How to Care for Newborn Pygmy Goats That the Mother Abandoned

Pygmy goats can bear one to four babies every 9 to 12 months, and sometimes mother goats abandon their babies because of illness or exhaustion. Abandoned babies can still become strong, healthy adults, but they require special care, especially in the first few days of life. It's important to keep the newborn warm and get it the nutrients and antibodies it needs. The first few days will be exhausting for you, so get some help while you take care of the abandoned newborn.

Things You'll Need

  • Colostrum
  • Towels
  • Heating pad
  • Bottle with nipple
  • Fresh goat milk
  • 5-gallon bucket
  • Hay
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Instructions

    • 1

      Milk the baby's mother to obtain colostrum, which is the first milk a mother goat makes after giving birth. It looks yellowish, thick and creamy, and it contains carbohydrates, protein, nutrients and antibodies. The best option is to obtain colostrum from the newborn's mother and bottle feed the baby if the mother won't feed. If you can't obtain colostrum from the mother, get a colostrum replacement from a veterinarian or animal supply company. Baby goats that don't get any kind of colostrum within their first 24 hours have a greater chance of dying prematurely because they begin life with weak immune systems.

    • 2

      Wrap the newborn pygmy goat in towels and lay it against a heating pad covered with a towel, especially if the weather is cold. Keeping the goat warm will help prevent pneumonia. Turn the goat from side to side every 30 minutes for the first 2 to 4 hours.

    • 3

      Introduce the abandoned pygmy goat to another nursing goat, if at all possible. Sometimes a nursing pygmy goat will accept another baby. This is the best option because bottle-fed pygmy goats don't fit in with the rest of the herd as well since they have bonded with humans instead of goats. If you can't attach the abandoned pygmy goat to another mother, proceed with bottle feeding.

    • 4

      Fill a bottle with fresh goat milk and attach the nipple. Sit or kneel on the ground, and place the newborn pygmy goat between your legs. With the thumb of your left hand across the bridge of the goat's nose and your fingers beneath its chin, insert the bottle's nipple into the goat's mouth with your right hand. Cover the goat's eyes with your thumb to replicate the darkness it would normally experience underneath its mother's legs. If the newborn doesn't begin to suck on the bottle's nipple, move the nipple in and out of its mouth to teach it how to get milk out of the bottle.

    • 5

      Wait six to eight hours to try again if the newborn doesn't try to feed the first time. During this waiting period, don't allow the goat to lap up water. After the waiting period is over, pull the baby down against your legs, cover the goat's eyes and move the bottle's nipple in and out of its mouth again.

    • 6

      Once the goat gets stronger and larger, sit on an overturned 5-gallon bucket and hold the goat's bottle underneath your knee. This set-up replicates the position of a mother goat nursing her baby and will give the newborn a more natural position.

    • 7

      Introduce fresh hay to the newborn after one week, although you will continue to feed it fresh goat milk through a bottle until it is 4-6 months old. The goat may pick at the hay and not eat much of it at first, but as it grows it will eat more and more hay.