What to feed an orphaned baby goat

Hand-Raising an Orphan Goat | Pets on Mom.com

By Michelle A. Rivera

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The right supplies and the right attitude are all you need to hand-raise a healthy orphaned goat. This is not all that different from raising orphaned puppies and kittens. Mammals share basic needs that must be met. Meet those needs, and you'll reach your goal.

Orphans

Baby and pygmy goats become orphaned for a variety of reasons. A pregnant goat may deliver a litter of triplets and will need help because she can't nourish all three. A baby goat may become injured and need special care, such as Snowflake from Florida who was facing euthanasia because her father accidentally kicked her and broke her femur. When the young daughter of the farmer who had the goats couldn't bear the idea of the baby goat being put down, she convinced her dad to bring "Flakes" to a local animal rescue that normally only takes in dogs and cats.

Nutrition

The University of Maryland recommends baby goats get their fair share of colostrum -- a high-calorie, nutritional product lactating mothers produce -- during the first 24 hours of life. If for some reason baby goats have not been able to feed from their mothers in those critical hours, they will need colostrum replacement products available at farm and feed supply stores. At three days old, baby goats are bottle-fed four times a day with goats' milk or suitable replacement product. When baby goats are about ten days old, they are offered palatable goat feed such as goat pellets soaked in milk, grass and hay. As with all animals, goats should always be provided fresh drinking water.

Feeding

Patty Palmer runs the rescue organization where Flakes was brought, but she raised Flakes at her home. Palmer learned raising the specifics of raising little goats as she brought up Flakes. In the beginning, when Flakes was only two weeks old, she bottle-fed Flakes every two hours, then every four hours. Flakes gradually began grazing for grass but still enjoyed bottled goat milk from time to time. Flakes gained weight according to schedule, weighing about 30 pounds when she reached ten weeks. When her femur was fully healed, she was adopted out to a loving family where she could live on a farm with other goats. Baby goats may also require vitamins, supplements and minerals to thrive.

Socializing

Palmer says that socializing Flakes was a big problem. The baby goat seemed to think she was a dog because she insisted on sleeping on the bed with Palmer and, in general, fitted herself into the pack of resident dogs; eating with and playing with them. Palmer advises against treating a baby goat like a pet unless she will live in the home like a dog. Also Flakes was not reliably housebroken, and began to eat the drywall in the house. You may consider a solid, outdoor shelter for your goat if you plan to settle her in a farm someday.

References

University Of Maryland Extension: Raising Lambs and Kids Artificially
Goat Wisdom: Feeding
Goat Link: Feeding Baby Bottle Goats
Buttercup Soaps: Goats 101
North Carolina State Extension Office: Nutrition of Meat Goats
Baby Goat Farm: Feeding Your Goat Herd
Fiasco Farm: Feeding Goats

Resources

Palm Beach Post: Facing Death, Now Pygmy Goat is Living Large as Animal Rescue Mascot

Photo Credits

Writer Bio

Michelle A. Rivera is the author of many books and articles. She attended the University of Missouri Animal Cruelty School and is certified with the Florida Animal Control Association. She is the executive director of her own nonprofit, Animals 101, Inc. Rivera is an animal-assisted therapist, humane educator, former shelter manager, rescue volunteer coordinator, dog trainer and veterinary technician.

What To Feed An Orphaned Baby Goat?

There are many situations in which you, as a goat farmer, homesteader or backyard hobbyist, may need to take care of an orphaned baby goat. Of course the most obvious would be a situation in which the mother goat has died leaving a baby to be cared for, but it’s not always sad.

Other situations that might find you bottle feeding a baby goat include the purchase of baby goats from a dairy farm that separates babies from mothers in order to maximize milking. Additionally, if one of your does has three babies (as opposed to the usual two) you may need to take one baby and bottle raise it.

In this article, we present the basics in feeding an orphaned baby goat. Read on to learn more on what to feed an orphaned baby goat.

What You'll Learn Today

What Should You Feed An Orphaned Baby Goat?
Can You Give The Kid To A Doe To Raise?
- Bottle-fed Vs. Mother-Raised Baby Goats
What Kind Of Bottle Do You Need?
What If The Kid Won’t Accept The Bottle?
Protect Your Baby Goats From Disease
When Should Baby Goat Start Eating Regular Food?
Don’t Let Your Orphaned Baby Goat Get Too Lonely
Frequently Asked Questions

What Should You Feed An Orphaned Baby Goat?

The most obvious thing to feed a baby goat is goats’ milk. If you have a doe in milk, you can simply milk her, put the milk in a nursing bottle and give it to the baby goat.

If you don’t happen to have a doe in milk, you can purchase commercial goat kids starter milk from your local feed store. If they don’t happen to have this specific product, ask for lamb or calf milk replacer.

You’ll need to have enough milk or formula on hand to provide the kid with about 5 ounces per pound of bodyweight every day.

Can You Give The Kid To A Doe To Raise?

You might think that you could just give the baby goat to a doe in milk, but this doesn’t always work. Very often, does will reject babies that are not their own.

If you are going to try to have a doe adopt an orphaned baby, it’s important to make sure that the orphaned baby doesn’t smell like its natural mother.

If the baby has never nursed from its natural mother, it will not smell like her. If it has already nursed, give time for the baby’s last meal to make its way through its system before introducing it to a potential adoptive mother.

If you happen to have a doe who has lost her baby, she’ll be much more likely to accept an orphaned baby. A doe with only one baby will probably accept an orphan. One with two babies probably will not accept an orphan and probably could not raise an orphan.

No matter what the situation, keep a close eye on the doe and the orphaned baby until you’re absolutely certain that she will take care of the baby and will not harm (head butting is a typical issue) or kill it.

Bottle-fed Vs. Mother-Raised Baby Goats

https://youtu.be/f8pC5xx-Ys8Video can’t be loaded because JavaScript is disabled: Bottlefed vs. Mother-Raised baby goats: Which is BEST? (https://youtu.be/f8pC5xx-Ys8)

What Kind Of Bottle Do You Need?

Some people just use regular baby bottles, but it’s really better if you purchase specialized bottles and nipples when you buy your formula at the feed store. Nipples made for this purpose are shaped more like a goat’s teat than those that are intended for use by human baby.

What If The Kid Won’t Accept The Bottle?

It is common for an orphaned kid to reject the bottle for the first day or two. It just takes time for them to get used to it. It helps if you can establish a regular feeding schedule and always handle the kid in the same way every time.

Here’s how to get a baby goat to take a bottle:

At first, you’ll probably need to hold the kid with one arm and reach around to poke a thumb or finger in the corner of its mouth to make it open its mouth.
When it does, you can pop the nipple in and squeeze a few drops of milk or formula into its mouth so it will get the idea.
Be sure to hold the bottle up so that gravity helps the milk flow into the kid’s mouth, this position also simulates the position that the kid would normally have drinking from its mother’s udder.
With a regular schedule and consistent handling, your baby goat should start taking the bottle easily after a few days.
When this happens, you may not need to hold the baby anymore while feeding. You should simply be able to hold the bottle up and present it for the baby to take.

TIP: Make certain that the milk or formula is not too hot or too cold. Just as you would with a human baby, test the temperature of the milk on your wrist or the inside of your elbow before presenting it to the baby.

It’s important to continue handling the kid kindly every time you deal with it so that it will become a friendly, outgoing, cooperative goat. Even so, if you have lots of kids to feed, you may wish to set up a stand to hold the bottle so that the baby can drink on its own once it’s gotten started.

Protect Your Baby Goats From Disease

If your baby goat is a true orphan and has never had a chance to nurse from its mother, you will need to start your feeding regimen with a colostrum replacer. Colostrum, or first milk, is filled with calories, protein and the benefit of the mother’s immune system.

A baby goat that has not had a first meal of colostrum needs to have a meal of colostrum replacer as soon as possible. You can pick this up at your local feed store.

You should also keep orphaned baby goats separate from other livestock. This helps prevent the transmission of disease (don’t forget to drench it as well), and helps keep them safe from being harmed accidentally or on purpose.

When Should Baby Goat Start Eating Regular Food?

It’s always a good idea to have fresh hay around so that the babies can start nibbling on it if/when they decide they want to. Naturally, ample fresh water is also a must.

After a couple of weeks of bottle feeding, you may also purposely begin introducing some fresh greens. After three or four weeks, begin introducing pelleted goat feed soaked in the milk or formula that the babies are used to.

Don’t Let Your Orphaned Baby Goat Get Too Lonely

Remember that goats are very social animals. They depend on having each other for company. If you’re raising a single, orphaned baby goat, you’ll need to devote yourself to spending quite a bit of quality time with it or it may become depressed. This can have very negative impact on its health.

The more time you spend with your baby goat, the better behaved and more sociable it will be. If you’re raising a little doe, this will really pay off when it comes time to start milking.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is the very best choice in milk for a baby goat?

If you can get it, goats’ milk is the very best choice. It is available fresh, pasteurized, canned and powdered. Always look for whole milk. For fresh milk, you may need to go to a farm. Health food stores may have fresh or pasteurized goat milk. Powdered and canned goats’ milk can often be found in standard grocery stores and places like Wal-Mart.

2. Is it alright to give a baby goat powdered goats’ milk?

It’s not the best choice, but if it’s your only choice, it will do. Whole cows’ milk is actually better, though.

3. Can you give a baby goat a milk replacer product?

Yes, there are many good milk replacer products on the market. Some are specifically made for goats. Some are specifically made for calves. Baby goats do well on either, and studies show that they are very adaptable to all available nutrition.

4. When do you wean a bottle fed baby goat?

It’s a good idea to get the baby eating on its own and independent between the ages of six and eight weeks. Natural weaning by the mother can take up to twelve weeks, but when you are hand feeding a kid, it’s more desirable to transition to independent feeding earlier.

5. Should you hold a baby goat while giving it a bottle?

Tempting as it is, this is not a good idea. A baby goat should always be upright when given a bottle to prevent aspirating. If the baby is not able to stand, wrap it cozily and prop it up to drink from a bottle. If it is able to stand, allow it to stand just as it would if nursing from its mother. It is not a good idea to teach a goat (or any hoofed animal) to climb in your lap to cuddle. It’s cute when they are small, but it can be disastrous for adult animals – even pygmy varieties.

How to feed a goat to have more milk - Tips and Features

It is believed that goats are the most unpretentious animals in the household. This is partly true, however, even if your goat strives to eat the entrance mat, this does not mean that it is worth feeding it to them.

If you want a goat to give more milk, you should follow a certain diet. In this article, we will talk about the general principles of feeding goats and types of feed, as well as compose a menu.

Feed types and feeding principles for goats

Nutrition plays an important role in the quantity and quality of milk production. It should be varied, complete and balanced. The diet varies depending on the time of year and the stage of pregnancy, but at all stages the food should be as saturated as possible with useful substances, otherwise it may affect not only the amount of milk, but also the health of the goat.

The routine and basic principles of feeding goats are as follows:

you need to feed 3-4 times a day, at regular intervals;
the first feeding - at 6-7 am, the last - at 18-19 pm;
roughage is given in the morning, and everything that is easily digested - in the evening;
Dairy goats require more feed than dry goats, growing goats require more than adults of the same weight, large goats require more than small goats;
lactating goats that give more milk than others need an increased portion of feed;
you need to drink three times a day, the goat should drink about 12 liters of water per day;
The water must be at room temperature (stall temperature), otherwise the animal may catch a cold.

All feeds are divided into four categories: juicy, coarse, concentrates and additives. Each category is important, they are only mixed in different proportions at different times of the year. It is important that the goat receives all types of food every day: if today you feed your goat only juicy food, tomorrow only coarse food, and the day after tomorrow only concentrate, it will not lead to anything good.

Now let's talk about each type of food separately.

Succulent feed

Goats need succulent feed all year round - excluding it from the diet can lead to a loss of up to 40% of milk yield. In summer, a goat can eat about 4 kg of succulent feed (milk up to 9 kg), in winter - about 2 kg.

Succulent fodder means:

Grass. In the summer, when free-range, the goat chooses the most suitable grass for her, but it is best to choose a pasture next to a pond.
Silo - a replacement for grass in the winter season. Properly harvested silage is very useful and high in calories, it can be stored for up to two years. In no case should you give moldy silage - the animal will get sick.
Leaves of any vegetables, including potatoes. It must be crushed (but not too much) and add one gram of chalk for every kilogram of tops (to reduce the level of acidity).
Vegetables, no more than 4 kg per day. They give Jerusalem artichoke, cucumbers, turnips, pumpkins, rutabaga, fodder and sugar beets, table and fodder carrots, zucchini, any cabbage, and so on. Potatoes should not be given more than 500 g per day. Don't give onions. Vegetables need to be cut or chopped into slices so that they do not get stuck in the throat. The dirt is washed off, the rotten parts are cut off and thrown away.
Fruits such as apples and pears. Often goats are fed carrion. Apples and pears need to be cut, pits removed from peaches and apricots.

Succulent food is important both in winter and summer. They are given raw (only potatoes need to be boiled), washed peelings are also suitable. Too much succulent food can lead to diarrhea.

Dry food

Dry or roughage is understood to mean straw and hay, branches of deciduous and coniferous trees. They contain fiber and vitamins needed by ruminants.

Some farmers feed roughage only in winter, but it is better to introduce it into the diet in the summer too. In free-range, the goat independently eats branches of small trees and shrubs.

In winter, roughage accounts for 3-5 kg per animal. On average, one goat spends 300 kg of hay and 500 kg of brooms during the winter. Brooms can be replaced with 400 kg of fallen autumn leaves.

Winter harvesting is best done in summer. It is best to mow hay in the flowering phase, when fresh grass is filled with vitamins as much as possible. Goats are unpretentious to hay - they like forest hay, with many twigs, dry flowers. Legume grass hay is considered the most nutritious - if you give it, the rate of grain feed can be reduced by 25-30%. Hay must be thoroughly dried, laid in sheaves.

The branches are dried separately - under a canopy, in brooms. Suitable poplar, linden, willow, shoots of apple and pear, hazel, oak, Russian maple, mountain ash. In winter, you can cut pine and spruce branches, which contain a lot of vitamin C. The length of the branch should be about 60 cm, thickness - up to 1 cm, start thickness - up to 12 cm.

You need to be careful with birch - it is given in limited quantities. An overabundance of birch, especially with kidneys, can lead to kidney problems in goats.

Ready concentrates

Concentrated feeds are needed to ensure that the goat receives a sufficient amount of protein with food. Concentrated nutrition includes:

Grain. Oats contribute to the masculine strength of goats and activate the growth of goats. Barley at any age accelerates weight gain. They also provide wheat. For males, grain is given mixed with a small amount of corn. In addition to all of the above, legumes (peas, soybeans, lentils, beans, beans, etc. ) are introduced.
Sunflower cake after the first extraction of vegetable oil. Soybean cake is considered especially useful: its biological value is equal to animal protein; it retains the nutrients and vitamins found in the seeds themselves. This also includes meal, but its shelf life is much shorter than that of cake.
Bran - ground shell of processed grain. Used to improve the functioning of the digestive tract, contains vitamins and minerals.
Compound feed - introduced into the diet only together with bran. It has a high nutritional value, it is loose, granulated or in a briquette.

All concentrates are soaked in boiling water for 12 minutes before serving to goats: meal and cake at a concentration of 1 part of feed to 3 parts of water, bran and compound feed - in any proportions.

Supplements

With a balanced diet, there is no need to purchase supplements separately. Usually, animals are simply put in a stall with a piece of solo slime at the rate of up to 8 g / day per goat. Chalk is given to goats in the second half of pregnancy - up to 10 g / day, and to young kids - up to 7 g / day. If good chalk is not found, it can be replaced with bone meal.

The most attentive owners buy Premix for their goats - a complex of vitamins and microelements, which is added to the grain mixture. Premix Zinka, Zdravur Goat is suitable for dairy goats.

Menu for goats

In this article, we have listed quite a few possible components of a goat's diet. So that you do not get confused and better understand how to feed a goat so that it gives more milk, we have compiled a whole menu for the summer and winter.

We must mention separately that the nutrition of goats during pregnancy is also different - but we will talk about this another time. Stay with us!

And if the article was useful to you, we will be happy to like and comment ❤️

How to feed a goat to give more milk

Breeding goats in 2022 is only gaining momentum. On the forums, beginners and experienced goat breeders share advice on which breed is better - Saanen or Nubian, how to feed a goat at home. Indeed, almost half of the productivity of the MRS depends on the diet. We'll talk about him today.

What can you feed a goat?

Succulents

This category includes root crops (carrots, beets, Jerusalem artichoke, boiled potatoes), pumpkin, zucchini, watermelons, vegetable tops, fruits. Juicy food, especially in summer and autumn, is a valuable source of vitamins, fiber and minerals. A goat is given 2 kg of this feed per day.

Roughage

Hay, straw and twig brooms are popular, cheap forages. Roughage is valued as a source of fiber necessary for the digestion of ruminants. A goat is fed up to 2 kg of roughage per day. From the point of view of nutritional value, meadow, legume-grass, cereal hay harvested in the phase of flower budding is considered ideal. Straw is more often used wheat or barley, but even corn stalks, previously crushed and steamed, goats gnaw well in winter.

Branch brooms are a valuable nutritional supplement in the diet of a dairy goat. The best raw material is fruit trees after spring pruning. With non-fruit fit maple, willow, birch, aspen, linden. The branches are cut into twigs of 60 cm each, tied with twine into brooms, hung down with leaves in a shady place in a draft.

Concentrated feed

is one of the most expensive feeds. Without grits of cereals, soybean meal, sunflower meal, it is difficult to achieve a high milk yield. But the main thing is not to overfeed the animal. Daily Value compound feed for goats or derti - up to 1 kg. If you feed more, then the animal will quickly get fat, it will be bad to come to the hunt.

If you have your own grain base, then a home-made mixture of crushed corn, wheat, barley will do. Some owners brew chopped grains with boiling water, leave to infuse for 12 hours. This preparation increases the digestibility of the grain. The introduction of cake or meal into the diet has an immediate positive effect on the level of goat milk production. A small handful of protein concentrate is poured with boiling water, leaving it to swell.

Silage

This type of food is rarely used in home gardens for feeding goats. Although it is easy to prepare, it is cheap. It is very nutritious and keeps well.

Goat silage is prepared from milky corn, beet tops, cabbage leaves, sunflower, amaranth. To slightly reduce the acidity of the finished product, the green mass is dried up to 70% before being placed in silo pits or big bags. To do this, dry in a draft, add straw, hay to the wet mass. If you want to get the highest quality product, then use special preparations for ensiling, preservatives based on a cocktail of microorganisms, organic acids.

In winter, goats are given up to 4 kg of silage. Therefore, in the summer, green mass is laid at the rate of 8 centners per 1 head.

What should not be fed to goats? peroxide silo. If the food has a sour, unpleasant smell, then it is better not to give it. Otherwise, the milk will also turn out with sourness and a silage smell, it will be poorly fermented with starter cultures.

Other types of food

Juicy, coarse and concentrated food is not enough. A high-yielding goat needs sources of vitamins and minerals. Their source is special BMVD, salt slimes or melasny blocks. Animals with interest eat such supplements. A salt lick or a block of molasses is constantly near the feeder. Young animals are taught to such additives from 3 months.

Feeding goats in winter

In winter, the basis of the diet of dairy goats, replacement goats, young animals is hay, straw, concentrated feed. For 1 head, it is necessary to prepare up to 500 kg of hay for the period of stall keeping (from October to the end of April). One straw and hay will quickly get tired of the animals. You can diversify the diet with brooms from twigs. They will also help to improve digestion with diarrhea in young animals (willow, alder, poplar). If possible, then feed the animals with sprigs of pine, spruce. Coniferous trees are an excellent source of vitamins and minerals.

Do not forget about end feeds, which are given up to 1 kg per day. Fresh carrots, cabbage, beets, boiled potatoes will serve as a good help. If you keep not only adult animals, but also young animals, then AVA ZDOROVA MPS Start - starter granulated feed for goats from 0 to 3 months and AVA ZDOROVA MPS Grover - grower granulated feed for goats from 3 to 6 months will come in handy. A complete kibble feed will help grow a strong goat, wean early at 10 weeks, prepare the digestive system for eating roughage. High protein content, balanced composition will allow you to achieve stable weight gain even during the stall period in the cold season.

Feeding goats in the summer

Feeding dairy goats is much easier in the warm season when pasture is available. Here, the animals eat plenty of green fodder, get exercise and a portion of vitamin D. On average, a goat eats 4 kg of grass per day while grazing. But for a high-milk animal, it is necessary to receive a portion of concentrates at least 2 times a day. Feeding time is different for each farmer. Some give grain in the morning before pasture and in the evening before going to bed. Others every time they are milked.

Feeding 1.5 kg of bean hay at bedtime has a good effect on the milk production of a goat. Dried clover, alfalfa, sainfoin are an excellent source of protein. In summer, goats are fed chopped vegetables, fruits from the garden. They especially like apples and pears.

Animals willingly eat the young shoots of cherry, poplar, willow, aspen, mountain ash trees. Goats also eat heather herbs, nettles in any form, fireweed.

Dairy diet example

The amount of feed is always calculated taking into account the productivity of the animal, its lactation and age. For example, if we want a goat to give 4-5 liters of milk per day, she needs to provide a diet of four feed units - this is about 4 kg of oats in a different set of feeds. Plus, it is necessary for the goat to drink 1.4 liters of water per 1 liter of milk (excluding life support).

There are ready-made diet recipes for highly productive goats, goats of the first or second half of pregnancy.

Animal group	Types of feed
Animal group	Compound feed	Root vegetables	Roughage
Highly productive goats	0.4	2	3.5
Goats that produce less than 2 liters of milk per day	0.3	1.5	3.7
Goats of the first half of pregnancy	0.25	-	2.4
Cosi of the second half of pregnancy	0.5	0. 5	2

In addition to a complete, balanced diet, a goat needs constant access to water. When dehydrated, the most productive animal will not please with a good milk yield.

What not to feed a goat

Although the animal seems to be almost omnivorous and unpretentious, do not forget that certain foods can distort the taste of milk, lead to poisoning and death. Livestock specialists and veterinarians remind that it is strictly forbidden to give: