I am mighty proud of this method!
I am mighty proud of this method!That’s right, mighty proud! Over the years we’ve tried various feeding methods — bottlefeeding, dam raising, MANY different types of hybrid methods — but I can finally say I’ve figured out the best way to hybrid raise and keep your sanity. Let’s begin.
What is a “The Hybrid Method”?
The hybrid method is a way to be able to let the dam raise her kids while making sure they are as friendly as bottle babies. You see, the problem many of us breeders have, is that it’s very hard to dam raise and keep the kids from going wild. Our most successful years of keeping dam raised kids friendly were when I had little human kids that held those goat kids all day. As my kids got older (I cannot believe they’re in college now!) and they spent less time in the barn, it became harder to keep dam raised kids friendly.
If you’ve ever owned a wild goat (or even just a standoffish one) you know what a pain it is. Needing two people to corner your doe in the pasture every day just so you can get her milked is the stuff of hell, my friends. IT. IS. HELL.
It’s often said that a friendly doe makes for a lifetime of less stress for both you and the doe. Leash training, showing, milking, hoof trimming, vaccinating, checking ligaments, taking pictures, kidding — all of it’s easier with a friendly doe. And while bottlefed babies can be annoyingly clingy as juniors, we all have to admit that they truly make the best adults.
So if you’re like me and want friendly bottle babies but your lifestyle doesn’t allow you to be the sole caregiver for 8 weeks of a baby’s life, then a hybrid method is the plan for you!
The Problem with Other Methods
I’ve found that most hybrid methods involve letting the dam raising them for 1, 2, or even 3 weeks before a bottle is introduced. Trying to get a dam-raised baby to drink from a bottle is the stuff of nightmares, folks! A lot of kids that age simply REFUSE to take it. And if you try to keep them separated all day so their hunger becomes a driving factor, well my friends, you have a day of screaming ahead of you (from both mama & baby).
My method starts early and gets the training in before they know they want to fight it.
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The Hybrid Method
Kidding Day (Introduction Day)
Within 30 minutes of the kids being born, it’s time to introduce the bottle. While mama is licking away, you’ll milk out about 4 oz of colostrum and start feeding each kid one by one. Each kid should take it and suckle easily, mostly because they are in their “freshly born” daze and don’t know tit from tat 😉 It’s important to take advantage of this daze and introduce the bottle. Spending time holding them and getting them familiar to the human touch is important as well. Let them have their first night together, but if you can, it is nice to go back and feed again a few hours after kidding.
Bottlefeeding a Newborn [I’m going to interject here that if you don’t know how to bottle feed a kid, know that it takes about a week before a kid will willingly open their mouth for the nipple. You will need to pry their mouths open and force the nipple in and hold it there until they suck. Make sure the milk doesn’t flow so fast because they’ll choke on it. You need to pry, stick the nipple in, and hold for a while. You can stroke their neck as well to help them swallow. In extreme cases where a kid is refusing the bottle at every training session, you can put the mama on the stand and when the kid kneels under her to drink, hurry and put the bottle in their mouth. You can also try covering their eyes with a cloth]
Day 2 (Training Day)
Buckle up, folks. Today’s the most important day and it’s gonna take some dedication to get this to work. Bring mama on the stand and try to see if you can milk anything out. You likely can’t unless she’s a high producer, but it’s good to check first. Clean her udder & teats, let it dry, and then fold her teats up onto the udder and cover each side with kinesiology tape. I like this because it’s strong enough but has a stretch to it so it can allow for movement. You can use a medical tape if you prefer, but don’t use anything too harsh like duct tape.
Now you’ll put mama back with her kids and wait.
**disclaimer** These feedings are not full feedings. Usually you’ll have the babies drink for 10 seconds then stop. Your goal isn’t to have full bellies. It’s to train them to the bottle.
- 2 hours later, mix up some Purina colostrum according to the directions and head out to feed. We use the pritchard nipples (with a very tiny cut so it has a slow flow), but use whichever nipples you like. Typically there’s one that takes the bottle really well and another that fights you. They also may drink for 15 seconds and stop. All is normal, just do your best and then leave them for another 2 hours. (Remember, mama has teat tape on and is with them for this entire day to minimize stress)
- 2 hours later, do the same thing.
- 2 hours later, bring mama on the stand, remove the teat tape, and milk her out to keep a demand on her udder. Feed mama’s milk/colostrum back to the kids. Apply teat tape again.
- 2 hours later, feed babies again (powdered colostrum or mama’s milk — whichever you have)
- 2 hours later, feed babies again
- 2 hours later, bring mama on the stand, remove the teat tape, and milk her out to keep a demand on her udder. Feed mama’s milk/colostrum back to the kids. Apply teat tape again.
By the end of training day, all kids (even the stubborn ones) should have taken the bottle from you. If not, wait two hours and do one more late feeding. All our kids have taken the bottle typically by the 2nd feeding on the training day, but some have held out till a later feeding. We had one stubborn stinker hold out till the 5pm feeding! She’d nibble here and there and we’d get some in her mouth but she refused to suck all day long. Eventually she took it and now is fully trained to the bottle. So just know that you can get some really stubborn ones but I promise they will give in. (For this stubborn doeling, we came back for a few more feedings after that to make sure she got enough before the night stretch of no feedings)
Day 2 (1st Night after Training Day)
It’s important to keep mama covered with tape throughout the night on the 2nd night. While this may seem cruel, if you’ve ever kept a barn camera on your mamas, you’ll notice while they feed through the night on the 1st night after delivering, by the 2nd night they want their sleep and will bed down next to their kids for the night. They will feed at 5-6am but you’re gonna wake up early and do that with the bottle instead so you can take advantage of their hunger to reinforce bottle training.
Day 3 (Reinforcement Day)
Now it’s time to settle into the routine you’ll be doing from here on out. Get up early so there isn’t more than 6-8 hours of time between the kids last feeding, bring mama on the stand, remove the teat tape, and milk out about 8 oz of milk. Fill a bottle with her milk and feed half of that (4 oz) that back to the babies. They will eagerly eat it and you can now say you’ve successfully hybrid trained your kids.
We also sneak in one extra feeding around midday with the leftover milk from mama. Just for practice:)
Day 4 all the way to weaning time (Your Hybrid Routine)
Every night from here on out, you’ll separate mama & kids overnight, milk mama in the morning, and feed the first feeding of the day by bottle to the kids. Once they hit 2 weeks old, they can go 12 hours overnight with no feeding and by this age it is good to separate by fencing or stall because they will soon learn to chew the tape off to get to the teat.
FAQs
- Do I need to use teat tape?
It is important to use the tape during the first week so as not to stress out the dam or lessen the bond between her and the kids. After about a week of teat tape at night, we separate physically by putting them into different stalls. - Aren’t they too young to separate?
Bottlefed babies sleep through the night easily on Day 2, and if you ask any bottlefeeding breeder they’ll tell you they only do a middle of the night feeding on the 1st night. From Day 2 onward, the babies can go 6-8 hours without a feeding. I’ve also noticed that my does will bed down and sleep on the 2nd night alongside their kids. So no, it’s not too young for them to go without a feeding. But you will be getting up early on Day 2 to feed kids. - Why so many feedings on the training day?
The kids need a lot of exposure to be able to successfully take the bottle, but also, since the are only drinking small amounts during each session, it’s best to keep repeating it to make sure they’re hydrated & fed. It’s just one day of intense training, then you’re done! - I thought powdered milk was bad for goats?
Powdered milk as a sole food source can be constipating for kids, but powdered colostrum works well during training when you have a day or two while you’re waiting for your doe’s milk to come in. Since it’s such a small amount I haven’t noticed any digestive issues whatsoever, in fact, they do really well with the boost of nutrients.
 
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