# Milk replacers vs whole milk



## Trysta (Apr 5, 2011)

I have a few kids on milk and have a bunch coming up. I really want to have my milk in the tank (not the colostrum, of course) so I'm considering switching the kids over on goat milk replacer around day 4 or so. Does anyone have experience raising goats on milk replacer? How does the growth compare with raising on whole milk? Kid health comes first with me, but if I can use the milk in the tank instead of for kids, it would be great right now.


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## Caprine Beings (Sep 19, 2008)

Some people have had luck with replacers, I have not. I have always had the scours happen with replacer. I buy store boughten VitD Homogonized whole milk as a supplement. They do not get the scours. I do add a pinch of baking soda and just a touch of karo syrup per bottle or 1/4 teaspoon karo to a full lambar and a bigger pinch of baking soda. 
Others will give you their opinion, there are several topics started on this, I would search for them. IMHO...whole milk.
Tam


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## Ashley (Oct 25, 2007)

I say give the kids their due. They're the reason the milk is there in the first place.


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## Trysta (Apr 5, 2011)

Ah bummer. My problem is...... I agree with you! Mom's milk it is! I want those doelings to grow into super does, so I guess i'll have to have some patience!


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## buckrun (Mar 7, 2008)

Marion- if you cannot give goat milk- please think about cow milk. 
The cheapest grocery store whole milk grows out great kids with a lot fewer problems than replacer. You would have to figure if your goat milk at wholesale is worth more than store bought milk. Nothing makes baby goats like all the goat milk they want but cow comes a close second.
Replacer is one nightmare after another from the amt of scouring kids I get calls on.
If our bucklings are not reserved they get banded when they are disbudded and weaned at 8 weeks at which time they are eating very well. If they are not going somewhere as future sire but into the freezer they only get 8 weeks of milk. 
If you can find a very small very palatable pellet for them to get started on they are eating so well by then they don't care and the milk is at that point only extra calories. 
Lee


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## Bernice (Apr 2, 2009)

I've not had luck with milk replacers either and like Tam said, the end result was scours. I've used cows milk from the store and have had great results so consider the store cows milk? When we had our dairy we needed every drop of milk in the tank so we tried replacer again, different brands even.....still didn't work so I went back to cows milk and worked out a barter with a farmer for that year. That fall I started breeding for late Dec through late Jan for kids so we'd have a milk supply when it was time to ship again mid-Feb.


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## swgoats (May 21, 2010)

I've been pleased with the results of whole cows milk from the grocery. Any kid I've raised on that has grown very well. Replacer gave mine the scours.


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## Tracy in Idaho (Oct 26, 2007)

I sat and figured it out to the OUNCE one year -- grocery store whole milk versus milk replacer -- and it was the same price! Definitely buy the grocery store milk - and if you shope the sales/Winco/Costco you can get it even cheaper.

FWIW, I swap out store milk/goat milk in all kind of combinations when we travel with kids, and have never ever had an issue.


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## swgoats (May 21, 2010)

Sometimes gas stations have cheaper milk...


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## Horsehair Braider (Mar 11, 2011)

Guess I'm the weirdo (just what always happens with me) but I've always had very good luck with milk replacer. I've used it for years in both sheep and goats. I use the kind called "Super Kid". I have never had scours with it. 

I certainly don't raise all the kids that way, with Boers the normal way is to dam raise, but every now and then something would happen - a doe would die, or get sold, or there would be some other issue where I had a bottle kid. I always just put them on replacer. When I was starting out in goats (sigh... 40 years ago...) I was told that cow milk would cause scours, so I always stayed away from cow milk and that's why I used replacer. If I had known I could use cow milk, I might have used it instead, but I have to admit the milk replacer was always handy and I liked using it. For one thing it was not taking up a bunch of room in the refrigerator, and did not go bad while still dry and in the bag.

My most recent experience was this summer, when a grade Nubian doe had triplets and one just could not get in there to get her fair share. I left her with dam and brother and sister, but bottle fed her milk replacer several times a day. No scours and she grew just as big as her brother and sister. 

I have no idea if I'm doing something different that makes me get these different results from everybody else, but there it is. I sold that grade Nubian doeling at 6 months and she was a nice big healthy goat. That's always been my experience with milk replacer.


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## Trysta (Apr 5, 2011)

Just when I had decided to keep them on goat milk......I dropped my bucket of milk when walking in my back door. Yuck, what a mess and no milk for the 4 kids for the next feeding :sniffle So, I went and got a gallon of milk at the store and gave that to them, they didn't seem to mind at all. Back on goat milk now, though, AND I had another set of twins (1 buck, one doe), so that's three fresh milkers now, that should give me more than enough for the kids and then some for the tank!


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## swgoats (May 21, 2010)

Maybe you just had a better replacer Jacquee. I just found I had to portion control them on it to avoid scours. With milk they could have their fill.

Oh Trysta, don't you just hate to spill milk! I have cried over spilled milk several times!


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## [email protected] (Sep 18, 2008)

My first two bucks were raised on vit D whole cows milk. They were purchased, born in January and I didn't have does freshen til May. Kids now go back and forth on store milk and goat milk. If I have extra goat milk they get that, if I don't have enough I add store milk, and sometimes I need all the goat milk and they get all store milk. I always add a bit of soda and yogurt to their lambar/bottles.
I've never tried replacer, but have read on here and can't remember who ??? has had good results with mixing replacer half and half with goat/cow milk.


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## Golden_Seal (Sep 14, 2011)

I usually mix half goat or cows milk with half replacer and haven't had any problems with it.


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

The trick with milk replacer is to keep goatlings off soy replacers period until ruminating, and don't use whole milk replacers (which are actually just whey) as the soul source of milk until a few weeks old. Supplementing with them is fine. And follow the directions, most you aren't supposed to feed more than about 8 ounces 2 or 3 times a day, the point of replacers are to get the kids eating quickly.

Remember grain is best, builds more villia in the rumen faster, so no hay on milk replacer kids until they are eating their grain. And excellent article in United Caprine News, on this premise and we also have other articles in goatkeeping 101...I will scan the new article to 101 when I get a chance. Vicki


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## Lynn_Theesfeld (Feb 21, 2010)

ok a bit off topic, but just wanted to add- check your sales ads from other stores... I can usually find whole milk for 99 cents a gallon. I then take that ad to walmart and clean them out as well as fill the freezer..... 
Hope the info helps someone!!! 
Lynn


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## Trysta (Apr 5, 2011)

You can find milk for 99 cents a gallon??? Wow, that's unbelievable!


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## Golden_Seal (Sep 14, 2011)

Trysta said:


> You can find milk for 99 cents a gallon??? Wow, that's unbelievable!


Agreed! It's 4.50 here...


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## Lynn_Theesfeld (Feb 21, 2010)

I'm telling you watch those ads!
Milk is in the three something range here, but places like the food basket or something like that are the ones who usually run the ad. 
Lol I have customers who when they're done shopping will give me their ads and tell me where the good deals are...Sometimes working in retail is worth it


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## dragonlair (Mar 24, 2009)

I mix my goat milk with kid milk replacer, I think it's the manna pro stuff, non-medicated, I've forgotten but I know the bag. I mix it 50/50. The replacer stretches the goat milk and they seem to grow very nicely on it. I add a touch of Baking soda each evening.


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## tlcnubians (Jan 21, 2011)

We use whole cow milk with one tablespoon of plain yogurt per gallon mixed in. It works great. Caroline


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