We are bottle feeding two newborn does. The milk replacer we brought home is called UniMilk, and has instructions for goat kids, but the formula seems too thin to me. It calls for 1 part powder to one part warm water. Seems like when I had the replacer specifically for goats it was more than that. What do y'all think?

-- mary (marylgarcia@aol.com), January 06, 2002

Answers

I have not heard of this replacer, is it made mainly for calves? If it's a calf milk replacer, stop feeding it and get some kid milk replacer. I certainly would not mix this replacer up thicker than called for, especially with newborns. Can you tell us what the label has for ingredients?

-- Rebekah (daniel1@itss.net), January 06, 2002.

I haven't either. I really am wary of milk replacers as they are not all they are cracked up to be. I will however have to use a replacer this yr with the dairy since we need the milk. I plan on using Land O' Lakes, but I am still researching. I would add a little store milk to it to make it better. In fact I fed a baby last year whose mother disowned her with store bought cow milk. Didn't want to but didn't have any other choices and the doe kidded at Thanksgiving so I didn't have a good milk suppply. Hope this helps a little.

-- Bernice (geminigoats@yahoo.com), January 06, 2002.

Mary the trick on milk replacer is to make sure it contains no soy. Even then you have to feed it exactly as the directions say, only tiny amounts, so tiny in fact that it makes the kids eat feed early, not something I want mine doing. Feed to much or to cold and you have scours. We send all our new customers who buy babies from us that don't have goats to milk, home with the instructions to use vitamin D whole grocery store milk, warmed to 100 degrees, no more than 16 ounces 3 times a day, once 8 weeks you can move to twice a day and 22 ounces, wean at 12 weeks. Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh TX (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), January 06, 2002.

When I got back up the stairs last night, I checked, and yea, it's got soy. So I assume that's a really big no-no? Is it the protein content we're worried about? Would it still do to use this only as a supplement--like one part replacer to, say, 3 or 4 parts goat milk?

-- mary (marylgarcia@aol.com), January 07, 2002.