How to Fix Folded Ears on Baby Goats

Fixing folded ears on baby goats requires prompt action in order to retrain the ear cartilage and keep the ears from remaining permanently creased. These folded or creased ears typically occur in goat kids who have long, pendulous ears, such as Nubians and Boers, and they generally result from molding that takes place in the mother's uterus. Most often the fold appears at the bottom end of the ear in the form of a creased ear tip, but you may also occasionally encounter a newly born kid that has a vertical fold down the length of its ear. Failure to straighten the folded ears within a few hours of the affected kid's birth typically limits your ability to successfully remove the creases from the ears.

Things You'll Need

  • Thick cardboard
  • Pencil, pen or marker
  • Scissors
  • Duct tape
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Instructions

    • 1

      Trace the shape of the baby goat's ear on a piece of thick cardboard. Have a helper hold the goat kid still for you, then lay the ear flat across the cardboard and draw around the edge of the ear with a pencil, pen or marker. Repeat this tracing process a second time to create two identical traced outlines of the goat's ear.

    • 2

      Cut the cardboard tracings out with a pair of scissors.

    • 3

      Hold one cardboard ear tracing flat in your hand and rest the goat kid's flattened ear across the top of the cardboard, being careful to center the ear on the cardboard so it doesn't flop over the edges. Press the second cardboard ear tracing over the top of the goat ear to sandwich the flattened ear between the two pieces of cardboard.

    • 4

      Wrap several strips of duct tape around the circumference of the two pieces of cardboard to secure them together. Leave the ear splints in place for four to five days to allow the ear enough time to flatten.