During our first kidding season, we had 100% mom participation. All the does stepped up and took care of their babies. This season, not so much. It is difficult when a mom rejects a kid. Learn with us what to do if this happens to you!
We had one doe kid triplets. The night she kidded we made sure everything was ok, everyone was dry and she was taking care of them. The next morning, however, I went out to check and one little buckling was on his side and couldn’t stand up. I put him on his feet and he immediately crumpled to the ground.
I immediately took him in and syringe fed him colostrum. He got a few mLs of colostrum every two hours for the first 24 hours after birth. He only weighed about 2 pounds, so he didn’t eat much.
After the first 24 hours, we switched to kid milk replacer. A lot of people recommend whole cow’s milk for bottle fed baby goats, but our vet said that cow milk doesn’t have the requisite fat content for baby goats.
The rule is to feed 3 ounces of milk replacer per pound per day. At a whopping two pounds, Berto only needed 6 ounces per 24 hours. Too much milk can cause scours, so you don’t want to overfeed. Adjust your amounts as they increase in size.
For the first week, we fed Berto overnight also, but eventually switched to a 4 bottle daytime only schedule.
At about 3-4 weeks, a bottle baby can start experimenting with grain and grass hay. They can decrease their milk bottles to three a day once they are eating extra food. At about 6-7 weeks they can go down to two bottles a day and by 8-10 weeks they can go down to one bottle a day. At that point, they should be eating mostly grain and hay.
It can be a challenge to get a baby to take a bottle. Berto got it after a couple of days, but I syringe fed him initially. Make sure not to over “squirt” the syringe because the fluid can actually go into their lungs and cause infection. Once they are nursing from the bottle, they’ll start to really get into it.
Bottle feeding baby goats is time consuming but they tend to form great bonds with their humans!
