How To Care for and Feed Baby Goats

Baby goats, or kids, require extra care just like any baby, and their owner should provide it if they wish to have a healthy, productive herd. These young goats will need colostrum, milk, water, hay, grain, health care, shelter, vaccinations, hoof trimming and tattooing. Following a schedule is important when goat owners are providing these needs required by the baby goats. Prospective goat owners, new goat owners and even experienced goat owners may find the following schedule helpful when raising baby goats.

1. From birth to day 2, the baby goats must nurse their mother, or doe, in order to receive the vitally important colostrum. Colostrum is available from the nursing doe when the baby goat is born and remains available for the following 24 hours, after which milk will be produced by the nursing doe. Colostrum is low in fat and high in carbohydrates, protein, nutrients and antibodies. During this time, the goat owner should dip the newborn goat's umbilical cord in 7% iodine to prevent infection. The newborn goats and their mother, or nursing doe, should also be provided with a shelter that protects them from weather and predators. The goats will remain in the shelter until week 2.

2. From day 2 through week 1, the baby goats will be dehorned, vaccinated with Probios and will usually begin eating grain with its mother. Dehorning can occur as soon as the goat owner feels the beginning of the horns, called nubs, when rubbing the top of the baby goat's head. The baby goat will receive a vaccination with Probios during this time also, to jumpstart its digestive system. Probios adds beneficial bacteria to the young goat's rumen, or stomach. During this time, the baby goat will probably begin eating grains, so the goat owner will need to increase the amount of grain being fed to the nursing doe.
3. During week 2, the goat owner will furnish the baby goat and its mother with free choice hay and water, and will allow them to move from the shelter to the pasture during the daytime, with the rest of the herd. At night, the baby goat and its nursing doe are returned to shelter, which consists of a fenced area with a portion of it containing walls and a roof. The shelter provided protects the goats from bad weather as well as predators. Bedding, which is usually hay or shavings, should be included in the area of the shelter where the wall and roof are, and will need to be kept clean and dry.
4. During week 3, the goat owner gives the baby goat its first dose of 12.5% Albon Concentrated Solution orally to prevent Coccidiosis. This preventative medication is given in 5 days. On day one, the baby goat is given 1 ml per 5 pounds body weight, followed by a dose of 1 ml per 10 pounds body weight on days 2 through 5. Also during this week, any bucks not being kept for breeding purposes can be castrated. The goat owner should continue feeding grain and providing fresh, clean hay and water to the baby goats and their mother. They should also still be allowed to go outside in the daytime and be brought back to the shelter at night.
5. Week 4 is one of the busier weeks for a goat owner because the baby goats will get a CD&T vaccination, get their hooves trimmed, and get wormed with a goat wormer. The baby goat will be receiving its first dose of CD&T, which is Clostridium Perfringens type C&D plus Tetanus, which is given for the prevention of overeating and Tetanus. This vaccination -- a 2 ml injection under the skin -- is given during week four to baby goats whose mothers were not vaccinating a month prior to their birth. The baby goats and their mother will continue being fed, watered and moved out to pasture during the day and shelter at night.
6. During week 6, the goat owner gives the baby goats their second dose of CD&T vaccination, another 2 ml injection under the skin. Examine any bucks previously castrated for signs of the castration failing, such as testicles showing. Re-castrate if needed. The goat owner should continue feeding, watering and providing shelter for the baby goats and their mother as in the previous week.
7. Week 8 is the time to separate doe baby goats from uncastrated buck baby goats, as well as change their feeding routine. Feed for the goats should increase to 3 cups per day, per goat. Hay should be fed twice a day during the winter and once per day during the summer. Deworming the baby goats takes place during this time along with trimming their hooves if they are getting long. Tattooing should occur now also, if the owner desires the baby goats to be tattooed. As in the previous weeks, the goats' owner will continue providing pasture and water free choice and shelter at night during this week.
8. During week 9, give the baby goat another dose of 12.5% Albon Concentration Solution and every 6 weeks thereafter. The baby goats should now be on the same schedule as the entire goat herd, with the exception of moving them to shelter at night if the entire herd is not moved.

Goat owners who follow this schedule should have healthy baby goats that will grow up to be healthy adult goats.