I'm thinking making an ebook specifically aimed at bottle reared goats. We recently lost a doe, Sage, just 2 days after she kidded. As a result her 2 babies are now being hand reared by the Handy Helper and myself. I've had a few questions from new homesteaders around bottle rearing and it can be tricky. The videos online show healthy babies running for bottles and drinking easily. It's a bit deceptive as a lot can go wrong. I would love it if you could post any questions you might have around bottle reared goats? Anything, there are no "dumb" questions. I want to cover as much as possible to give homesteaders all the info. Pictured is Cookie and Cream, who are now 3 weeks old. The second picture is just after I found them in the paddock. They were nearly a week premature and I really did not think Cookie would make it, but he is a fighter.

Things got really busy on the farm, its goat kidding season and although we don't have as many does kidding this year it got really busy. Welcome to a lot of new members and apologies for the delay in approving applications. Please introduce yourselves and let us all know about your homesteading and farming journeys.

I thought you might like this chart showing the qualities of different milking goat breeds. Keep in mind the amount produced is when they are full time milking and not feeding kids. I co-share with the kids when milking. I only milk once a day, after locking the kids away from the doe's overnight, I milk in the morning and then the kids go into the paddock with their mum all day. Bottle feeding kids is a full-time job, and it also produces extra health complications for the kids. Breast is best if it's possible to raise strong healthy kids with excellent rumen function. @Michelle Illig on thinking about it, Nigerian Dwarf would be the best option for you regarding butter, but because goats are herd animals and its best to keep 2, you could maybe have a high milk yielder also to give you the quantity of milk needed for your family.

We had an unexpectedly early arrive on Tuesday afternoon, and all my time has been taken trying to fix everyone. Sage, who is a maiden doe, was due to kid sometime between 7-9 September. Unfortunately she was under the weather and hiding it from me. She kidded on Tuesday with no assistance (honestly don't believe it when people say you have to be there, you don't 99% of the time), twin kids and then she got sick really quick. The vet and I believe it was a combination of pregnancy toxemia and milk fever. Sage is still not out of the woods and is on daily injections to try to help. Her milk is non-existent due to being ill so I am now bottle feeding, something which I try to avoid at all costs. Breast is best. Hopefully if she recovers, it is quick and she gets her milk back. Please welcome, Cookies and Cream, a slightly coloured buckling and a white doeling.

There will not be any new info posts today as my 15 yr old daughter has her rugby league semi-final. Fingers crossed they win and we go through to the grand final. Hopefully you all get time with your families over the weekend. Homesteading and farming while raising a family and/or working can really kill you time. It's important to have some down time. It rejuvenates you for the coming week.