If you are new to raising livestock, you might be wondering what a lambar even is.

Simply put, a lambar is a specialized bucket feeder designed to nurse multiple baby goats or lambs at the same time.

While traditional designs can vary (others feature bottom-mounted nipples without any hoses), the overall goal is the same: instead of you standing in the pen holding individual bottles for every single animal, a lambar allows multiple kids to nurse efficiently on their own.

It transforms chore time from a hectic, chaotic rush into a calm, manageable routine.

When kids are fed traditional warm bottles a few times a day, they tend to gorge themselves, drinking too much too fast.

This sudden influx of warm milk in the stomach can lead to digestive upset, bloat, and scours (diarrhea).

By keeping the milk cold (at least 40 degrees), the kids are naturally discouraged from guzzling.

Instead, they visit the feeder multiple times a day for small, frequent meals.

This perfectly mimics natural dam-rearing, leading to excellent rumen development, steady growth, and highly independent kids.

The added bonus:

Because they are group-fed from a feeder rather than an individual holding a bottle, they do not turn into overly needy, obnoxious baby goat monsters.

They remain friendly, socialized, and easy to handle.

We believe in this system so much that we require all our kids to be independently and successfully using it before they are cleared to leave for their new homes.

NOTE: Because step one of our process involves solid training on a standard nipple, you can rest assured that these kids are fully trained to suckle, even if you choose to transition them to a different feeding setup or traditional bottles when you get them home.

To help make your transition as smooth as possible, we build and sell the exact same Cold Milk Lambar feeders we use on our own farm.

Unlike standard bucket feeders that leak from the bottom, our feeders are built from durable, square food-grade buckets with hinged lids, top-mounted nipples, and internal suction tubes (straws).

The square design fits flush against your fencing from the outside (keeping your lambar safe and clean from muddy little hooves), and the hinged lid makes it incredibly easy to open and drop ice packs directly into the milk to keep it cold.

Because the nipples are top-mounted, you never have to worry about the bottom leaks common with standard feeders.

Each feeder comes fully assembled with the appropriate nipples and internal tubes, ready to secure to your pen fence or prop up on some concrete bricks.

You aren’t on your own when you get home, either.

Every feeder purchase includes direct access to email support from Jeffrey and Lorraine for any setup or feeding questions as you get started.

As a working dairy, we wash and sanitize all of our milking and lambar equipment after every single use with our professional Power Clean Dairy Wash.

You don’t need full commercial dairy sanitizer at home, though!

Here is our simple recommendation for keeping your lambar pristine:

1. Rinse. Always use cool to lukewarm water first, because hot water will actually “cook” the milk proteins right onto the plastic, making it a nightmare to clean.

2. Wash. Standard Blue Dawn dish soap in warm water works perfectly with a simple tube brush for the straws.

3. Sanitize (Optional). For an extra layer of protection for young immune systems, you can give everything a quick final rinse once a week using a no-rinse sanitizer or standard diluted bleach solution.

For a first-time goat owner, figuring out the milk source can feel intimidating.

Raw goat milk is always the gold standard, but for most backyard owners, a steady supply isn’t realistic or accessible.

Many people turn to commercial milk replacer powder, but it requires extra mixing work, leaves more residue to wash out, and some owners prefer to avoid the synthetic ingredients found in commercial mixtures.

Our Hybrid Method

We start all of our kids on their mothers’ milk, but then we successfully transition them to 100% standard “red cap” whole milk from the local grocery store (we get ours from Sam’s Club).

It is readily available, affordable, and requires zero mixing.

Weaning your kids from the cold milk lambar system does not need to be a stressful or complicated process.

Forty-five days is the absolute minimum they need to stay on, as long as they are comfortably eating grass hay and drinking plenty of water on their own.

To make the transition completely seamless, we use a gradual step-down method.

For us, starting from day 1 we always put the lambar out during morning chores around 6am and then remove it completely at bedtime (around 9 or 10pm).

As we approach weaning time and the kids are eating hay well, we start shortening the hours the bucket is in the pen.

First, we might start setting it out at noon instead of 6am.

Once they are comfortable with that shorter window, we take it away an hour sooner every few days until they only have access from 12pm to 6pm.

For the final few days, we only bring it out for an hour, or even just 15 to 30 minutes depending on how many kids are in the pen, just so everyone gets a quick chance to drink.

Then, one day, you simply do not bring it out at all and they’re officially weaned.

Because the free-choice system naturally encourages them to graze and chew cud from an early age, they transition over to their solid diet without a frantic drop in weight or unnecessary stress.

Our custom-built square bucket lambars are normally $100.

However, we offer special discounts for our livestock customers:

• Standard Price: $100

• Special Discounted Price: $75 (automatically applied for anyone buying livestock from us)

• Same-Day Pickup Special: $50 (a one-time special if you purchase your lambar the same day you pick up your animals)

If you are picking up kids from the farm, you can purchase a completed feeder at the time of selection so that all you need to do when you get home is put milk into it and the kids do the rest.