How to Care for Orphaned Nubian Goats

Caring for an orphaned Nubian kid can be demanding, especially during the first few days when it requires frequent feedings. Your kid may be orphaned because its mother rejected it or died during birth. A kid's mother is responsible for feeding it during the first few months of life, which will become your very important role for the first few months of your kid's life. It is best if you leave your kid penned in with other kids for socialization, and remove it only for feedings, but it can be kept indoors with you temporarily to ease the demands of nighttime feedings.

Things You'll Need

  • Kid formula or canned milk
  • Livestock bottle
  • Bottle nipple
  • Scale
  • Hay or grass
  • Goat grain
Show More

Instructions

    • 1

      Purchase kid formula and bottles from your local livestock supply store. This formula is a powder that comes in large bags. If your kid is born during the night and you are unable to go to a feed store, you can purchase canned evaporated milk and add a few tablespoons of molasses per can. You can use a turkey baster in place of a livestock bottle and nipple during an emergency.

    • 2

      Weigh your goat and multiply the weight by 5 to calculate the amount of formula it needs in ounces per day. For example, if your kid weighs 20 pounds, multiply it by 5; the kid needs 100 ounces of formula per 24 hours. Since you will be feeding it every two hours, divide 100 by 12, which equals 8.3. This means you will feed your kid 8.3 ounces of formula every two hours.

    • 3

      Make the formula solution by adding warm water to it according to the directions on the bag. Pour the formula solution into a livestock bottle or suck it into a turkey baster.

    • 4

      Hold the kid firmly in your lap and under your arm. Pry its mouth open with your free hand and insert the tip of the bottle or turkey baster. Gently squeeze some formula into its mouth. Eventually the kid will suck the formula out on its own once it understands the process.

    • 5

      Feed the kid every two hours for the first two days of its life. After that, you will be able to feed it late at night, early in the morning then every 3 to 4 hours during the day.

    • 6

      Offer the kid fresh grass or hay once it is a few days old. It should have a fresh supply that lasts each day.

    • 7

      Feed the kid every five or six hours once it is a week old, increasing the amount given at each feeding. Take a new weight measurement to adjust the feed amount for 24 hours. Also make a bucket of fresh water available to your kid all day from this point on.

    • 8

      Feed the kid twice a day once it is one month old, increasing the amount given at each feeding. Make grain available to your kid daily at this time, although it may not start eating it yet.

    • 9

      Wean the kid from the bottle once it is two months old. Encourage the goat to eat grain by offering it to the goat by hand and no longer offering a bottle. If you are selling your baby goat, you can do so at two months and it will wean immediately once placed in the new home.