# This is interesting..milk replacer cost



## swgoats (May 21, 2010)

I was thinking about trying to save money raising a bottle buckling I'm going to have next year by buying replacer, but it seems like replacer might be higher cost than cow milk. I found this article from Jan 2011 that says at that time it was because of an increased demand for whey...
http://www.extension.org/pages/10861/milk-replacer-costs-and-your-options


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## dragonlair (Mar 24, 2009)

I mix it 50/50- kid replacer and goat milk for the kids. 

When we had the dairy farm, the calves were fed a mix of replacer and milk from newly fresh cows, the goats (until we started sneaking it into the tank) or that from treated cows.


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## swgoats (May 21, 2010)

Do you use a milk protein only replacer? I can't find any that isn't more expensive than whole milk. The idea of using a replacer with soy protein concerns me. I have used replacer in the past without problems, but it was a milk protein only formula. I'll get my baby before my goats freshen, so it'll be whole milk or replacer.


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## Qadosh Adamah Lamanchas (Nov 2, 2012)

I'd go with whole milk. I know of several people who tried raising their kids on the soy based ones and they would tend to bloat a lot and quite a few would die. I know a few people have used it with success, or it wouldn't be on the market, but I've not seen it's merit. If you're concerned using store milk, perhaps you could find a local cow dairy that can provide you with some wholesome jersey milk. A friend of mine has a white-tail deer farm and he raises all of his fawns on raw cow milk. Since their digestion is more sensitive than goats', I bet it'd work well. I cannot say for sure, though, as we've only fed our baby goats fresh or frozen goat milk from our farm.


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## swgoats (May 21, 2010)

I definitely don't want to kill my herd sire. It's not worth the few dollars saved. I don't mind feeding the whole cow milk. I just thought a good replacer would save space in the fridge and maybe be a bit cheaper. But since the milk based replaces are more expensive than milk, I'll probably just stick with milk. I did read that some people use the soy replacers after the rumen starts working. I don't want to try that unless someone on here can testify to it working.


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

I hopefully will have a doeling and herdsire here also before kidding starts. I saved milk to use for a few weeks, but they will go on grocery store milk. Try going to small mom and pop stores and see if you can purchase their milk going out of date for less. I have family who works for the company that bottles the milk so I can get gallons for $1 and I also get my milk jugs from them in exchange for soap.


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## fmg (Jul 4, 2011)

Oh, that's a good idea on the expiring milk! It won't work at big grocery stores (because they have this whole system and send it back to the company or something), but like you said small mom and pop stores might do that.


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## swgoats (May 21, 2010)

Great tip!


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## Cannon_farms (Nov 17, 2009)

Just want to ad because some folks come here that may not know, but you can't use cow milk replacer for goats, I made the mistake once I had some left over from doing a calf it was the premium milk based formula.
Within 2 hours my first venture in a dairy goat was bloated and dead, and that was only a half mix half electrolyte. Contacted the vendor and they said it was due to it not being formulated to be digested by goats. At the time I was a manager at TSC and when I called I didnt tell them it was my goat.


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## Annie (Jun 10, 2012)

"Just want to ad because some folks come here that may not know, but you can't use cow milk replacer for goats"

There are several different companies that make goat milk replacer too, I've used several different ones. I know one of the problems with calf replacer is the soy. I won't use the replacer made for "all types of livestock" either. ONLY one made specifically for goats.


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## Ziggy (Nov 13, 2009)

I always tell my customers to avoid milk replacer at all costs, and if they can't get or don't have goats milk from a Tested CAE negative doe then to use cows milk.


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## swgoats (May 21, 2010)

Now I'm starting to wonder how the farm bill or lack thereof is going to affect this choice. I'm on wait and see right now.


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## Twillingate Farm (Oct 26, 2007)

swgoats said:


> Now I'm starting to wonder how the farm bill or lack thereof is going to affect this choice. I'm on wait and see right now.


Wow, I totally spaced that issue! If the price of cow milk goes up to where there's no profit in using it as replacer, there will be a heck of a lot of young kids going in the freezer or a hole in the ground. I wonder how long our "representatives" will screw around with that issue.


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## Goat Town (Nov 20, 2010)

Failure to do anything on the Farm Bill means going back to the 1947 farm bill (the last to set a specific price for milk). If that happens prices for milk will at least double in the stores and prices will rise for other milk products as well. When the grains are harvested next year we'll see another spike in feed prices too.


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

With food stamps in the farm bill, it can't go unaddressed with the new congress. Vicki


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## swgoats (May 21, 2010)

You'd think not. I think I'm going to pick up a bag of good replacer just in case. Got to get that milk machine up and running this year. We monkeyed around too long last season. I can't milk 10 does by hand. I'm not that good.


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## Trysta (Apr 5, 2011)

I have used a good (milk protein) calf milk replacer with great success for goats, and when I do the math, this expensive calf milk replacer still is lower in price then what I sell my goatmilk for. I hear a lot of people on this site have problem with milk replacers, so here are some things you need to remember to sucessfully use replacers if you want to try it:

-Use a whole calf milk replacer. The soy ones are all awful. I like the whole milk replacers with Betamoss. Mine that I bought last fall was from Cargill and cost around $72/50lbs. Personally I do not like the goat milk replacers and I think they're too expensive, too.
-I did not feed free choice, because standard calf milk replacer is not made for that. Both the 20/20 replacers and the (harder to get) 24/18 replacers are supposed to be fed in set amounts. You can feed a bit more of the 24/18. My last replacer was a 20/20 and I usually fed up to 24 oz/feeding 3 times a day. (or less 5x per day, depending on kid's age). There is a type of calf milk replacer that is made to be fed free choice, so if you want to go that way, use that one!
-NEVER mix milkreplacer with any other liquids! Mix with the exact amount of water indicated on the bag and then feed the ounces per feeding required, but do not mix it with less or more water and definitely do not mix it with real milk or electrolytes. Real milk and milkreplacers are digested differently and the calf's/kid's digestive system has trouble dealing with both at the same time. That's when you see the the bloat and other stomach trouble. If you want to feed electrolytres in addition to milk replacer, that's fine, but feed it separately at least an hour apart.
-Mix the replacer 'fresh' at feeding time. Replacers do settle out if you let them stand. Also, like milk, if you have (clean!) leftovers, and you really want to use them the next feding, keep them cooled and shake well before feeding again.
-Keep the milk replacer in a cool dry place, and use an opened bag preferably within a month or less. If you can't feed that fast, that's okay, but rebag/repackage the powder yourself in several smaller, well sealed batches, so you don't have the product exposed to open air too long.
-Things you can add to milk replacer: Corid, some meds, baking soda, Nutri-Drench (all if desired, but definitely not standard all the time), but watch out: some milkreplacers are medicated and you need to know what's in it so you don't double up! I like anti-coccidiosis products in a milk replacer, but I hate the ones with antibiotics: keep you antibiotic use in your own hands, and only treat when necessary. 
-Feed pellets or grain beside the milk from day 3 or 4 onwards to get best growth and also always provide clean water. 
-If a kid is scouring, feed electrolytes in addition (but at seperate times, see above) to milk (replacer), not instead. A scouring animal needs extra liquids, not just different liquids.

To each their own, of course, but I like feeding calf milk replacer and it works for me. Also: it's a huge time saver (no pasteurization needed) for those who want to do CAE prevention.

Marion


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## swgoats (May 21, 2010)

Thanks for the information! It looks like the calf replacer you got was alot cheaper than the goat replacers I've been looking at (I was looking at $60-70 for 25 lbs). I used Advance Kid Milk Replacer before and didn't have any trouble as long as I didn't over feed - like you said, keep them at the set amount. Whole cow's milk is an excellent reccomendation for newbies for sure.


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## MF-Alpines (Mar 29, 2010)

Trysta said:


> I have used a good (milk protein) calf milk replacer with great success for goats, and when I do the math, this expensive calf milk replacer still is lower in price then what I sell my goatmilk for. I hear a lot of people on this site have problem with milk replacers, so here are some things you need to remember to sucessfully use replacers if you want to try it:
> 
> -Use a whole calf milk replacer. The soy ones are all awful. I like the whole milk replacers with Betamoss. Mine that I bought last fall was from Cargill and cost around $72/50lbs. Personally I do not like the goat milk replacers and I think they're too expensive, too.


Does the soy hold true for calves as well? We're picking up a couple of bottle calves to raise for veal and I want to get the right replacer. Sorry to go OT on this.


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## Ziggy (Nov 13, 2009)

Cindy - I have had great success raising calves on goats milk as opposed to replacer. no scouring and the owner of the cow dairy down the road was amazed how well they grew out.


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## Trysta (Apr 5, 2011)

I think we are all advising from different perspectives here. First of all: yes Cindy: that all holds true for calves as well (I msgd you on FB). Calves indeed also do very well on goat milk. In my case, where I sell my goat milk, It isn't economical to feed goat milk to calves or kids (although first milk of course does go to the kids). If you throw away your milk: by all means, feed it to kids, calves, hogs, because without a doubt that is the most economical. If you have a market for your milk/milk products, calf milk replacers are a great option that I have used with very good results. So you just have to make a decision based on your own situation. You can get good results either way.


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