Bottle Feeding Goat Kids

Feeding baby goats here at Tailspin Farms...Every two hours...

How to Bottle Feed Goat Kids

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When baby goats are first born, it is very important that they get their colostrum. Colostrum is the first thick yellowish milk that comes out of the mammary glands after giving birth. It is high in antibodies that provide protection from disease, and help the goat kid develop its immune system. It is critically important for survival.
We weigh each baby goat shortly after they’re born. We weigh them each week to make sure the baby is gaining enough weight.
I recommend raw goat milk if you can get it, especially if it is mom’s own milk. We freeze milk from our dairy goats to use for our bottle babies. We have used powdered kid milk replacer in the past. That was very costly. A friend uses this milk recipe with great success.

Goats Milk Recipe for Bottle Kids

• 1 Gallon Whole Milk
• 1 Cup Whole Buttermilk
  
• 12 oz. Can Evaporated Milk
  
• Pour off 2 1/2 cups of the whole milk and add 1 cup whole buttermilk and 12 oz. can of evaporated milk to the whole milk. 
  

Bottles that we use
Kids can be fed using regular 9 oz. baby bottles from the dollar store. We use the nipples that come with the bottles. As the kids get older I use a nipple for human babies 6+ months. Our kids have done very well with human baby bottles and nipples. Some people use the lamb nipples and put them on soda bottles. I personally did not have good luck with them. Some of our friends like and use them. ​

Feeding Schedule for Goat Kids
This is the question everyone asks. There are so many charts out there, but here are ours.  

• Day 1 - 3: 5 to 6 times a day, up to 2 oz. per feeding (Colostrum only)
• Day 4-7: 4 times a day, up to 4 oz. per feeding
• Day 8-42: 3 times a day, up to 12 oz. per feeding
• Day 43-56: Twice a day, up to 16 oz. per feeding
• Day 56+ Once or twice a day, up to 8 oz. per feeding.

Notice that I say “up to number of oz. per feeding”. Because some kids will adjust quickly to the bottle while others don’t. We have had 5 day old kids who drink a whole 4 oz. then some kids struggle to finish 2.5 oz. The larger amount is the limit of milk a kid of that age should have per day. 10 oz. of colostrum the first 3 days, 16 oz. milk the first 4-7 days, 24 oz. until six weeks old. DO NOT OVERFEED KIDS.

Notice that around 6 weeks of age we start cutting back the amount of milk. This mimics natural weaning. Start by cutting the noon bottle in half. By 7 weeks take away the noon bottle. I continue reducing bottles and then gradually removing them until the kids are getting no milk at 12 weeks of age.
The first bottles in the morning we add a pinch of baking soda to each bottle. This helps with blot. Only add it to morning bottles.
Baby goats act like they are hungry all the time. They will nibble on everything.
We keep our bottle kids in with the other kids and mom's. This way they learn how to start eating feed and hay. They usually start by experimenting with the hay, nibbling on it. Around 3 to 4 weeks they start on the grain. We have a creep feeder for the kids.

You can visit our YouTube Channel to see some of our goats.

Some Additional Post You Might Find Helpful:

• ​Feeding Goats Crystalyx Goat-lyx 
• First Aid Kit For Goats 

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Blessings,
Margarita & Stace