The Goodwife isn't cut out for bottle feeding. I really don't like it. It's not the time commitment, I'm always ready to go out and play with my goats, it's just the unnaturalness of it all. I worry myself silly if they are getting enough to eat! Are they hungry all the time? I mean, my dam raised kids just have a suck here and a suck there whenever they want. I worry about Millie and Heather having hunger pains all day long! I have taught them how to nurse off of Tulip, (and who knew a bottle baby could be so stupid about boobs??) so they get their morning meal that way. Of course they drink LOTS more when they do this and I'm not sure if that's good for them.............
The lesson is this..........barring a medical problem where my intervention is necessary to save the life of the kid.........I will not be bottle feeding any goats born here at Goodwife Farm!
I'll leave you with some pics of the new girls on their first jaunt outside.......
The lesson is this..........barring a medical problem where my intervention is necessary to save the life of the kid.........I will not be bottle feeding any goats born here at Goodwife Farm!
I'll leave you with some pics of the new girls on their first jaunt outside.......
Who needs a mountain when you've got a person to jump off of?
And yes, I'm totally aware that I'm laying in a pile of horse poop......I'm as low maintenence as it comes.....
Num, num, num.........
Till next time............God Bless!
Well..I see your point. I'd worry too...and I'd lay near horse poo for a frolic with baby animals too. ;-)
ReplyDeletehello, I love your blog. my son told me to look you up when i bought my 1st goat this spring. An Oberhasli(Joy) w/doeling(Daffodil) & a bottle baby(Rosetta). I'm with you on bottle feeding. I fed Rosetta for awhile & noticed that she wasn't as happy with the bottle as she was. I held Joy & let her nurse. In a week, she had learned that she could nurse when Daffodil was nursing & to stay on the off side of Joy's nose. Now she is officially adopted. I won't bottle feed next spring unless I have to. I love my goats & also have buff ducks, buff geese partridge rock chickens, some leghorns from the feed store that were supposed to be guineas, I call them chinnies (lol) & bourbon red turkeys & 4 horses. I read your profile & your random thoughts. It could have been me writing. Look foward to your blog everyday. Gonna make your ice cream this week. Also learned about milking from you. Thanks!!!! Have a BLESSED Evening!!Sandi
ReplyDeleteThanks Parsley! ;)
ReplyDeleteHi granny! So nice to have you here! I love that you call them chinnies, that's too funny!
OK Sistah,
ReplyDeleteThis is me rolling my eyes at your bottle feeding anxiety. Are you SURE you aren't some fresh off the bus city slicker chick? Thank goodness you are laying in poop,or I would be VERY concerned.
Love ya! :-D
LOL@Farmlady!
ReplyDeleteI used to anguish over the same thing....the solution for me was the BUCKET! We have a lambar bucket hung in the kid pen. I keep milk in it for them all the time. It has done wonders for the size and growth of the kids...and no more bottles to wash and store. Of course I still give them a bottle here and there for bonding...but the bucket is a good friend especially if you are feeding 8 or 10 at a time!
ReplyDeleteITA about the bottle feeding. Having said that, we do completely bottle feed our calves, but we're in the business of milk there see, so it doesn't "pay" to let the moms raise their babies. However, unlike most dairy farms, we give our calves unpasteurized cow's milk. We pour out some milk before it even gets to the tank so it's as fresh as straight from the tap. The way we see it, mother nature has been raising babies faaar longer than man and his ideas about germs and animals has. Nursing babies will eat more often than bottle-fed babies so it seems like they're eating more when in reality bottle-fed babies will eat more at once b/c it's easier to eat from a bottle and they chug it rather than get sips so more goes down faster before they realize they're full. Same is true for breastfed or bottle fed human babies. But IMO, it's better for them, they say it's actually better to have more smaller meals than "3 square meals" a day.
ReplyDelete