Bottle Feeding a Baby Goat

Whether you just got a bottle baby, or you have orphan kids that need bottle feeding, this blog should help you successfully bottle feed a baby goat!

This kid was tiny and rejected by his mother, so we had to bottle feed him.

If the kid was orphaned before it was 24 hours old you will need to feed it colostrum.

If the mother rejected the kid, it is best to milk the doe and feed the baby from a bottle, but if the doe is sick or died you will need to either purchase colostrum from the store or get it from another doe who just had kids.

Most does produce more than enough colostrum for their kids, so as long as the other doe seems to have plenty after her kids have fed several times, it should be fine to take some for the orphan kids.

Kids are here earlier than we expected!!! These are Philly's, three girls and one boy, he's the orange one in the middle.

If you ever have to milk out a doe who has colostrum, whether because her kids died, or for any other reason, be sure to save and freeze the colostrum in case you need it for orphan kids.

If the kid is older than 24 hours, you can just feed it goats' milk, raw milk is best for baby goats, but pasteurized goat milk is still better than formula (it is not recommended you feed goats cows 'milk since cows can be carriers of Johne's disease).

If you have to feed formula, make sure you get one made specifically for goat kids.

Sweet Pea's twin girls

Here is how to bottle feed a kid:

1. Stand the kid on the ground or hold it in your lap.

2. Cover its eyes with your hand (to make it think it is under its mother, this really works)

3. Open the kids' mouth by gently squeezing on either side of its mouth with your hand.

4. Put the bottle in the kids' mouth.

5. Tip the bottle up so the baby needs to tip its head back. It's important they tip their heads back so that they don't get milk in the wrong stomach which would result in a potbelly.

6. Some kids may need you to hold your hand under their mouth to keep the bottle from slipping and to get them comfortable.

   
   

Amounts of Milk or Formula to Feed the Orphan Kid

Time Frame	Amount	Frequency
First two days	2 ounces colostrum	Every 4 hours
Days 3 through 14	4 ounces	Every 6 hours
Second through forth weeks	5 ounces	Every 6 hours only during the day for a total of three times a day
Fifth through eighth weeks	6 ounces	Every 12 hours

These amounts are for Nigerian goats (the kind we have) if your goat is a full-size goat you will need to feed double the amounts given.

These amounts are just suggestions, in general, goat kids will stop when they are full, so just pay attention to your kid, if she drinks eagerly and then stops and won’t take anymore, don’t force it.

If she eats everything and seems to still be hungry, give her a bit more. Once the kid is about six weeks old, you will want to let her be a bit hungry after each feeding, so she starts to eat hay.

You can start offering the kids hay right away. They won’t eat much at first, but they need to start learning how to eat it. Any grass hay is fine, avoid alfalfa if you have any male kids, but it’s okay for females.

Some baby goats will suck on the bottle as soon as you cover their eyes, others will need you to put the bottle in their mouths before they realize that there is milk in the bottle.

The sooner you start bottle feeding a kid the faster they will learn to drink although, often you cannot control when to start bottle feeding such as if you purchased a bottle baby or the mother goat died.

Kids like to be under a dark place, covering their eyes makes them think they are under their mother.

If you must switch from milk to formula or from one brand to another do so gradually, baby goats are very sensitive to sudden changes in diet.

Often a bottle baby will need to be taken away from its mother and the rest of the herd (except its siblings if they are also being bottle fed) and live with you at least until it no longer needs to be fed at night.

The kids will also need to be kept warm until they are about six weeks old, or the temperatures are staying above 50.

If you keep them in your house while you are bottle feeding, they don’t need extra heat, but if they are outside they will need a heat lamp if the temperatures are below 50.

If you only have one kid, you will need to keep it above about 60 degrees until it is about six weeks old since it won’t have anyone to snuggle up with to stay warm.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact us!