Every once in a while it will happen when a Dam rejects her baby. Though this is our first experience in our fifteen years of kidding goats, we have heard from a lot of others that this can happen from time to time for various reasons.
So what do you need to do for a baby goat if the mama rejects it? Keep reading for the answers.
Why Colostrum is Important for Baby Goats
It’s super important that for the first 48 hours of a goat kid’s life it gets colostrum from the mama. After 48 hours you can switch to a kid milk replacer or donor milk from another goat.
This is also an important step in the bonding process because the Dam’s colostrum will pass through the baby and every time the mama smells the baby’s backside to know if it’s hers, it’ll smell that colostrum and know it’s her kid.
If you have a lot of goats that are kidding, it is possible to get some colostrum from another nanny goat. Or, on occasion goats will lose their kids and people will choose to milk out that goat and store the colostrum and milk in the freezer to have on hand in case it’s needed.
How to Encourage the Dam to Accept Her Baby
Because feeding a goat is a pretty big commitment, we like to give the mama as many opportunities to bond with the baby as possible.
To do this, we’ll come out multiple times per day and hold the mama goat still while the baby goat nurses. If the baby is having a hard time, we’ll make sure it can find the teat, then we’ll watch the goat’s belly to make sure it’s getting full (sometimes the nanny goat will hold back its milk for a baby it doesn’t like).
Normally this is all we need to do to get the mama and baby to bond. In our fifteen years of experience, this has worked every time. It wasn’t until now that we’ve ever had a mom be persistent in not wanting her kid.
A few weeks after this event, we did see the mama allowing the baby to nurse, but she’s not consistently letting him nurse, so we’re still keeping up with the bottle feedings.
How often do you bottle-feed a goat?
Baby goats should eat one bottle three times a day. However, each bottle baby is different and we make adjustments depending on that baby’s particular needs.
The charts below will help give general rule of thumb for feeding, but it’s always better to take cues from the baby.
Bottle-Feeding Nubian Goats (or other full-sized breeds):
| Age | Ounces per Feeding | Frequency |
| 0-2 Days (Colostrum) | 3-6 ounces (Colostrum) | Every 3-4 hours (Colostrum) |
| 3 Days to 3 Weeks | 6-10 ounces | Four times a day |
| 3 to 6 Weeks | 12-16 ounces | Three times a day |
| 6 to 10 weeks | 16 ounces | Twice a day |
| 10 to 12 weeks | 16 ounces | Once a day |
Bottle-Feeding Pygmy Goats (or other miniature breeds):
| Age | Ounces per Feeding | Frequency |
| 0-2 Days (Colostrum) | 2-4 ounces (Colostrum) | Every 3-4 hours (Colostrum) |
| 3 Days to 3 Weeks | 6-8 ounces | Four times a day |
| 3 to 8 Weeks | 12 ounces | Twice a day |
| 8-12 weeks | 12 ounces | Once a day |
How to Bottle Feed a Goat
Supplies needed to bottle feed a baby goat.
To feed a baby goat you’ll need a few supplies. See below for the specifics about the goat milk replacer we buy. Here’s a list of what you’ll need:
- Lamb & Kid Bottles – You can pick these up at pretty much any tractor supply store, and if you care for them they’ll last a long time.
- Goat Teet – We prefer the Pritchard teats. We experimented with several different teats and these are the style we like the best. They will fit on a soda bottle, so keep that in mind and you may not need to buy the bottles. When scoring the teats prior to feeding your goat, just make a vertical cut on the very tip of the teat, don’t cut the whole tip off or your kids will choke (see the video for demonstration)
- Kid Milk Replacer
- Funnel – This is helpful just so you don’t make a mess when pouring the milk into the bottle.
Bottle Feeding Goats Step-by-Step
- Prepare the kid’s milk (see options below) and place it into a bottle with a goat teat.
- Gently open the goat’s mouth and slide the nipple in.
- Hold the bottle up at an angle to mimic the angle of the mama’s teats.
- Stay persistent, sometimes it’s easier to pick the goat up and hold it, while other times it’ll be easier to allow the goat to stand on its own.
Precaution When Heating Goat’s Milk
If you’re heating or reheating milk to feed a kid, be very careful with how you heat it. Never heat the milk in the microwave.
The milk is filled with beneficial enzymes that the kids need and microwaving it destroys these enzymes. Instead, create a double-boiler and place the bottle in a pot of simmering water until it’s heated through.
FAQs for Bottle Feeding Goats
Can you overfeed a bottle baby goat?
Yes, it’s absolutely possible to over-feed a baby goat. Get to know the baby and keep an eye on its stomach. You want the baby’s tummy to look full but still be soft to the touch, not extended and overfilled.
What kind of milk to feed baby goats?
If you can hand milk the mama goat that’s rejected the kid then this is the best and first choice. If she won’t let you milk, and you can get doner milk from another goat, that’s the second best.
If this isn’t possible then you’ll need to have some kid milk replacer on hand. We like to always have a bag ready, just in case it’s needed. You can’t have a mama reject her kid and then expect to have time to run to the farm store or order online.
Make sure you specifically get a goat kid milk replacer and not a milk replacer for other livestock animals. Goats have specific needs in regard to proteins and minerals.
Once you have the milk replacer, you’ll want to follow the directions for mixing it, but do your best to keep it at about the temperature it would come out of the mama goat, so close to 100° F.
If you don’t have access to either the nanny’s milk, or kid milk replacer, you can feed the kids whole cow’s milk (raw cow’s milk would be ideal).
How to Get a Baby Goat to Take a Bottle
If a baby goat has its sucking reflexes it may take to bottle feeding quickly. Our goat seemed to have some confusion because it had nursed from its mama for nearly two weeks, therefore didn’t want to take the bottle.
How long do you have to bottle-feed a goat?
You can bottle feed a baby goat for as little as one month, but it’s better to feed them a bit longer.
You’ll know the kid is ready to be weaned after they’re able to eat hay and drink water. Another good rule of thumb is to wait until it’s twice its birth weight.
Other Articles You May Enjoy
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- Goat Must-Haves For the Farm
- Selenium Deficiency in Goats
- Pink Eye in Goats
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