How to Start a Goat's Rumen

Goats belong to a class of herbivores, or plant-eating animals, called the ruminants. Ruminants have a complex digestive system containing multiple stomachs, each of which plays a different role in digestion. In a goat, the first stomach, the rumen, is not functional in the youngest kids. As they nurse, the extension of their neck causes milk to be diverted into their fourth stomach by a small membrane. When they eat solid food, the head-down eating position means the food goes into their rumen to be fermented. Fermentation requires the establishment of a colony of bacteria in the rumen, which takes time.

Instructions

    • 1

      Feed your kids colostrum only for the first 24 hours of their lives. Does produce this "first milk" naturally at the end of gestation. It's unusually rich and filled with antibodies, to jump-start the kid's immune system. However, after 24 hours it will not be able to absorb any more antibodies and regular milk is all that's needed.

    • 2

      Nurse the kids naturally or from a bottle, not a pan. The natural nursing posture directs milk away from the rumen, where it will not be digested properly and can cause colic, diarrhea or even death.

    • 3

      Provide the kids with milk or milk replacer for their first two weeks of life, before introducing any solid food.

    • 4

      Introduce alfalfa hay as the first solid food. It is unusually nutritious, and goats love it. Make it available to the kids in small quantities around the two-week mark, and increase the quantity slowly over the ensuing weeks. This will activate their rumen, and begin to grow the colony of bacteria they need to ferment their food.

    • 5

      Add a concentrated feed two weeks after introducing the alfalfa. These are made of compressed alfalfa, but include some grain and other nutrients to help fuel the kids' rapid growth.

    • 6

      Wean the goats at roughly 90 days of age, unless they are not thriving and continue to need milk for the additional nutrition. Keep them on minimal amounts of grain until you are confident that they're fully adjusted to solid food.