Bottle Feeding
Baby goats are hitting the ground and there's so much beauty and joy with each new arrival. Sometimes things don't go exactly as planned and these newborns aren't suckling well, their dam rejects them or maybe the people in their lives want to bottle feed or at least introduce the newborns to a bottle at birth in case the kids need it later. In any case, there can be any number of reasons to introduce kids to a bottle at birth.
Around me, people seem to think I can get kids on a bottle when others are struggling. I don't know about that one way or the other, but I've been introducing newborn animals to bottles for decades and I have bottle fed thousands of kids and my share of lambs, so maybe that counts for something. Every year when I'm trying to get another kid on a bottle for whatever reason I reflect on how I'm doing the same thing I've been doing since the 1990's.
For this particular post, I'm going to be describing things that are general, but also particular to the first kid we had born this year. He got a little chilled and was weak while the teenagers and preteens were watching his dam to deliver his siblings. We were in a cold snap, so we brought him into the house and took him outside to see his dam during the warmest of the daylight hours. His mother was happy to see him and our goal for him was to keep him alive and graft him back on to his dam. One key to success in removing kids from their dam and grafting them back onto her is to take the entire litter at once and bring them all back at once. Keeping the entire litter together is done so their dam doesn't forget how many kids she has and reject the one we've been taking away to work with. If we're able to keep the siblings together with their dam, this is definitely ideal. Sometimes due to the dam's attitude toward her kids or the weather, like in our example case, this may not be an option. Keeping kids warm, even if it means bringing them indoors, is important so that calories aren’t wasted by the kid trying to regulate their body temp in adverse conditions. Kids that are suckling their dam get up during the night when they get cold to get some warm milk and the activity and the milk help them regulate body temp. Obviously, a kid that is struggling or exclusively getting their nutrition from a bottle is going to be disadvantaged, so that’s something to keep in mind.
I was taught by a large animal vet who raised more calves than sheep and goats, so I want the kid (or lamb) facing away from me. I will usually place the kid on my lap with their tail toward my stomach. I stretch their face and neck away from me, holding their lower jaw in my left hand. My right hand holds the bottle at about the same angle as their nose while I use the fingers and thumb on either side of their lower jaw to push the nipple into their mouth and prevent them from spitting it out either side. I find the stiffer nipples more suited to this, but everyone has their own preferences.
So now we have a kid who can't leave or move it's head (except up or down) with a bottle nipple in their mouth.
Sometimes they just open their mouth and scream, so I'll put a little milk in their mouth by squeezing the bottle. You have to be careful not to give too much so they don't choke.
Other times, they'll clamp their jaws tight and I have to kind of pull the bottle out and push it back in until they get a few drops in their mouth.
In any case, they usually swallow at some point when they get those few drops. If they don't, I will add a little more. If they still don't swallow, but they aren't fighting me (and therefore in a greater danger of choking), then I'll tip their head up and the bottle and usually that'll force them to swallow.
Usually they realize within a swallow or two that this process isn't about killing them, but there's nice, warm milk involved that tastes and feels good. (On the topic of warm milk, temperature is important when initially getting kids on a bottle and while we will milk out the doe and offer the bottle when the kid is born so the temp is whatever it is in that case, if a kid is having trouble getting the whole bottle thing, we warm it up to slightly above body temp.)
It's usually easier from that point, but even if you're getting the colostrum in one little swallow at a time, it's getting in. Eventually they start getting impatient for more and they'll usually start sucking.
Sometimes it's a process for a few feedings or for a few hours (I'm stubborn so until I get a couple of ounces in, I tend to keep working with them). Once they get a couple of ounces, the next feeding is usually smoother. I do not wait a long time to feed them again. If the kid (by weight) should be getting two ounces, then I'll be back to give them the next two about halfway to the next feeding. My goal is to get the whole feeding into the kid by the next feeding time even if it's broken into multiple feedings until they are confidently sucking when the bottle is presented.
Part of the reason I come back quickly is because I want them strong enough to suck and I want them to remember what they learned the last time by having a shorter interval between lessons.
Once the kids are getting the bottle down, we'll graft them on to their dam. We usually do this with the dam standing on the milking stand unless she's a very experienced mother and we can just walk up to her in a stall without her edging away while we try to latch on the kid. If she's really full, we milk her out about halfway to give her kids measured amounts with the bottle so we know they have all gotten an equal share. We might give that portion to them after we've tried to get them suckling from their dam or beforehand if we feel they need the extra strength to learn how to suckle their dam. You'll have to help them, but once they figure out she's got the milk, they'll likely go to her to suckle when you're not there.
So, how to help them figure this suckling thing out? Well, if they are taking a bottle well, the easiest thing for me is to hold the teat in one hand and the kid's head in the other and squirt a little into their mouth as I latch the kid on the same way I did when I taught them to take a bottle. Sometimes kids take exception to their head being held or they are so new they can barely stand, so I'll have to hold their brisket from between their legs to keep them more or less where they need to be instead of holding their head in place. That quickly makes things more complicated and if I have an assistant available, I'll have them hold the kid up from just behind their front legs so I have both hands free to try to get the nipple into the kid's mouth and get a little squirt of milk into their mouth. Usually that gives the kid the idea there's milk there and if the kid takes a bottle readily, they know they can take action to suck out the milk.
Within a very few feedings, kids figure out their dam has milk and they will start seeking that from her in a stall or small enclosure when you're not there. We may start by putting the doe on the milking stand, but once the doe realizes what were up to, we start helping kids latch on in the stall so they know they can go get milk any time. We try to show up at feeding times to help them latch on and to top them off with a bottle to make sure they are getting enough.
Now if we were working with kids that are on their dam that we're trying to get onto a bottle, obviously, we would offer the bottle first.
Since I want this post to focus on getting kids onto a bottle and possibly back on to their dam, I will only mention that if you're working with a kid that's been in distress, the first thing you need to be concerned about is urination and defecation. The meconium coming out is critical to a good start and that and urination frequency and quantity are your keys to knowing if the kid is getting enough or not. A constipated kid loses their appetite quickly. Better to give them an enema and keep fluids up to prevent that as soon as their appears to be a problem.
So on the question of how much is enough. Years ago, they used to say to feed lambs and kids 10-20% of their body weight daily. That's been revised upwards to 15-20%. I consider 15-20% to be the end goal, but as long as I'm getting 10% of their body weight into them daily, I know they have enough that they can start to thrive. I do not tube feed kids more than that 10% if I'm forced to tube feed. I will use a syringe before I'll tube feed a kid. One time I was giving a kid a tablespoon every 15 minutes by syringe because if I tried to give him more at once, he would choke. He just wasn't strong enough to swallow. It took days before I could increase his intake and get him sucking and get him thriving, but he thrive he did and he became a big, healthy buck.
There is one more little detail I'll touch on. When I worked on the commercial dairy I headed out at 4:30am and some times I would come back from the Baby Shed until some time after 10pm. When I came inside, I showered (if I had the energy) and went to bed until I got up again to start the whole thing all over again. There was no getting up at night for extra feedings. I stabilized all the kids and came back in the morning. This is vital to prevent burn out and keep your energy up so you can do well by the demanding little ones in the daylight hours. When we got our own goats, I had infant humans to care for during the day. I couldn't let myself get so drained that a human suffered. To this day, I'm a very light sleeper, so a kid in trouble is usually in my house and if they make a noise at night, I'm right there to take care of them. Most will sleep 'all night', which for me is from sometime after 10pm until 5-6am. I've never lost a kid from not getting up to feed them at night (keep in mind I'll hear them if they cry and I do respond promptly). There's another reason I stabilize kids and go to sleep. Feeding to much can kill. Floppy kid is real. Their bodies need time to digest and rest before they get more if they aren't working for it (particularly in the case of tube feeding).
If you find yourself getting frustrated, don't hesitate to put the kid down, stretch, get a drink and come back to try again when you're calmer. Don't let the stress of trying to help a distressed kid keep you from eating, drinking, taking a bathroom break or whatever is necessary to take care of yourself as well. I know that there's a tendency when there is just one or two does to kill ourselves over a struggling kid, but since I had to learn this task while caring for hundreds of lambs and kids all at once, I can tell you that it's important to sort out how far you can push yourself before you make yourself useless and stop before you get to that point.
I wish all of you smooth kiddings and happy, healthy thriving kids that bring you joy this kidding season.
Around me, people seem to think I can get kids on a bottle when others are struggling. I don't know about that one way or the other, but I've been introducing newborn animals to bottles for decades and I have bottle fed thousands of kids and my share of lambs, so maybe that counts for something. Every year when I'm trying to get another kid on a bottle for whatever reason I reflect on how I'm doing the same thing I've been doing since the 1990's.
For this particular post, I'm going to be describing things that are general, but also particular to the first kid we had born this year. He got a little chilled and was weak while the teenagers and preteens were watching his dam to deliver his siblings. We were in a cold snap, so we brought him into the house and took him outside to see his dam during the warmest of the daylight hours. His mother was happy to see him and our goal for him was to keep him alive and graft him back on to his dam. One key to success in removing kids from their dam and grafting them back onto her is to take the entire litter at once and bring them all back at once. Keeping the entire litter together is done so their dam doesn't forget how many kids she has and reject the one we've been taking away to work with. If we're able to keep the siblings together with their dam, this is definitely ideal. Sometimes due to the dam's attitude toward her kids or the weather, like in our example case, this may not be an option. Keeping kids warm, even if it means bringing them indoors, is important so that calories aren’t wasted by the kid trying to regulate their body temp in adverse conditions. Kids that are suckling their dam get up during the night when they get cold to get some warm milk and the activity and the milk help them regulate body temp. Obviously, a kid that is struggling or exclusively getting their nutrition from a bottle is going to be disadvantaged, so that’s something to keep in mind.
I was taught by a large animal vet who raised more calves than sheep and goats, so I want the kid (or lamb) facing away from me. I will usually place the kid on my lap with their tail toward my stomach. I stretch their face and neck away from me, holding their lower jaw in my left hand. My right hand holds the bottle at about the same angle as their nose while I use the fingers and thumb on either side of their lower jaw to push the nipple into their mouth and prevent them from spitting it out either side. I find the stiffer nipples more suited to this, but everyone has their own preferences.
So now we have a kid who can't leave or move it's head (except up or down) with a bottle nipple in their mouth.
Sometimes they just open their mouth and scream, so I'll put a little milk in their mouth by squeezing the bottle. You have to be careful not to give too much so they don't choke.
Other times, they'll clamp their jaws tight and I have to kind of pull the bottle out and push it back in until they get a few drops in their mouth.
In any case, they usually swallow at some point when they get those few drops. If they don't, I will add a little more. If they still don't swallow, but they aren't fighting me (and therefore in a greater danger of choking), then I'll tip their head up and the bottle and usually that'll force them to swallow.
Usually they realize within a swallow or two that this process isn't about killing them, but there's nice, warm milk involved that tastes and feels good. (On the topic of warm milk, temperature is important when initially getting kids on a bottle and while we will milk out the doe and offer the bottle when the kid is born so the temp is whatever it is in that case, if a kid is having trouble getting the whole bottle thing, we warm it up to slightly above body temp.)
It's usually easier from that point, but even if you're getting the colostrum in one little swallow at a time, it's getting in. Eventually they start getting impatient for more and they'll usually start sucking.
Sometimes it's a process for a few feedings or for a few hours (I'm stubborn so until I get a couple of ounces in, I tend to keep working with them). Once they get a couple of ounces, the next feeding is usually smoother. I do not wait a long time to feed them again. If the kid (by weight) should be getting two ounces, then I'll be back to give them the next two about halfway to the next feeding. My goal is to get the whole feeding into the kid by the next feeding time even if it's broken into multiple feedings until they are confidently sucking when the bottle is presented.
Part of the reason I come back quickly is because I want them strong enough to suck and I want them to remember what they learned the last time by having a shorter interval between lessons.
Once the kids are getting the bottle down, we'll graft them on to their dam. We usually do this with the dam standing on the milking stand unless she's a very experienced mother and we can just walk up to her in a stall without her edging away while we try to latch on the kid. If she's really full, we milk her out about halfway to give her kids measured amounts with the bottle so we know they have all gotten an equal share. We might give that portion to them after we've tried to get them suckling from their dam or beforehand if we feel they need the extra strength to learn how to suckle their dam. You'll have to help them, but once they figure out she's got the milk, they'll likely go to her to suckle when you're not there.
So, how to help them figure this suckling thing out? Well, if they are taking a bottle well, the easiest thing for me is to hold the teat in one hand and the kid's head in the other and squirt a little into their mouth as I latch the kid on the same way I did when I taught them to take a bottle. Sometimes kids take exception to their head being held or they are so new they can barely stand, so I'll have to hold their brisket from between their legs to keep them more or less where they need to be instead of holding their head in place. That quickly makes things more complicated and if I have an assistant available, I'll have them hold the kid up from just behind their front legs so I have both hands free to try to get the nipple into the kid's mouth and get a little squirt of milk into their mouth. Usually that gives the kid the idea there's milk there and if the kid takes a bottle readily, they know they can take action to suck out the milk.
Within a very few feedings, kids figure out their dam has milk and they will start seeking that from her in a stall or small enclosure when you're not there. We may start by putting the doe on the milking stand, but once the doe realizes what were up to, we start helping kids latch on in the stall so they know they can go get milk any time. We try to show up at feeding times to help them latch on and to top them off with a bottle to make sure they are getting enough.
Now if we were working with kids that are on their dam that we're trying to get onto a bottle, obviously, we would offer the bottle first.
Since I want this post to focus on getting kids onto a bottle and possibly back on to their dam, I will only mention that if you're working with a kid that's been in distress, the first thing you need to be concerned about is urination and defecation. The meconium coming out is critical to a good start and that and urination frequency and quantity are your keys to knowing if the kid is getting enough or not. A constipated kid loses their appetite quickly. Better to give them an enema and keep fluids up to prevent that as soon as their appears to be a problem.
So on the question of how much is enough. Years ago, they used to say to feed lambs and kids 10-20% of their body weight daily. That's been revised upwards to 15-20%. I consider 15-20% to be the end goal, but as long as I'm getting 10% of their body weight into them daily, I know they have enough that they can start to thrive. I do not tube feed kids more than that 10% if I'm forced to tube feed. I will use a syringe before I'll tube feed a kid. One time I was giving a kid a tablespoon every 15 minutes by syringe because if I tried to give him more at once, he would choke. He just wasn't strong enough to swallow. It took days before I could increase his intake and get him sucking and get him thriving, but he thrive he did and he became a big, healthy buck.
There is one more little detail I'll touch on. When I worked on the commercial dairy I headed out at 4:30am and some times I would come back from the Baby Shed until some time after 10pm. When I came inside, I showered (if I had the energy) and went to bed until I got up again to start the whole thing all over again. There was no getting up at night for extra feedings. I stabilized all the kids and came back in the morning. This is vital to prevent burn out and keep your energy up so you can do well by the demanding little ones in the daylight hours. When we got our own goats, I had infant humans to care for during the day. I couldn't let myself get so drained that a human suffered. To this day, I'm a very light sleeper, so a kid in trouble is usually in my house and if they make a noise at night, I'm right there to take care of them. Most will sleep 'all night', which for me is from sometime after 10pm until 5-6am. I've never lost a kid from not getting up to feed them at night (keep in mind I'll hear them if they cry and I do respond promptly). There's another reason I stabilize kids and go to sleep. Feeding to much can kill. Floppy kid is real. Their bodies need time to digest and rest before they get more if they aren't working for it (particularly in the case of tube feeding).
If you find yourself getting frustrated, don't hesitate to put the kid down, stretch, get a drink and come back to try again when you're calmer. Don't let the stress of trying to help a distressed kid keep you from eating, drinking, taking a bathroom break or whatever is necessary to take care of yourself as well. I know that there's a tendency when there is just one or two does to kill ourselves over a struggling kid, but since I had to learn this task while caring for hundreds of lambs and kids all at once, I can tell you that it's important to sort out how far you can push yourself before you make yourself useless and stop before you get to that point.
I wish all of you smooth kiddings and happy, healthy thriving kids that bring you joy this kidding season.
May 25, 2024
