How to Raise Baby Goats: 5 of the Best Ways to Follow for Bottle Feeding Goat

If you are raising a herd of goat, you need to determine the proper management of the kid. That way, you can take care of the baby goats successfully. What you need to do is to make sure that the baby goat has proper nutrition, especially for bottle feeding goat. Also, you need to make sure that you give the baby goat the right care and shelter. That way, you can ensure that it grows strong and healthy to become a productive adult later on.

Before revealing how you should care for goats on bottle feed, you need to know what kind of container to use. Also, you need to consider a nipple that’s appropriate to nurse the kid. A lot of pro breeders and experts suggest using the Pritchard Teat nipple. Others also prefer a much thicker version of lamb nipples. You can use both of them on 16 or 20 ounces of water or soda bottle.

But, for those who are on the budget, you can always grab a regular baby bottle for nursing the kids. But, you should take these nipples than the other varieties. You can buy the cheap nipples at your local pet stores.

How to Raise Baby Goats on the Bottle

Here are some of the most efficient ways you can take care of bottle feeding goats:

Consider Keeping Everything Clean

When you bottle feed baby goats, it is crucial that you keep everything as clean as possible. You do not want the bacteria to make your kids sick since their immune system are still developing.

So, make sure that you clean their place to stay now and then. Also, ensure that you wash the nipples and bottles after using them correctly. You do not want to spoil their milk quickly. It will take just a few minutes of your time, so consider doing these steps.

Do Not Overfeed Your Kid

By doing so, you are putting it on higher risks. When they eat without stopping, they will have severe stomach problems later on. It is true, especially that their stomachs are still sensitive. If you feed them when they are full, they will lack interest in consuming the milk in their bottles. So, how much can you feed them? What you have to do is weigh your baby goat. It may be odd for you, but after discovering the issues of overfeeding, I considered weighing my baby goats on a standard weighing scale.

Then, you can come up with the thought of using the kitchen scale too. You may get the type that has a removable dish atop the scale. You have to get your goat and put it into the bowl. Then, you can now weigh it. Furthermore, you need to wash the dish properly.

After knowing the exact weight of your baby goats separately, you will need to convert the amount into ounces. Once you know the answer, you have to figure out the 10 to 12 percent of the ounces you have obtained. Lastly, you have to divide the 10 to 12 percent into four equal feedings. That is the exact amount of what your kids should get.

Consider Milking the Mother Goat

When you want your doe to work with you, you need to milk her instead of using milk replacer. You need to know that the doe’s milk is easier to digest on the baby goat’s stomach. Also, it is the best for her kid. So, if you can milk her, consider this to nurse your child goats.

What you have to do is to consider getting the milk right after the doe gave birth. When mother goat is friendly, then it will be easy for you to milk her. That way, you can also bring them out of their shells for milk extraction.

In Case Your Doe Can’t Produce Milk, Use a Milk Replacer

It is always an excellent idea to obtain a milk replacer beforehand. The reason why you need this is that you will never know if your doe can produce milk unless it has already given birth. It could be a possibility that your mother goat can die giving birth to the kids.

So, the baby goat still needs milk to survive. What better way to do it is to keep a container or a bag of colostrum on hand too. You have to consider getting this within the first two hours of giving birth. Then, every 4 to 6 hours for the first 24 hours. Also, if you have a doe with an excessive amount of colostrums, you can milk her and keep it in the freezer. That is also a great natural option for baby goats to sustain their lives.

Keep the Electrolytes Onhand

Using a milk replacer and overfeeding your kid will probably lead to scours. Hopefully, the case will not get severe. If you are right on time figuring it out, then it shouldn’t get to a point where the goat gets weak. During this time, you need to stop giving the milk replacer. Then, you can start providing electrolytes for the baby goats.

After the scours disappear, the kid can return to normal feedings. But, make sure that you know the main cause of the scours. If it was because of overfeeding, then limit the amount of food you are offering.

Prepare for the Long Nights

A lot of handlers and raisers are not yet ready for these circumstances. During the first night, the baby goat will wake you up for feeding. However, most of you are not willing to keep all night long every single night to feed the baby goats. In fact, it can drive other people nuts. Also, this will be true when you reintroduce your kid to the goat herd because most of the time, other goats will hurt it.

But, needless to say, you will feel like a zombie for days and the rest of the week. If you have an area for bottle feeding goats, then this will never be a problem at all. But, you still need to put this on your to-do list in raising your baby goats the right and the easiest way possible.

Conclusion

Feeding the baby goats in bottles won’t be a problem if you get used to it. But, for first time raisers and handlers, this can be a cause of headaches. You need to be alert all of the time on how you feed the kids. You do not have to make assumptions. As long as you can, you have to research everything so that you can say ahead of the game. Then, make sure that you know all of the symptoms when your kids are weak or overfed. These are such terrible things that may happen to newborn goats.

But, when you are in total doubt, you can always contact your local veterinarian for help. Also, you can share all of the information mentioned above for bottle feeding your goats. That way, you can do everything just right for your baby goats.