I got some goat issues?????

Question

i have a 2 month old pymy goat, and weve been feeding him his milk through a bottle, and sometimes water through his bottle, along with a little bit of oats and goat food. but we are trying to get him to stop driking out of his bottle because his vet said to start giving him water froma bowl when we became about 2 months old. he doesnt want to drink out of his bowl, he loooves his bottle too much. he sucks on our fingers sometimes because they are like his bottle and it relaxes him. but what im trying to ask is how do we get him to drink out of a water bowl and get him detached from his bottle. weve tried to just not give him his bottle and leave a big bowl of water out, but he just criiiiiieeeeesssss. hes very very very very spoiled, hes like our little dog/goat. he is sleeping in my lap right now and i took him on a walk today. so hes not much of a barn animal anymore, haha we have had him since he was a week old.hes fixed and de horned. so how do we get him to drink out of a bowl?

Answer 1

It sounds mean but dont give him anything to drink and put the bowl up to its mouth! You have to do that with cows anyway I know cows arent goats but he will learn!

Answer 2

I would say put half water and half formula in his bowl and put a favorite treat or feed near it in a small pile. Two things to get him interested in the bowl. Then after a few days decrease the formula to 1/4. After that like 1/8. Slowly he'll forget about the formula and when he does you can stop putting formula altogether. It's just an easy trick to get him to drink. You can do it with dogs and calfs too.

Answer 3

let him cry. if he gets thirsty enough, he'll drink out of a bowl.

Answer 4

They can actually start drinking water from a bowl at around a week old.  The problem started when you started giving him water from a bottle....there is no reason to ever do that.  He needs milk from a bottle until he is at least 10 - 12 weeks old, so don't remove the bottle from him completely yet, but stop giving him water in it.  

Are you feeding him hay or grass?  Oats & goat feed are fine, but not enough.  He should be eating grass & hay and should be allowed as much as he wants of each.  If he's eating grass, he will get some moisture from the grass & not need much water, especially since he is still getting fluids from the milk.  If he is eating hay, he will be more likely to drink some water.

Keep a bowl of water available to him at all times, & do NOT give in and give him water from a bottle.  You can touch his nose to the water so he knows it's there & knows what it is.  He will drink it if he needs it, but don't expect him to drink a lot of water until you start weaning him off the milk (do it gradually).  He won't dehydrate because he is still getting fluids through the milk bottle, but he will learn to take a sip when he feels thirsty.