Bottle-Feeding Re-visited

Edna and Elly May are growing day-by-day!

Edna is already 10 weeks old and weighs about 30 pounds.  Just six more weeks of bottle feeding!

Elly may is 7 weeks old and at least 30 pounds, too!

Even after bottle feeding for 2 months, I am still tweaking my methods:

With Charlotte milking in both the morning and evening, I typically feed Edna the warm milk directly after I milk.  For the mid-day (2:00pm feeding), I heat a little bit of milk from the fridge in a bottle.  Elly May gets it easy by nursing!  However, Charlotte still doesn't let her nurse very much, so I try to encourage it by holding her still so Elly May can get a sip!

I have been using the lamb nipples, as Edna seems to like the larger nipple.  However, these nipples pop off easily causing milk to pour out of the bottle!  I am trying a new nipple which is designed for the a lambar (bucket feeder).  It has a hole instead of a slit like the lamb nipple.  It is also made of a heavier plastic.  It is a little harder to get on the bottle, but it is definitely makes for a more pleasant bottle-feeding experience.

Raising a goat is an interesting endeavor, always something to learn, research, and experiment!

As a side note, I sprinkled peppermint essential oil on the milking stand in an attempt to combat the flies.  A friend recommended washing down the stand with peppermint soap, but I didn't have any on hand so out came the essential oils!  Hopefully those pesky flies with stop bothering me and Charlotte during our special milking time!