# feeding milk replacer



## Suthrn (Oct 23, 2008)

Is it really bad to use this instead of regular cow's milk? I will go broke buying cows milk for 3 goats lol.


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## favablue (Apr 11, 2009)

http://fiascofarm.com/goats/feeding.htm#bottle - Here is a good link about that

I think it saves a lot in the long run to feed whole cows milk( if you cant do any better), because you will not have as much trouble with them getting sick, paying for meds. etc. for the rest of their lives. I know that many people use it though.

I have found that dame or raw milk kids grow up being a lot hardier.


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## Suthrn (Oct 23, 2008)

I don't have a goat in milk and don't have a cow either so its either milk replacer or milk from the store.


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## favablue (Apr 11, 2009)

Right, I would chose the whole cow milk in the store if I only had those choices even though the real milk is more expensive.


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

Just limit feed. I always bottle fed my boer doelings so they were tame, but mostly you either want your boers to nurse their kids or get rid of the doe, if she won't do the basic, nurse her kids have enough milk etc...to raise twins than a daughter out of a doe like that is usually just as poor. Temperment in boers is so hereitable!

But only offer them 3, 16 ounce bottle a day for 4 weeks, by then they will be eating grain (meat goat pellet) with mom and it's easy to put in a creep feeder...just and area they can get into that mom can't to eat as much of the pellet as they want whenever they want, I alo put hay and water into this area. Once eating go to two bottles a day, morning and night until 12 weeks, most of our boer doelings would self wean, they much preferred eating meat goat pellets (which contain cocci meds) than drinking milk, the total opposite of our dairy does.

And if you add up the costs, especially if you get milk for under $3 when it's on sale, it is cheaper than really good non soy milk replacers that are real milk and not whey.....and cheaper than the cheap soy replacers and all the drugs you will have to use to keep your kids from scouring. Vicki


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## SALTCREEK_Nubians_Linda (Nov 13, 2007)

I would limit the milk replacer and feed mostly milk. I have found that milk replacer causes kids to scour sometimes. Do we call it scours in goats or just call it diarrhea? In calves it's scours.


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## Sondra (Oct 25, 2007)

OK first of all these are Linda's new Nubian babies two of which she got from me and are 1 week old. 
I don't recommend replacer at all until at least 3 wks and then if it is a total must use only a whey based replacer Purina makes one and Land o Lakes makes one. mix the replacer with double the water called for and then mix have of your replacer mix with half your whole milk. And Linda if you want these buckling to grow to thier full potential then you feed milk ie: bottles until they are 5 or 6 months old like Vicki and I do.


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## SALTCREEK_Nubians_Linda (Nov 13, 2007)

That's very good advice Sondra.


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## Sondra (Oct 25, 2007)

The reason for double the water is the replacers all of them even the whey are way to high protein for goats to be able to digest properly


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## Guest (Apr 27, 2009)

We feed a portion of the milk as replacer and have had excellent results. I only use Purina Kid Milk replacer and mix it much weaker than the instructions call for - 1.5 to 2 enclosed scoops to 1 gallon of water. I also always mix it with milk (cow and/or goat) and never more than half replacer to half milk.

Our kids grow wonderfully with no scouring. 

It should be noted that I live in Minnesota. 

Sara


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

Sara has had goats for 10 years and also lives in much cooler weather during the spring and early summer when raising out kids. Please don't use milk replacer on these kids down here. I promise you will be on the forum in the next couple of weeks with scours, we won't know if it's cocci, worms or scours from the milk replacer.

Sara does raise our lovely kids, it's just not applicable to our area. Vicki


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## Guest (Apr 27, 2009)

Vicki McGaugh Tx Nubians said:


> Sara has had goats for 10 years and also lives in much cooler weather during the spring and early summer when raising out kids. Please don't use milk replacer on these kids down here. I promise you will be on the forum in the next couple of weeks with scours, we won't know if it's cocci, worms or scours from the milk replacer.
> 
> Sara does raise our lovely kids, it's just not applicable to our area. Vicki


Good point Vicki. I learned the milk replacer thing from friends in Northern California. They have the extreme heat but not the humidity. We have the awful humidity in Minnesota but it doesn't start until June.

Actually I've been breeding goats for almost 14 years now... man how time flies! :biggrin

Thanks for the compliments on the babies.

Sara


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## SALTCREEK_Nubians_Linda (Nov 13, 2007)

Well, all I knew was that it made my own kids get scours. And then Vicki told me to cut out the feeding of milk replacer here. (slapping hand....bad goat mommy) Now my kids don't get scours. Take it for what it's worth.


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## mill-valley (Feb 22, 2008)

I have had very mixed results with feeding straight milk replacer. I did have to do one buckling this year on it, he got 2 20 oz bottles a day, mixed according to label directions and have to say he looks pretty good at 4 months. I have had mysterious deaths on it before...so I am VERY hesitant to use it.


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## Pam V (Jan 3, 2009)

I stretch the goat milk with half replacer like Sarah. But I've been using land o lakes :/ and only deluted it a little. It has been fine here...I've only had a few goats for 5 years, though.
I also had no problems upping the amount of replacer percentage as I decrease the goat milk a little each feeding when they were older - can't remember how old, though. 
I DO know that you CAN NOT feed more replacer than is stated on the directions when feeding straight replacer. The first time I used it I didn't mix it with milk at all. After a couple weeks of using it I thought they still looked hungry so I fed more than I was supposed to. And that was the only time that I had scours. maybe I was lucky! :shrug Nobody died from it.
Mixing replacer a slight bit weak and with half milk is really the way to go, here. Then I don't have to worry about getting the exact amount, the little tummies can look full, and I don't have to walk away from a baby that thinks its still hungry but can't have more.
Good Luck what ever you choose to do.
It was probably busy work but when mine scoured from to much of the replacer that time I dropped some asadolpholus (its not spelled like that! :lol ) in the next bottle. Did it help or was it a coinsidence?

But you are in Texas.....

Pam


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## Ashley (Oct 25, 2007)

Can someone explain how the climate makes a difference? Thanks


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

Heat stress added to nutritional stress, it's just a disaster waiting to happen. You add someone new to that mix, with new infant ruminants and it's just really bad advice. Vicki


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## SALTCREEK_Nubians_Linda (Nov 13, 2007)

It is a little cooler in Spring for a while there in the Ozarks, but I don't know how much cooler for how long. I'd just be careful about doing it Ashley. Vicki knows of what she speaks.

Here where I live we have Winter one day, then Summer for a couple of days, maybe a few Spring-like days. Then a big ol' cold front moves in and it feels like late Winter again. Two days from now it might be 90 degrees again. The weather plays nasty tricks on us in the Springtime here in Oklahoma. It's as hard on our animals as it is on us. Of course I am in one of the counties where we have been a continual tornado watch for 3 days now and now a flash flood warning and the cold front finally passed us so it feels like 40 degrees outside right now. It snowed 2 weeks ago, and 2 days ago it was 90 degrees for a few days. At least with the cold front past me I can stop worrying about tornados and concentrate on keeping everybody high and dry.


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## Sondra (Oct 25, 2007)

Keep in mind Linda Vail that when I told you I had success using the mix above with the two boer babies I got them last late Nov. so was not any hot days at all plus they were with me 24/7 day in and day out in the house most of the time and never out in a pasture until 6 mo old. Nope with the humid weather now and you working I wouldn't move to replacer maybe move them to just twice a day feeding to cut down on the amount of milk thus the costs. and use the whole Vit D grocery store milk. JMO


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## adillenal (Feb 6, 2009)

Well, I guess I am the odd man out here. I use Purina Milk replacer and have never had a problem. I do mix it weaker than what the directions call for. When I have milk I mix it with the replacer but there have been years when I only had replacer and the kids grew out just fine. So it is possible. Maybe I have just had some awfully good luck. I am now in a position (time wise) to be able to milk and feed my bottle babies at least 50% goat milk. Then I use the empty buckets to make soap with. I have quite a collection of buckets so I guess I have used a lot over the years. 

I live closer to Austin than Houston but not by much and I do not think it is humid here at all so that could be a factor. I am originally from East Texas so I am familiar with humid. We went on a trip in March and left someone to bucket feed my babies and they used 100% milk replacer while we were gone with no problems. Mixed weaker than the instructions call for of course. 

Just wanted to present another experience with milk replacer.


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## Suthrn (Oct 23, 2008)

Ok they only got one bottle of straight milk replacer (mixed much weaker than it called for) Now I am mixing about a 1/4 c.replacer, then regular vit D milk with 1/4 cu buttermilk. I've always used the buttermilk and regular milk with wonderful results.. I was just trying to save some money. 
I'm not a bad goatie mommy...


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## Theresa (Oct 26, 2007)

Linda, just use the regular milk. I do this all the time and the kids do great on it. That will at least save you some money on not having to buy the butter milk. You could also ask at the store if you could buy some of the milk that is expired. If it is just a day or so pass then the milk would be fine for the kids. Also, if you find milk on sell, buy it and freeze it. Then you have it and don't have to pay the full price.
Theresa


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## Sondra (Oct 25, 2007)

Right I would not use the buttermilk use a 1/4 teas Baking soda instead in one bottle a day will do the same thing that the buttermilk does for them. Those babies were on straight Vit D milk so no way would I spend more money on buttermilk


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## Suthrn (Oct 23, 2008)

I have got post its all over my computer screen (and this is at work) on all this!! 
lol... Great advice tho.. esp. on the soda.. thanks to all. 
Now if I can get Tractor supply to buy back the one unopened sack of milk replacer. sigh....


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