How We Care for our Goat Kids
This is a run down of how we care for our kids. We try to do everything as naturally as possible, but unfortunately we’ve had a hard time managing coccidia without medical intervention. We also vaccinate against Clostridium perfringens types C & D and tetanus.
Housing
Kids sleep at night with the other kids. They all snuggle underneath the bottom half of a hard plastic dog crate (similar to this). We use the half without the “window” holes. If you google “goat kid warming box” you’ll see a lot of idea. We don’t actually use heat lamps except in the first few days of life. They snuggle together and stay really warm underneath the crate and we have found they prefer that to snuggling under the heat lamps anyways. Also way less risk of fire in the barn.
During the day, they are out in the pasture. We have kids and moms on about a .5 acre pasture and they do great on that. They have an option during the day to go back into the barn for food, water, hay, etc. if they want it.
Feed
Typically kids under about 4 weeks only want milk and are just starting to nibble on hay and grain. When we bottle feed, we feed more or less according to weight and the chart below, but have found that we can let kids eat until they're full and that’s the best way of promoting growth and keeping them healthy. They typically do not overeat. If you don’t have access to fresh goat’s milk, whole cow’s milk is a great alternative (Braum’s is especially great).
In order to prevent coccidia, we add CalfPro to their bottles until weaned.
We offer grain and hay and water free choice from 1 week old. They don’t start nibbling on anything for a few weeks, but it’s there and they can eat as much as they want. Once they get a little older, limit grain to about ¼ cup per goat per day. They should get most of their nutrition from milk and hay.
We typically wean from milk at about 8-12 weeks. However, we’ve been known to give milk to some of the smaller kids until about 6 months (just one bottle a day at that point).
We feed grass hay, nothing fancy. As long as they have access all day to hay, their rumens will typically function just fine! We give kids up to about a year Kalmbach Start Right Kid Feed.
We also have a loose mineral available 24/7 free choice (either Purina Goat Mineral or Sweetlix Goat Mineral are good options - the purina mineral is what we typically use as I can get it at Tractor Supply). I also have sulfur available free choice for the kids, as it helps keep down lice and any other external parasites. Kelp and baking soda are also available to the herd at large and kids will typically just sample those when they need it.
Worming
We avoid chemical wormers as much as possible. Our kids get a weekly essential oil “wormer” (really, it’s a general parasite preventer) of a mixture of 1 drop oregano oil, 1 drop cinnamon oil, and 1 drop clove oil in 6 cc olive oil until they are about 6 months old. They get 3 cc of that mixture (basically, just split it in half) per week. The oils are pretty strong to give them a full drop when they’re young, that’s why it’s split. That has worked to prevent any issues combined with keeping the kids well fed and steadily gaining weight. If they start demonstrating symptoms of parasites (check FAMACHA regularly), are not gaining weight, act lethargic, etc. we will typically check in with the vet at that point for a fecal and advice on treatment. In general, we avoid worming on a regular schedule because the parasites can become resistant. The herbal/essential oil methods create much less resistance, but they’re really not necessary to give on a schedule after about 6 months old because the goats should have developed a hardiness level of health. We have found that, overall, as long as the goats are overall healthy they are typically very parasite resistant.
Other care notes
We trim hooves about once every 3 months or so. Some goats need it done more often, but typically that’s about all they need.
Copper bolus should be given about once every 6 months. We are super copper deficient so we tend to give it slightly more often, but it should depend on your area and what your goats need.
CD&T vaccines are given at 3 and a booster at 6 weeks, and then once a year after that. If you picked up your goats from us prior to either of those points, they won’t have received a booster and you’ll need to do that. We have found that this formula works best for us.
Goat Kid Bottle Feeding Guide
The amounts listed are the total # of ounces fed over a 24 hour period.
