Colostrum >

[Jes]

      I'm probably one of the most inexperienced people you'll ever meet when it comes to babies, humans or animals. I can count on one hand the number of times I've held a human infant (I was scared witless every time) and I have never given a bottle to anything. When we did that whole fake baby assignment in school where they give you a doll that cries and has all kinds of tech to record the care you give it, I "broke" the dolls' neck TWICE in one night. Therefore...I am absolutely TERRIFIED of bringing home a newborn that will need to be bottle-bed for the first several months of its life. Seriously. Shaking in my boots, trembling at the thought of being responsible for a helpless baby that will be unable to care for itself. The doeling is likely to end up unbelievably spoiled (read, smothered with attention) but if I don't somehow kill her then I'll deal with any behavioral repercussions of that when she's older and less fragile.
I have a ga-zillion questions about infant care, the first concerning colostrum.
    

• The farm I will be getting her from practices CAE prevention, so they pull all kids at birth and feed powdered colostrum. Since I have to pick up the kid before she is four weeks old anyway, I was wondering about picking her up as soon as she's born (if the breeder will agree to it of course) and feeding her colostrum saved from one of the cows that my milk lady has. This is all working off a theory that real colostrum from a cow would be better than powdered colostrum. Is that assumption correct? Would colostrum from a cow work adequately for a kid, or would it not since it's from a different species?
• I'd like to feed her exclusively on fresh cow milk. Would I have to fortify it so that it would have all the nutrients she will need?
  
• Do I HAVE to have those huge kid/lamb bottles or can I buy baby bottles? What about nipples for the bottles?
  
• Has anyone ever been able to convince their employer that they need maternity leave for their animals? Lol
  
• I have two fainting goats already but I don't know how they will react when I introduce the kid to them. If they refuse to let her cuddle up for warmth then at what age will the doeling be able to regulate her own body temperature and be able to safely spend days outside?
  

     I've read everything I can get my hands on but I think I just need verification that I have a good plan in place. I've read, and I have, theories but no real-life experience to substantiate or refute those theories. If I weren't so determined to do whatever it takes to make sure the animals I care for get absolutely the best I can manage, I wouldn't pick up the doeling one day before four weeks of age. So if cow colostrum will help the doeling get a better start than powdered colostrum then I'll put my big girl panties on and deal with it. Lol Is there a term for baby-phobic??

[dinee]

Bump

[cdmoi]

Thanks, dinee...I thought of doing that, too. Jes, wish I had that kind of knowledge. Hope someone can help you. And you are not baby-phobic...you are FINE. It just takes being around them. I remember watching a sitcom once where this guy babysat for these now young kids, and it went miserably, and the guy felt dejected and shared his feelings with a friend who said, "Why do you think people come as babies? Because parents are babies themselves, then, and learn and grow with them." Could translate to goats, or cows, etc. You'll do fine because you are willing to learn and because you care. Kudos!
Best-
moi

[dmbenson]

Real colostrum is ALWAYS better than fake - the fake stuff is more of a supplement. Cow's colostrum is fine. Either way, they MUST have it within the first 24 hours of life or it doesn't pass the necessary antibodies. I have raised many a goat on cow's milk. It works great.

Get the Prichard Nipples - tiny red nipples on a yellow screw top that fit on a soda bottle. They are the perfect size for newborns, and you can actually use them all the way through weaning. Begin with a half of a 12 ounce bottle of milk - warmed to 98 degrees - every 4 hours, morning until you go to bed for the first week, gradually increasing the amount over a week until she's drinking a full 12 ounce bottle 3 times a day. Between 2 and 3 weeks old, she should be consuming (assuming a full sized goat breed) close to a 20 oz bottle 3 times a day. After 3 weeks, she should be exploring the possibilities of feed and grain and you can cut down to 2 bottles a day. Make sure she has water available after the first week, as well as feed - even though she probably won't show any interest for a while.

Your existing goats will most probably NOT allow her to cuddle - and I wouldn't trust her with them at all to begin with. Larger/older goats can do some serious damage to a fragile newborn. Keep her in the house (a tub, pet playpen or large kennel will work fine) for at least the first week - you'll want her close for all those feedings anyway. After that, you can make her a 'safe' place, with a heat lamp in a corner of the barn, and keep her out there - but do make sure that your older goats cannot reach either her, or the heat lamp/cord. A section of panel run from corner to corner will work well. If it's really frigid, an appropriately sized doggie sweater from Wal-Mart works great as a baby goat coat (I have a couple of dozen... )

As for maternity leave - good luck with that - although I actually took a bottle baby to work with me during the 'every four hour' feeding stage - she traveled in a soft sided dog carrier and spent her days in a small dog crate under my desk while I worked.

[jean]

Nov 5, 2014 16:02:13 GMT -5 dmbenson said:

As for maternity leave - good luck with that - although I actually took a bottle baby to work with me during the 'every four hour' feeding stage - she traveled in a soft sided dog carrier and spent her days in a small dog crate under my desk while I worked.

That is one HECK of a tolerant employer! What did your co-workers think of the critter?

[milkmaid]

Powdered cow colostrum or goat colostrum?

Stick with the same species if possible.

Remember goats can get Johnes too - I'd use the powdered option if it were me. Not worth the risk. Evidently all the breeder's other goats have been fine on her current protocol; stick with what s/he recommends. If it ain't broke don't fix it.

If the place practices good hygiene and disease control, I'd be inclined to leave the kid with them about a week. Ensures she's off to a good start and by waiting you usually avoid acquiring an animal with miscellaneous congenital disorders, or joint infections, etc.

[Jes]

Thanks everyone! Those are all good points to consider.

dmbenson, I'm 200% certain I would lose my job if I brought a goat to work. The owner of the dealership I work at would lose his mind. Lol I'd likely have better luck asking for maternity leave.

...although...now that I think of it I could bring the kid in to town and stash her at my parents' house. It's a two minute drive to their house vs. a 30 minute drive to mine...Mom loves babies and would probably even do afternoon feedings once she's home from work. Dad is going to love this.

[AnnB (NE)]

I've raised several kids who only got the bagged colostrum supplement (Manna Pro for Goat Kids). When the bag runs out we switch to a mix of vit D milk (red-top from the grocery store) and cultured buttermilk, mixed at the rate of 5 ounces of milk to 1 ounce of buttermilk.
My current baby, a Pygmy doeling triplet that was born early and very weak, will be 11 weeks on Sunday and is doing great.
Last year's bottle baby (raised same way) is healthy and robust, and recently weaned a healthy doeling.

Ann B

[suzorse]

most goat kids are raised on pasteurized milk and pasteurized colostrum , it is to prevent
CAE , I did the same as the big show breeders they give them all they will eat 2 times a day , I did 3 while they were little they grew in to fat healthy goats , reason for it was to build capacity Suzanne

[AnnB (NE)]

Personally, I start a kid with 4 feedings a day. They don't have the reserves, or capacity, of a calf.

Ann B