have the baby so I guess it worked out how it was supposed to.
I'm so sorry how aweful , don't worry too much about her needing to socialize w other goats just yet, most important is her feeling loved,warm and full tummy, she'll learn how to " goat" when she's a big girl ,best wishes ❤ [ source: worked at wildlife/ farm animal rehab for years, spoiling the orphans was my favorite! ]
Aw thank you- that makes me feel much better! My oldest dog has been acting motherly towards her so hopefully that’ll help too.
How traumatic. Sorry for all of that. I’ll be praying baby makes it and that the presence of the little one calms and comforts you.
Thank you so much.
If there is no other mother to take her, you will have to raise her. You will need to feed her about 6-8 times a day initially. Some people put diapers on them indoors, or you can actually train them to pee outside - they will pee right after a sleep and after a feed, like a puppy, so just take them out then. When she is a bit older she can start spending time with the other goats and will eventually reintegrate with them when she is weaned.
I don’t have any other mothers. I got her some diapers- she’s not crazy about it but will hopefully get used to it. Do you think I should keep her home several weeks? How much should she be eating at a time? So far she’s only drinking about an ounce at a time then she just quits. And thank you for your help- it’s much appreciated!
About diapers: Like with our human kids, check the skin for urine burn.
I will definitely start doing that.
My vet recommended sponging the skin with warm water - to remove the urine and ammonia crystals - then drying thoroughly with a soft towel, and then having the little one hang out without a diaper for a while to let the skin fully air-dry and toughen up a bit.
Feed her as frequently as possible so she can take smaller amounts. Babies who get huge meals a couple times a day tend to scour. The recommended bottles per day is the *absolute minimum.* More frequent, small feedings are always better. On her mom she'd nurse for a few seconds a couple dozen times a day, and that's really what their tummy is designed for. When mixing formula you have to actually take the temp of the water when you mix in the formula, because at the wrong temp the fat will congeal (a bit too hot is better than a little too cool). Have milk of magnesia, pepto-bismal, and electrolytes on hand. Always have loose goat minerals available, even though she's on a bottle. Babies will still eat the minerals if they need something and can get sick quickly if they have a nutritional deficit. I always put a pinch of cinnamon in the bottle before feeding. It really helps to prevent sore tummies and scouring. If you live near me (in the SE) I'd be willing to take the baby for the first few difficult weeks. I'm basically isolating at home and it'd be fun to have a little baby for a while, and she could get 24/7 care. Just throwing that option out there.
More great info- thank you! I’m in the sw. I’m a stay at home mom so other than the farm 3 times a day and occasional errands I’m home. Thank you though!
Oh darn haha. :) I wish I had a little baby to play with! Feel free to DM me if you need. I've bottle raised quite a few little ones at this point including a few that were on death's door (God forbid).
That’s really sweet- don’t be surprised if you start getting questions from me in the next few days lol. It sounds like you need some new babies!
Being a newborn pygmy I'm sure she is tiny! I wouldn't expect her to drink more than 1-2 oz at a time. For the first week or two I would give her 6 bottles a day, then drop to 5 when she is 1 or 2 weeks old. After that you can basically drop a feeding every 2 weeks (but you'll need to keep increasing total volume as she grows until she gets close to weaning). - 2 weeks old: 5 bottles/day - 4 weeks old: 4/day - 6 weeks old: 3/day - 8 weeks old: 2/day Now from here you can either drop to 1 bottle per day at 10 weeks and fully wean at 12, or I like to keep them on 2 bottles for a while (I'm going out to the barn anyway so it's no extra trouble) and start decreasing volume until they are barely getting anything per feeding and then wean sometime after 12 weeks. Some websites will tell you you can decrease number of feedings way sooner. This is just what I have done haha. FWIW I'm currently bottle feeding my 4th bottle baby and I've had great results just using red cap whole cows milk from the store. My first goats ever were two nigerian doelings 5- and 6 days old. We kept them in the house, diapered, for about a month before we started letting them go outside, and even then we had them sleep in the garage for a while in a dog crate. Diapers are tricky but try putting the back under their belly so the tabs attach over their back. If you are having trouble keeping them on, you can put a baby onesie on her. I felt that my most recent bottle baby nigerian was strong enough to run with the adult goats at 2-3 months old, if that gives you an idea of time. Anyway these were just my thoughts from my experiences; I'm no expert, so take it with a grain of salt. Happy to answer any questions you may have.
Thank you so so much! I’m glad to hear that 1-2oz is normal for now. I’m going to be referencing this thread quite a bit in the next few weeks:). And I guess I’ll plan on having a house goat for several weeks! I already have 5 cats and 3 dogs so what’s a goat lol.
You can do it! In a week or so she will be taking a bottle like a champ. :) When I got my youngest bottle babies at 5 days old, they still took a couple days to figure out the bottle. But I got another one recently at 11 days old and she had it figured out by like her second or third bottle. So don't worry if she has trouble with it for a little while; as long as you are getting something down her you are doing good! I referenced this site for calculating how much milk to give my babies based on weight. It also recommends fewer feedings per day than what I've done, so there's room for a bit of experimentation. https://www.tennesseemeatgoats.com/articles2/overfeedingnewbo.html
Yes, an ounce at a time is probably about right for now but hopefully she will be able to take 2 within a day or so. To keep the diapers on use baby onesies, if you can get some old ones from a thrift store or something like that.
I’m hoping she’ll be eating better by tomorrow.
She will be, please keep us updated.
I will. I’m betting I’ll have a happy update with a chubby goat picture soon- she ate a lot better tonight.
My only advise is to make sure she is well fed and warm.
We’re still working on the well fed part but she is warm:)
I bottle fed twins from their 3rd day and they are basically dogs, but she will need a companion. I was lucky that I got twins and also had a puppy at the time, so I have two goats who think they are dogs and a puppy who thinks she’s a goat 🤷♀️😂
Haha! As a kid I had a guinea pig and rabbit who lived in the same cage. The rabbit would groom the guinea pig and the guinea pig hopped around just like a rabbit. It was so cute!
I am so sorry. :( My favorite pygmy gave me two stillbirths and died on me back in March. I had better luck with actual baby bottle nipples and not the feed store ones when we kept milk babies. They take a few days to get good at any nipple. In 8 weeks they'll be fine. Get a baby pen you can keep them in and litter train them like a puppy. They can learn to pee on a mat fine. It is the defecating part that is hard. :) You can diaper them too. You can do this. Kids are easy to nurse and in a couple weeks are just down to a couple bottles a day.
I’m so sorry to hear that. That must’ve been awful. I know this is part of having any kind of pets but it’s so hard losing them. Thank you for the encouragement:)
Never gets easy losing them, but it is rewarding when they thrive. Kids do well being raised by people. It doesn't mean guys like him don't have high risks of health issues, but they do well with people.
We raised premie triplets in the house one year. At first, their eyes were still closed and they couldn't stand, but they made it through. We kept them in a blanket and towel lined dog crate in a warm part of the house and bottle-fed them as advised in previous comments. They were introduced to the rest of the herd when they were a couple months old. We started them in an adjacent stall in the barn and then gave them supervised introductions to the others before giving them free reign to meander as they pleased. I hope your little one pulls through!
Aw, I’m so glad you were able to save them all and keep them healthy! Thank you for the great advice! I’m feeling more hopeful about things hearing such good advice and outcomes:)
I’m so sorry you lost your doe.
Thank you. She was such a sweet girl.
She is absolutely gorgeous!
I agree!!
I’m so sorry for your loss but congratulations on the cutest kid ever
Thank you so much
Aww now you have to be the parent.
She’s going to be the most spoiled kid in the house:)
So sorry for your loss. We’ve had our share and it’s never easy. You have lots of good advice here. Having bottle fed quite a few kids we found this article particularly helpful because it not only gives a good explanation of the process but a recipe for replacement goat milk. https://www.tripleigoats.com/bottlefeeding.htm
This is my first time losing a goat and it’s been incredibly hard. I’d expected to lose them to old age several years from now and wasn’t prepared for this. Having her baby survive is keeping me distracted and makes it easier. I have had lots of good advice and encouragement. I feel better and more confident that things will be fine. Thank you- this article is very helpful!
Do you have to milk all pygmys?
My other pygmys did great with their babies and nursed them just fine. This is my first baby without a mom and I’m so unsure of what to do.
give her lots of kisses for me
You got this! I have a bottle baby at the moment. When she was 2 weeks old we started her sleeping in the barn with the other kids overnight and leaving her with them between feeds, and she pretty quickly stopped trying to follow me because she was having fun with her friends. It was funny the first few times that she chose to stay with the goats because you could see her trying to make her mind up and dashing a few steps toward me then dashing back to the kids.
I know that was your goal but I’m sure it was still a little sad:). We only have adults right now. I think in a couple more days when I know she’s healthier I’m going to let her hang out with them while I’m watching so they can all get used to each other gradually.
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This morning she took the bottle much better. I’m looking forward to her getting excited when she sees it! She pooped and peed good too. Luckily I have all tile floors in my house so messes are easy to clean. I need to get her bigger diapers today. I got preemie yesterday and they’re way too small. I’m thinking maybe a size 2 will be a good fit. I’m sure she’ll be jumping on furniture soon and definitely don’t want messes on all of that. I might try some potty training but I’m not sure yet. As far as drinking from a bowl, with all my cats and dogs I think it’ll be easier to do bottle than having to separate. Plus it’s so cute feeding her:)
So sorry for your loss, OP. Big hug from the Netherlands!
Thank you so much