Posted by Sherry on February 02, 2001 at 20:09:48:
In Reply to: new mamas, their milk production and milk storage posted by Mona on February 02, 2001 at 13:55:52:
If a doe is young or isn't a particularly large milk producer, it can seem she doesn't have enough milk for her kid. All the time the kid is nursing a little here and a little there and it keeps the udder pretty empty. Feel the kid's stomach...if the tummy feels full and the kid is peeing and pooping like it should then it's eating plenty! It sounds like you're paying close attention to them so if the little thing gets weak you would notice.
I bring my milk in the house, filter it and sit it in ice water for about 30 minutes...but I have a lot more milk! When the milk is cold put it in clean glass containers and keep it in the fridge. I put my milk on the bottom shelf (it's coldest there) and I have a thermometer in there (a little stick-up job I got at the grocery store) so I can keep the temperature just under 40 degrees. I've had raw milk in my fridge for over a week before I could get time to can it or make cheese or whatever else I could think of to make good use of it! To be honest, the only time I ever had any to sour was a quart jar that got lost in behind a jar of pickles and I have no idea how long it was in there...but it was chunky! You'll know when it goes bad...it smells just like sour milk!
I learned about cold milk free choice feeding this year and have been very pleased with the results. But, if you want to bottle feed I've found that in the early days it's good to feed the milk warm. Drip it on your wrist like you would if you were feeding a baby...when it feels warm it's ready! Once they're drinking from the bottle easily I always gave the milk to them when it felt cool to my wrist. It seemed to keep them from gorging on it.
You didn't say how old the kids were or the breed. It's hard to say if a couple of ounces is enough...usually anything is better than nothing! But, if he's eating from his mom he may be already full. If you end up bottle feeding, it's much harder to train a kid to the bottle that has been on his dam but it can be done...just keep at it. Good Luck!