Bottle Feeding Baby Goats

June 2003 It has been fun hand raising the kids. They are soooo attentive. Every time I go into their stall to give them their bottles, there is a certain routine that we must go through. First they each take a bottle and drink it up very quickly. Once they have figured out that there is no more milk, they must sit on my lap and proceed to nibble on my farm jacket's collar, my hair, my jacket's cuff (or anything else that might look interesting to them).... all the while they are pushing each other out of my lap so that they have the ideal tasting spot. They have begun to eat grain and hay and I have been weaning them off of the bottles little by little. I expect that they will be totally weaned soon. They are darling animals and are growing into lovable and friendly goats. Goats are awesome!!!Update 2016: It is so fun to look back at this short entry about the process of bottle feeding our baby goats Nate and Rhubarb over 10 years ago. I remember those days very well. There is nothing sweeter than observing the growing bond with an animal as it realizes you are their source for comfort and nourishment.This particular post makes me smile too because we recently just went through the same process of bottle feeding when we brought Iris and Lottie home this past March. While it is a very time consuming endeavor, the payoff is without a doubt the best way to ensure a close and meaningful relationship throughout their entire life. It allows them to understand early on that humans are not a threat, but loving friends. The trust carries over to all humans- making every visitors experience on the farm a very special one.We have seen now multiple times with several different animals (not just goats!) that the careful interactions as a baby shape their personalities in ways that could never be accomplished from a distance. More times than not, the attention given to our animals as babies has led to creating a bond that most people wouldn't expect from a farm animal. For example, when you call your dogs name you expect it to come to you, maybe bark and even beg for a treat. Would you expect the same from a goat? These days, if we call Iris! or Lottie! from the porch- 99% of the time we will hear a response from one or both of them. If they hear us approaching their yard, they will run from their house on over to us with joy. If we go in their pen and sit down, they will try to eat our shirts and sit on our laps. Now, when we have tours, birthday parties and open farm days- these bottle babies will sprint over to our guests- definitely with hopes of treats but also in search of new friends. The love and trust for humans we gave them early on resulted in an unbelievable connection that made every minute preparing and feeding them their bottles, and every dollar spent on their formula worth it. Everybody wins!