Feeding Baby Goats

Part of keeping your baby goat happy and healthy will involve giving them a proper.

Feeding baby goats.

The reason is that they will eat and eat and they have extremely sensitive stomachs. Grass hay provides a moderate amount of protein and energy for the goat diet. You will find as many tables charts rations and plans for bottle feeding baby goats as there are experts. This can come from either your own farm if you have a milk cow or just from the grocery story.

Overfeeding is one of the largest risks of bottle feeding goats. As the acting parent of a baby goat it is your responsibility to stop feeding them before they get full. Baby goats are either mother raised or bottle fed and it s important to know which yours is. A basic rule of thumb to go by is 10 to 12 per cent of body weight per day.

At one week start offering small amounts of grain to help jump start the baby goat s rumen development. If you have a goat in milk even if it is not the mother of the kid you are raising start there. Goats milk is obviously the best choice to bottle feed if you have it. Also at one month slowly decrease.

B feeding different age groups of kids baby goats immediately after birth feeds the young ones with colostrum. Kid goats should be fed at least 4 times per day to avoid digestive issues until they are 30 days old. Legume hays such as clover and alfalfa usually have more protein vitamins and minerals particularly calcium than grass hays. This is the total opposite of the way it is with human babies and can be quite confusing.

Follow these guidelines to help its development during this time. At one month offer hay small amounts of grain fresh water and pasture time to a baby goat. Divided by three feedings per day for example. Clean the navel cord.

A general rule of thumb is if a kid lets go of the nipple. For example if the kid weighs 20 pounds it should have two pounds or 32 ounces per day. If it s store bought just be sure it is whole milk. Keep mother doe and kids in a separate shed warm.

Hay is the main source of nutrients for goats in non grazing seasons or all the time if they don t have access to browse. If it s been bottle fed then it will drink from a bottle until 6 8 weeks of age. The umbilical cord should naturally break away from both the newborn and the mother. Caring for newborn kids 1.

A bottle fed baby that stops sucking from the bottle and isn t interested anymore has been fed too much and the amount should be reduced by 1 2 ounces at the next feeding. Leave the baby goat with the mother. Give them a warm and dry space. If a baby goat has been raised by its mother then it will nurse from her until about 6 8 weeks of age.

Up to 3 days of birth keep dam and young ones together for 2 3 days for frequent access to milk. If you feed them to where they are full and lack interest in their bottle then you ve fed them too much.