Taking on the task of bottle feeding goat kids can be a scary endeavor. Advice on the internet is conflicting, and it seems like a lot of work. Once you take the plunge and have a bottle baby, you’ll see it’s surprisingly easy and enjoyable.
Schedule
We’ve had great success with this feeding schedule:
0-1 Days: 2-4oz, 6 times/day
2-14 Days: 6-8oz, 4 times/day
2-4 Weeks: 10-12oz, 3 times/day
4-8 Weeks: 16oz, 2 times/day
That first day of bottle feeding is a little rough, as feeding 6 times in a day requires one feeding in the middle of the night. After that, though, the kids can last overnight. So then the workload really isn’t bed. For the 2-14 days interval, we feed as soon as we get up and right before we go to bed, plus 2 mid-day feedings. Once they’re down to 3 times/day, we start to slowly lengthen the time they go between feedings overnight. The morning feeding becomes part of our morning routine, and the evening feeding happens at sunset when we lock up our poultry.
One tip to make feeding easier is have the kids as close as possible in those early days when they need frequent feedings. We had a kidding pen in the garage for when the goats gave birth, and we kept the bottle babies in that pen for a few days afterward.
This feeding schedule is a guideline. Most goats want to drink as much milk as you’ll give them, so the important note is don’t overfeed. Occasionally we’ve had a goat that doesn’t want to drink all the milk offered. That’s okay, but monitor to confirm that goat isn’t sick.
Bottles
We use baby bottles. They’re easy to get, cheap, and work great. I went to the store and bought the cheapest 9oz bottle multipack there. I took the bottles home, and used scissors to cut an X on the nipple, making a larger opening. When the kid needs more than 9oz, I simply use more than one bottle. For the 2-4 week period, I’ll have 2 kids split 3 bottles.
Milk
If you have goat milk to feed the kid, of course that’ll work. If you don’t have goat milk, or you want to keep the goat milk for yourself, whole cow milk from the grocery store is fine. We’ve used that several times with no problems.
Weaning
Once the goat kid is a few days old, he or she should have access to water and hay. Grain and minerals are good, too. We’ve found that chopped hay works well for these little guys. We mix chopped hay with some grain in a bucket, and the kids will often start munching on that from an early age.
As the goat gets closer to 8 weeks, which is the minimum age for weaning, you should see him or her foraging more. From the very beginning of a bottle baby’s life we always have the kid “help” us with farm work. The kids are free from their pens and follow us around as we work. This gives them ample opportunity to sample weeds and other delicacies, developing their rumens and preparing them to be weaned. It also provides us much enjoyment as we get to watch their goat kid antics!
At 8 weeks you can stop offering bottles. You should see the goat kid eating other food at that point. You can also continue to offer bottle(s) for a longer period of time. Offering milk for longer may lead to faster growth, and will help to continue bonding the goat to you.
In Conclusion
Bottle feeding goat kids is a farm task we enjoy. It uses simple, inexpensive tools, it’s easy, and it gives us time interacting with the animals. We have found it really bonds the goats to humans, and in the goat’s eyes we are part of the herd. Part of that is the feeding process, but part of it is also having the goat with us whenever we’re working outside.
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