Having baby goats or kids can be exciting.Excellent care is needed to help them grow up.Try to follow some of the best general practices to keep your kids happy and healthy.
Step 1: It is a good idea to give them a warm and dry place.
Giving your baby goat a proper place to live will be part of keeping them happy and healthy.Baby goats need a space that is both warm and dry, as either cold or dampness can affect their health.Make sure the bedding is warm.Warm bedding can be made from pine chips, wheat straw and hay.Change any bedding that gets wet.Adding a heat lamp is a good idea if the area is cold.The heat lamp is a fire hazard.If the kids get too warm, make sure they go to a cooler area and keep the lamp above them.
Step 2: The navel cord needs to be cleaned.
The mother's cord should break away from the newborn.Freshly broken navel cords may need additional attention.The cord should not be cut between the mother and newborn.Allow this to break.If the cord is longer than four inches, it's time to trim it.If you don't know what to do, make sure your vet is there.You should trim the cord closer to the kids stomach if it's still quite long.The length of the trim is three to four inches.Always used sterile instruments.Make sure the scissors are sharp enough to make the cut.The cord should be dipped in a few things.This prevents infections.It helps the cord dry quicker.Within three weeks, the cord should fall away from the newborn.
Step 3: The mother should take care of the baby goat.
Leave the baby goat with the mother after you help trim the cord.The baby will be licked clean by the mother.The mother should be allowed to clean the baby.The bond between the mother and newborn is very important.Stay with the mother and baby goat.Keep the birthing area clean and watch the baby goat.After the baby goat comes out, the afterbirth will follow.Allow the mother to eat some of it.
Step 4: The baby should get milk from the mother.
The first feeding is very important.The kid will need the mother's milk to survive.The kid should be fed within an hour.Pull a few streams of milk from the doe to make sure the milk isn't blocked.The baby should drink milk.If the kid is having a hard time finding a place to eat, give him some direction.If the child isn't drinking from the mother, bottle feed it.The milk doesn't have to be from the mother, it can come from another goat.Colostrum can be found in stores.It will have to be refrigerated.
Step 5: Do you want to bottle feed the kids?
If you bottle feed your goat, they won't get milk from the mother.Once your kid grows up, a more tame and friendly adult goat can be created.If the mother is allowed to feed them, make sure the kid is getting enough milk.If the mother doesn't want to feed her kids, you might have to bottle feed.If you allow the mother to feed the kids, try to spend time with both of them.They will grow up to be calm and comfortable around people.The child will need milk for at least eight weeks.Bottles and other feeding equipment should always be sterile.You can get milk from the mother or another goat if you bottle feed.Dramatic changes in their lifestyle can affect their moods.If the vet tells you to give them a special powder with their milk, then don't give it in one big dose, and then give the full amount for a period of 2 days to see how they like it.
Step 6: You can learn the feeding schedule for your kids.
A good feeding schedule will allow your kids to get the right amount of food.If you follow a schedule similar to this one, you can make sure your baby goats are getting fed properly.300 liters of milk can be found at four to ten days old.At ten to fourteen days old, 400 to 500 liters of milk are needed three times a day.Clean hay should be added to the diet.At two to three weeks old, increase morning and evening milk to 1l.Adding pasture and 100g of bran to your diet is a good idea.1l of milk is given twice daily at three to eight weeks old.500 liters of milk a day is needed for eight weeks.
Step 7: Your goat is getting milk.
At some point, your baby goat won't need to drink milk from a bottle or its mother.Help it to get to this stage by slowly introducing solid foods, such as hay or pasture feed, while reducing the amount of milk being offered.Offer hay, grain, time in the pasture, and fresh water to allow your baby goat to start eating these foods instead of milk.At thirty days old, most healthy goats can be shorn.A goat can be double its birth weight if it starts to be shorn at about twenty-five to thirty pounds.Grain may be offered at about one week of age to help the goat start rumen development.
Step 8: Your child's horn buds should be removed.
Horns are great for protecting wild goats.Horns are a danger in a domesticated setting.The goats could hurt each other.The removal of horns helps keep you and your goats safe.If you don't know what to do with your baby goats, please contact a vet.Improper removal of horn buds can cause serious harm.The horn buds need to be removed around one week old.An older goat makes it more difficult to remove horns.A disbudding iron can be used to remove your baby goat.The iron will be heated to a high temperature and used to burn horn buds.
Step 9: Give your kids a clean bill of health.
Some diseases that your goat won't be immune to will be inherited from the mother's milk.Common diseases can be prevented with vaccinations in your kids.Clostridium and tetanus vaccinations can be given at 30 days of age.Administer a CD&T booster shot 3-4 weeks later.It's best to learn from your doctor or have them give you the vaccine for you.
Step 10: There is a clean pasture.
If you mix your baby goats with other adult goats, make sure the pasture is kept clean.Your baby goats will start to eat plants they find in the pasture.Consuming food from a pasture full of manure can cause your baby goats worms and other parasites.You should keep the pasture free of waste.Young goats can be kept in a separate pasture.
Step 11: You should keep up with medical needs.
When your kids are young, they will need regular medical evaluation and procedures.Give your baby goats routine care as they grow up.Schedule regular check-ups with your doctor.Kids and goats should be checked for parasites a lot.fecal samples will be tested by your vet to determine how to deworm your goat.Twice a year, de-worm your goats.You can check your goat's temperature with a rectal thermometer.The normal temperature is around 101 to 102 degrees.It's a good idea to watch for lice.Your goat's fur will be damaged by the insects.Keep your goat's fur short and buy lice powder at most farm stores.
Step 12: The baby goats should be trained early.
The earlier you train them, the better.They will be more alert if you train them at a young age.
Step 13: Provide shelter and bedding.
As your goats grow up, they will still need shelter and bedding.The shelter needs to block wind, provide warmth, and keep rain or snow out of your goats.The bedding needs to be kept clean and dry.Make sure the shelter doesn't have drafts.You will need a three-walled shelter in a warm climate.It's important that the shelter is enclosed in cold climates.If the goat is allowed access to pasture, it will need around ten square feet of space in the shelter.Dirt floors help absorb urine from goats.It is a good idea to cover the bed with hay.You can use wood for bedding.
Step 14: Your baby goat should be fed new foods.
A baby goat will drink mostly milk and water for a month or two.Your goat will want to eat other foods after the process is over.As your baby goat grows, give it the following food items.Hay is a type of animal.Grass is used forpasture feeding.There is corn.There are oats.It was barely.There are poisonous plants near your goats.There are plants called rhyolites.Grains are moldy.
Step 15: Socialize with your kids.
It's important that the kid is imprinted on you if you want a friendly and loyal goat.Spending time with the baby goat makes it easy to get them to imprint on you.The first few moments of life are crucial.You should be with the kids when they are born.Let the kids get to know you both by spending time with them.During the first two days of the baby goat's life, you will want to spend as much time with them as possible.The deeper the imprint, the more time you spend.The baby goats should be allowed to socialize with other goats.They will view you as another member of the herd by allowing them to spend time with the rest.Don't allow your baby goats to be near other goats that are sick.Children's immune systems are not as strong as adults, exposure to disease can affect them.