My 4 week old kids have hay and have been nibbling it for weeks.I'd say that at 4 months old a bottle won't hurt him but he does need that hay to get his rumen working and healthy.Is he grazing?
Ann.

Hey Ann,
No, he isn't grazing. He won't eat any of the grass at all! Do you think he is just being too 'picky.'

I had a goat do the same thing, she was nursing her momma crazy and her twin sister was grazing and this one wouldn't touch anything, so I held her down, pried her little mouth open and put a few pellets of sweet feed in her mouth, she mulled them around and hopped down and started eating.
Annschickenfarm is right, she does need to start eaating something solid to get her rumen going,
you could also try skipping a feeding or two and offer feed instead, she will catch on when she gets hungry enough too.
Just don't let her go too long without eating of course.
I have spoken to several people who rather to keep their goats on a supplemental bottle until they are six months old, they say they will grow into a larger goat, I dont' know the facts about this, I always tried to wean mine around 3-4 months

Hey Shellybabe,
Do you know if the goat wormer medicine is ok for him to eat? I gave him a bowl of it. One bowl will take him atleast 3 days to eat. But, I think he would eat it all the time if I'd let him. Can too much hurt him?

don't give it to him all the time, he can get too much, never overdose.
what kind are you using?
I use the herbal wormer from Hoegger Goat Supply, it is ok for kids, but only a small amount.
The medicated goat wormer like from teh vet, I would only give him as directed.
I also gave my kids, and it sounds weird, but it is sort of better than little debbie cakes, it would give them frito chips, or stale tortillas.

gennym, what type of goat milk supplement are you using? Stop giving the wormer, I bet you never had a problem with worms and you don't want those worms to get an imunity towards the product. Most goats get worms when they first go out to new pasture from the cold months in a barn with grass feed. Is Reese a wether? If so no need EVER for the sweet feed, some will use it to fatten up meat goats but in the long term it will give calcium stone problems. A nice grass hay or alfalfa will do fine with an occasional treaty from you. I use calf manna as treats with my wether and buck, this will also help with rumen development. They love it and I don't give very much (treats). Sounds like you are a wonderful goat mommy but they really do need to develop a nice strong rumen. I take mine out for hikes and they eat all the "wrong" plants. I feel comfortable because there rumen seems to be doing a great job.

Shellybaby,
I'm not sure what kind of goat wormer it is. I went to our local feed store and asked did they have goat wormer and he just went and got me some. I give Reese chips sometimes, too! :) I forgot to mention that.

Snycal,
The goat milk says this on the front of it "Uni-Milk"
No, I don't think he has ever had worms, but I wasn't sure. We got him from my brother's friend when he was 3 months old. So, I haven't had him too long, but I didn't know but I wanted him to be healthy...
The reson in the beginning I thought he might have worms is because when I would pick him up to hold him his little belly would start making grumbling growling sounds. Does your goats ever do that?
Is a wether a meat goat? If that's what it means then no, Reese isn't. He is just my pet. I really love him. He is just like a dog. he will come and lay down in my lap. He is so much fun!
Thanks!
Genny

The grumbling sounds are normal goat digestion noises. Wormer should have a dosage, which needs to be followed. It is a treatment, not food.
A wether is a male goat that has been nuetered, by far the best idea for a pet goat. They are way less aggressive and don't develop the nasty buck odor. I have had both, so I do know that wethering only hurts for a bit but makes a much happier pet. I also have a few "lap goats"
They are a lot of fun, but not puppies. They have their own food requirements. Grass, weeds, brush. It's time to get him on that and off the bottle. My week old Leena is already grazing with her mommy, "lap goat" Gidget.
{{gwi:39878}}

OH, yes, Reese has been neutered then. I wasn't sure what that meant.

find out what the name of it is. And syncal is right, really,
if he hasn't been grazing, then he doesn't have worms. they get worms from grazing and eating their poo that has dried and gotten on the plants. When they ingest the poo that now has worms in it, then the worms get into their digestion. the common symptoms are eating with out looking like they have eaten as in they don't gain or maintain weight, and their backbone will start to show alot.
I wormed my goats because they are all outside, my 'big dog' goat happens to be my billy who is also outside, never inside, yuck. A result of babying him too much as a kid, and I wish I wouldn't have done that. Now he is protective of me, and wont' let anything get close to me, including my 4 yr old son. I eventualy had to leash train him and stop letting him out to graze when my son is outside playing.
I would also get on the website below and get some of the herbal wormer, it is the best thing I have found. It doesn't have side effects and is safe for young goats when they start to graze. And if you have milk goats, then you don't have to throw the milk out after you worm them, you do give it in their feed, but like only 1/2 tsp per goat per week. It is very affordable, I purchased a 2 lb bag, 30.00 worth, and it has been worming my 11 goats since the first of the year!

Here is a link that might be useful: hoegger goat supply

Hi Shelly babe,
Thanks! I'll try that. I'm glad to know that he isn't sick or anything, though. He is the sweetest little goat He follows me around everytime I go outside. And, if I carry him over to my grandparents he will stay right by my side, and they don't have a fence he just won't leave :)

P.S Do you know of anywhere else I can go to to download pics so I can post them on here for you all to see? I tried imageshack and tinypic and neither one is working for me, they use to but won't now. I wanted to send my newest pic. of Reese.

I only use tinypic, don't know of any others, but then I am still new at posting pics here

http://www.goatwisdom.com/index.html#topics

I use this site a lot for information on goats

Great website cheribelle! Also gennym if you have a yahoo email account (free) join Goats101 its soooo good and you get fast feed back in an emergency. I've learned so much by reading others posts. They have 101, 102, 103 but 101 has it all.

At this age, Reeses mommy would be giving him 2 seconds at the teat and then she would be off and running. Do the same, be tough. It isn't doing Reese any favour by letting him get all his nourishment from a bottle.

I raise goats also, and at 1 week, I start putting in grain and hay. by the time they are 5 months old they are off the bottle.
So, I would start cutting back on the milk, and he will start getting hungry, and start eat hay and grain, and should start grazing.

Ok, thank-you all.
With-in the last couple of days Reese has started eating leaves off of our trees. I still have almost a whole bag full of the milk and I'llprobably finish feeding him tat and let him finish the bag before I take him off of it completely.
He started eating his 'sweet feed' too. We bought him some reg. feed hay for goats and all and he wouldn't touch it! Then we bought him some Timothy Hay and he loved it.