The problem with pasteurizing milk, from our perspective, is that pasteurization not only kills harmful bacteria (and theoretically the CAE virus), pasteurization also kills beneficial bacteria as well. Raw milk which has been carefully collected from healthy, content does and then handled with sanitary care is just bursting with wholesome goodness in a way that pasteurized milk never can, because the food value of pasteurized milk has been somewhat diminished from heat treatment.

The fact is, that while we feel raising goat kids on pasteurized milk has merit, we prefer to know that our does do not have CAE in the first place. It not enough to just believe that CAE can not be passed on to humans; theories come and go. We simply do not want to eat any food from any animal who is not in prime health themselves.

In regards to health, it is interesting to note (though not widely known) that studies have indicated that as many as 86% of commercial dairy cow herds throughout the US have cows within their herds with BLV - Bovine leukemia virus - which, according to one source, is "closely related to a human tumor virus." This means that when milk is pooled, it can cause up to a 90% to 95% contamination rate. A 2007 USDA fact sheet reveals a rather chilling statement regarding this matter:
"The high individual animal prevalence of BLV reported in the Dairy 1996 study suggests that testing and culling seropositive animals may not be a cost effective method to control the disease. Instead, preventing disease transmission by implementing preventive practices would likely be more cost-effective."
This is probably one of the reasons why the legal issue of milk pasteurization and the regulation of milk sales is staunchly enforced. It is no wonder that the consumption of raw milk and regulation of the sale of milk is the public concern that it is in the US. In most states, selling raw milk is simply illegal - and probably it should be if dairy herds are not required to be lukemia free across the board - this includes organic dairies as well. Not to mention, that when dairy cows become old or too sick to profitably manage, where do they go? Where does store bought hamburger really come from? Think about it.

You see, in the interest of wholesome food, these are just more reasons why it is important for you to consider where your food really comes from. Personal relationships and transactions with local farmers in or around your community go a long way towards improving the actual quality of the food you eat and serve to your family.

Anyway, back to bottle feeding goat kids!

Then, we experimented with raising goat kids in tandem with their mothers. That is, we taught them to use a bottle immediately after birth and followed through bottle feeding them at regular intervals for the first few weeks, while at the same time, leaving the kids with their mothers so they had the benefit of on-demand feeding. Those kids were always growthy, and grew up friendly and easy to handle.

Regardless of the debate on which way is best, either way, it is a good idea to prepare for the fact that at some point a newborn goat kid may need your assistance, even if you had intended to let your doe raise her own kids. A kid needing assistance happens when you least expect it. At least it does here in the north country where winters are long and springtime struggles to settle in as late as mid 5th month.

So, be sure to plan ahead. Put aside some frozen colostrum when you have a doe freshen. Try and freeze a pint or so, and make sure to do so every year because colostrum is best if used before it is a year old (in the freezer).

Supplies
Assemble supplies together in a special box or bag specifically set up for this purpose. I like to use a tool box. Tool boxes are sturdy enough for barn use, and they keep supplies organized and store easily when not in use.

Have the following items ready:

2 Clean bath towels

Nipples come in several varieties. We use lambar nipples so we can transfer baby goats them from a bottle to a lamb nurser at any time in the future. This is easier to do using the same type of nipple they are already familiar with.

DO NOT clean bottle nipples with bleach. Even a mild bleach solution will quickly ruin all types of nipples.

Next....

Continued in
How to Bottle Feed a Baby Goat PART 3