Goats Milk... Need Expert advice... - Page 1

I am preparing for a large litter (xrays say 11 ...that we can see).  I have only had small litters before 7 or under... so I want to be prepared to supplement the puppies to help mom out.  I have always kept nursing bottles and powdered puppy formula on hand (and have never actually had a circumstance where I had to use it to supplement by bottle feeding), but have been reading that you can feed goats milk.  I purchased 12 cans of Evaporated Goat Milk today.  My question is how do you feed it?  Straight?  Do I need to add water? 

I've seen recipies that have things added like karo syrup, egg yolks, yogurt, etc.... do they need all that?  Should I mix the goats milk with a powdered puppy formula?  Did I even buy the right stuff? 

Thanks in advance for any help. 

Ive had big litters in the past (12+) and what I did was rotate pups around during the first 3 weeks to make sure everyone was getting their share. I would only feed the goat milk if mom cannot supply enough on her own. If you supplement right off the bat, you may end up shooting yourself in the foot by not making her produce at capacity. My female produced plenty of milk and along with my rotating, the pups did very well. By the time they were 3 weeks, mom needed more help and then I stepped in with supplementing.

You will need to dilute the canned milk.

Barb

I followed the directions on the can to reconstitute the goats milk. I used the Leerburg puppy formula (w/yogurt, karo, egg yolk).
The puppies gulped it down. Good stuff... when I was around, none wanted anything to do with Mom :)

Melissa

Thank you Barb and Melissa...
I had already planned on rotating the litter to ensure everyone gets what they need from mom.  I prefer NOT to supplement unless I have to, however, I know once they start getting larger it will be inevitable.  I did read the can... said "for whole milk dilute with equal parts water"... so my question at this point is can they just have the diluted goats milk or is the "Leerburg's" recommended formula the "correct" way to feed it?

Instead of goat's milk, use a quality puppy milk replacer.
Ive tried both and puppies did much better on the milkreplacer.

 

I wouldn't get too worked up until the puppies arrive.  A large female can manage 10 or 11 puppies if she has had puppies before.  For the first 2-3 days the puppies need the mothers colostrum first and foremost.  If you don't lose a puppy during the first 3 days and you indeed have 11 healthy pups then perhaps the mother may need help but that is not a given.  If the mother has lots of milk early she may produce all the milk the puppies need for the first week or two.  You may need to help her manage the puppies by splitting the litter into two groups at feeding time or some bitches seem to handle that themselves.  I would advise weighing the puppies at birth and then every 12 hours after that until one week old with such a potentially large litter.  Keep an eye on their weights as a puppy not gaining weight or losing weight are in a crisis situation.  It may be easier and better to feed the larger and stronger puppies supplemental milk as they can drink faster and digest the formula faster than the weaker pups.  Probiotic can be introduced into the puppies by feeding a few drops of probiotic and milk well before they need to digest supplemental milk.  Let the smaller and weaker pups have momma's love and care primarily and let momma have access to all of the puppies for mothering but top off the tank on the larger pups before they see Mom to reduce their milk consumption.  I use evaporated milk for older puppies at 3-4 weeks with no problems (add probiotic to aid digestion of the cows milk).  I have also used goats milk either commercial store or canned evaporated but the puppies seem to like the evaporated milk better and it is 1/2 the cost of goats milk.  The evaporated cows milk is fed straight from the can without dilution.  Fresh goats milk would be great if you can get it but if you need to make a 4 AM feeding a can of evaporated milk plus 1 minute in the microwave will solve your problem.  I will let others comment on formulas (Leerburg has a good one).  My approach is the less I interfere with the mother dog the better (until she wants to do something stupid).

Thank you Sitasmom and bubbabooboo... Scale is sitting by the whelping pen already, I do always weigh the pups at birth and then every other day for the first week.  Your right about not getting stressed until they get here... who knows if all will survive... I shouldnt count my chickens just yet.  I do this with every litter.. .worry ... worry... worry... then everything is fine.  But if I wasnt worried and preparing ahead of time... I'm sure I would pay for it later!
Thank you all again!

I would do the goat's milk like it says on the can and not add any of that other stuff. Also I start feeding my puppies at 2 1/2 weeks old, whether I have a big litter or not because it helps the mom out. I start with a gruel of dry baby cereal and the goat's milk and make it as thin as possible. It takes them a couple of days but when they start eating they want that food and look for it 3 times a day.

I had a litter of 10 last year. The mama had plenty of first milk, but after a few days the puppies were vocal. I tube fed the puppies with Esbilac once a day for 3 days, after which mama dog's milk production picked up and she was able to feed the puppies well from then on.

I've had to tube feed a complete litter from 3 days until "weaning", Esbilac was the best substitute, the puppies thrived. They have "0" effects from the replacement milk. Leerburg has something on his blog about early onset of cataracts with a whole litter puppies that are fed a goat's milk concoction. All I can say is careful. 

Well I know people who have been doing it for years--myself about 30 with this breed and 10 with Papa's bird dogs and have never seen a problem. I feel fresh goat's milk is much better than esiblac and all that.  As far as Ed goes, you gotta be careful of what he says too. JMO and what works for me.
And if your bitch does have a big litter, I would be feeding her goat's milk too......................actually I feed it to my bitches any size litter.