Through the years of bottle feeding and talking with fellow breeders i came up with a bottle feeding schedule and i try to stick close to it the following schedule courtesy of louise goudge from tlc boer goats is how we feed when we have bottle babies.
Bottle feeding baby goats schedule.
We generally bottle feed about every four hours or when the kid squawks.
Bottle feeding weeks five and six continue feeding the 3 times a day schedule of 8a 2p and 8p.
On the day of its birth a kid will need several small meals.
Each bottle should have 10 15 ounces milk depending on the weight and appetite of the kid.
This special milk is low.
Grain hay 1 week.
Start reducing the amount of milk per bottle or go down to 1 bottle a day.
It is time consuming bottles must be cleaned milk must be warmed and then those hungry baby goats must be fed on a schedule 3 4 times a day.
After that first day of feeding colostrum we move to the following schedule through weaning.
Feed every 2 4 hours as needed 1 2 weeks.
It will come around.
The goal is to have them weaned completely by 12 weeks of age.
Kids should be eating with the herd.
Feed every 5 hours can go 8 hours without feeding during the night.
Frequency of bottle feeding a baby goat.
Feed every 4 hours can go 6 hours without feeding during the night hay or grass should be available at all times from here on.
Bottle feeding chart for pygmy goat kids kids should be encouraged to eat nibble hay concentrate from a few weeks onwards.
Don t worry if the kid doesn t eat much more than a couple ounces for the first several meals.
Feed every 2 4 hours as needed 1 2 weeks.
Grain hay 1 week.
Bottle feeding has its disadvantages but it s a task that also has advantages.
They are energetic and into everything at this point.
Day one preferably feed goat colostrum only for the first 24 hours.
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Feed every 4 hours can go 6 hours without feeding during the night hay or grass should be available at all times from here on.
The amounts i have listed are just what has worked for us and our goats.
Most people feed 4 5 times in 24 hours and you can usually go 7 8 hours overnight between bottles so it s about every 3 4 hours during the day.
What is colostrum and why does a baby goat need it.
Feed every 5 hours can go 8 hours without feeding during the night.
For a bottle feeding schedule see below.
They learn this by copying their mother which is why it always better to leave bottle babies with their mother if at all possible.
On pasture in summer and on hay in winter.
If a baby goat can t consume much in the beginning i may need to give five bottles to get at least 10 body weight into the kid in 24 hours.
Bottle feeding also forces the goat owners to being at home when it s time to feed those babies.
Colostrum is the name for the first milk a mother any mammalian mother produces right when she delivers her baby.
If i am milking the mother the kids are locked up with the other kids at night.
I understand these issues.