Please note the fallowing is how 'I' normally raise my
bottle kids, and this method may not be for everyone.
What to feed?
Goat milk is generally used to feed kids - however, if your
farm is like ours where goat milk is sold, used for making soaps, and feeding
your own family of kids (human) that can leave very little to none at all for
the bottle kids requiring the need of a substitute.
If you are raising on CAE prevention - you will want to pull
kids at birth and let them have no contact with the dam - unless she is tested
negative for several years, or from a herd that is tested negative for several years / generations.
Colostrum should be heat
treated at at least 135' but no more then 140'F for 1 hour. Milk should be pasteurized - heated at 165'
for 15 seconds.
If goat milk is not available, cows milk is my next
choice. I prefer raw milk from a tested
dairy (tested for John's disease ). My
next choice is whole milk from the grocery store. You should not use skim, or 2% milk as
these contain less fat. The fat in the
milk is what helps the kids to break it down and be more digestible. When feeding cow milk it is not necessary to
add things to the milk - I've heard, eggs, sweetened condensed milk, molasses, and more. Milk milk milk - it's the best thing for your
kid. Please do not stuff all this
unnecessary goop into their diet.
I do not recommend powder milk replacers, as kids often do
poorly on it. If you are using a powder
replacer please carefully read over your label and use as directed. Many of these are not suitable for kids under
6 weeks of age. Always always pick
something made specifically just for goats, NOT sheep and goats. If you can, mix the formula half and half
with real milk. Also note that below I feed free choice - however when using a powdered milk substitute you should only feed according to the label.
The first feeding -
I usually wait around 1 but no more then 3 hours after birth
before I give kids their first feeding.
Or whenever they start mouthing around looking for 'mom' or crying. Trying to shove food down the mouth of a kid who just isn't hungry yet usually just ends in kids screaming and wasted colostrum as it runs down the side of their mouth, plus a messier you.
Some kids are born ready to eat and usually the easiest to
feed. While other may require a little
more patients. For trouble kids who
don't want to take a bottle - Stick the
nipple into there mouth - try gently squeezing the sides of the nipple to stimulate a sucking
motion and allowing milk to flow out of the nipple. Making a sucking nosies - or
feeding another kid in front of them may also helps things to 'click.' Also try rubbing their rump - think of how
the kids would be nursing on mom - she would be licking any part of them she
could reach, a rubbing motion can help to get things going.
The first 12 hours are the most crucial, goat kids are born
with no immune system, they carry nothing over from their dams. They will absorb immunities from the
colostrum. The quality of the colostrum they receive in the first 12 hours will
greatly effect the type and strength of their immune system for the rest of their
life.
To see more info on colostrum check out my other post -
'Colostrum'.
After 12 hours their stomachs are starting to change and
develop more, less and less of the antibodies are being absorbed, this is when
it's time to switch to milk.
Feeding schedule -
Within the first 12 hours I like my standard kids to eat at
least 12 oz of colostrum, ideally 16oz, but if they hit 20oz I call it enough
and start the milk early. If on the
other hand you have a slower eating kid - continue to feed colostrum throughout
the first 24 hours or until the minimum amount is reached.
From birth - after the first feeding - I offer kids a bottle
anywhere from every 2 to 4 hours, depending on the kids. Each bottle is heated to about 100' - do not heat the milk in the microwave ! Place the bottle in a bowl of very hot water and let it sit 5-10 minutes, gently shake the bottle and check the temperature. Amount wise - I let them eat as much as they want -
comfortably without stuffing themselves - you can usually tell when they are trying too hard to eat more.
In general anywhere from 3 to 8 oz a feeding depending on the kid/size. They are on this feeding schedule while they
are on colostrum or the first 12 hours - which ever comes LAST.
Day 2 -
Technically day 2 starts at less then 24 hours old. After they have had their colostrum I feed
them 5 times stretched over the next 24 hours. - about 5 hours apart. Usually this schedule only last 24 hours or 5 feedings, and
they are ready for 'Day 3' feeding schedule.
However, if you have premie or smaller sized kids, they may need to stay
at this schedule for a few days. If kids
are not eating much - less then 4-6 oz a feeding, or you try to switch to less feedings but
they are crying in-between feedings, stick with a feeding every 4-5 hours for a
few more days, then try day 3 again.
This is when I start switching to feeding milk - sometimes there can be a big difference between colostrum
and milk consistency - if you're like me and feed the dams colostrum, but switching to cow
milk - mix the cow milk and the colostrum half and half for a few feeds, then
1/4 to 3/4 for a few more, and then full cow milk. Switching the quality/type of milk too
quickly at a young age is likely to cause scours and sick kids.
If however you are feeding the does milk to her kids, judge for yourself the consistency. Some does give a ton and kids won't eat it all - freeze some for next kidding up to a year or more. While other does will give barely enough (first fresheners always give less). If you find kids are ready for milk with colostrum left over use the does 3rd, 4th or later milking to mix half and half with the colostrum until they are switched over. Don't be alarmed if you happen to taste her
milk and find it revolting, the kids will still love it, and it usually takes
does a few weeks after freshening for their milk to taste good.
Day 3 -
This is when things start to get easier. At day 3 my kids go on a 4 a day feed
schedule - once every 6 hours. They will
stay on 4 feedings a day until at least 2 weeks of age, but no more then 4
weeks.
Day 4 - this is when I start to incorporate meds into the
milk. I use a cocci preventative med
that is added to the milk on a daily bases.
Because I feed milk free choice and not at a fixed amount, I also add baking
soda to the milk starting here, at the rate of 2 TBS per gallon of milk. Even if you do not feed milk free choice I
would still recommended added baking soda to the milk to help prevent bloat and
entero in kids. I also like to add in
some powder probiotics to the milk, and even occasionally milk with yogurt for older
kids. Up until now kids are fed milk at
about 100', here is where I start to ever so slowly drop the temperature down
to about 80' by around 2 weeks of age.
As kids get older, depending on the weather I may drop the temp again so
eventually milk can be taking from the fridge and fed cold - but I only do this
in the summer and for kids that are a few months old - and again, temp changes in milk should be done slowly.
If you are not feeding milk free choice, I would encourage
you to slowly bring kids up until they are eating at least 2 quarts a day - or
a 20oz bottle 3 times a day(remember, this is for standard size kids). Usually around a month of age they are taking
this amount. I would keep them on 2
quarts a day until weaning. When eating free choice, kids will consume about 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 quarts a day.
When kids hit 2-4 weeks of age, I cut them down to 3 feedings a day - about every 8 hours. They stay on this schedule until they are weaned. At 2 weeks of age I also start offering free choice alfalfa hay as well, or as soon as they show an interested in nibbling all of their surroundings. I do not feed kids grain until about 1 month before I want to wean them, or their first fall/winter (about October).
So in overview -
First 12 hours - 12 to 20 oz colostrum (ideally 16oz) divided into small feedings every 2-4 hours
Day 2 - 5 feedings - about 5 hours apart - as much as they will comfortably eat
Day 3 - Move to 4 feedings a day - once every 6 hours
Day 4 - Start Cocci meds (if using), Baking soda and probiotics.
2-4 weeks - move to 3 feedings a day, every 8 hours, start on alfalfa.
4-6 weeks - continue increasing milk - as much as they will eat, or three 20oz bottles day until weaned.
How long until weaning?
When you wean is kinda up to you, everyone does it differently. I would never wean a kid before 12 weeks, I have seen kids that do fine on that - however, for a keeper kid in my herd to be raised for dairy - I would never wean this early either. I am a firm believer in feeding milk. I have not seen anything else grow kids out as well as milk, sure they will grow without it, but not as fast, not as full, and not as healthy.
When you are ready to wean there are different ways to do it- simply decrease the amount they are eating each feeding slowly until it's nothing at all. Adding water to their milk, so it becomes more and more water and less and less milk. Drop a feeding once a week, or even cold turkey. I would not recommend just stop feeding milk all at once unless your kids are over 3-4 months of age and started on grain / hay well. Because I feed free choice anywhere from 5 to 8 months of age, or 80+ lbs kids generally wean themselves. However, be very wary of a younger kid 'weaning themselves' as this could be a sign of cocci.
Lambar training
Somewhere between day 2 and the first week of age - or as soon as they are taking the bottle themselves- I start
introducing the lambar. Kids are taught
/ trained to during from a nipple in the side of a bucket that has a straw down
into the milk. Lambars are kept full
and in the kid pens 24/7 so they always have access to milk. They are checked and re-filled 2-3 times a
day. Some kids are slow, and I don't see
them snacking on the bar unless it's feeding time - ie the lambars are being
re-filled. For this reason I re-fill
them 3 times a day, at the same times ever day to insure kids don't get to
hungry between meals - even though there
is still milk in the bucket.
I use lambar nipples for my kids as they will all be
eventually on the lambar bucket. It
can be very hard to switch types of nipples once your kids get started on
one. Lambar nipples will fit a wide
assortment of bottles - plastic watter bottles, soda bottles. Glass beer or
wine bottles - I use these the most, and also vintage glass soda bottles. They will even fit just inside a larger top
bottle - like on a juice or milk jug. My
favorite for when traveling with kids is the single serving milk bottle available at most grocery stores and gas stations - lambar
nipples fit right into the top.
Whatever nipple you go with - I also like to stick a piece of rubber
band down the side of the nipple - so it ends up stuck between the nipple and
the bottle - this allows for air to escape while the kids are gulping it down.
Also Vicki McGaugh has shared how she raises kids from birth to kidding in the south in this link -
http://www.dairygoatinfo.com
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