How to Rear a Goat

Goat kids may need hand-rearing when the mother is unable to raise them herself due to multiple births or other reasons. Keep the goat kid in a warm, draft-free area with plenty of soft bedding --- wood shavings or straw work well. Rearing two or more kids together will help to keep them warm and to provide them with company.

Things You'll Need

  • Bucket
  • Colostrum milk
  • Milk
  • Goat-milk replacer
  • Hot water bath
  • Water
  • Hay
  • Goat starter feed
  • Vaccines
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Instructions

    • 1

      Remove the kid from the doe (mother goat) as soon as it is born. This way the kid will see you as its mother (See Reference 1). Separate the kid from the mother and milk the doe by hand. This first milk, called colostrum, contains the vital antibodies and vitamins the kid needs to develop a healthy immune system (See Reference 1). If colostrum cannot be taken from the mother, take it from another doe or from a cow (See Reference 2). The kid must receive 3 ounces of colostrum per pound of its body weight in the first 24 hours of life (See Reference 2).

    • 2

      Feed the kid the colostrum milk from a bucket. Dip the kid's nose gently into the warm colostrum milk. If the colostrum has cooled, warm it gently using a bath of hot water. Never use a microwave as this will kill the antibodies (See Reference 2). It may take a moment for the young kid to know what to do, but the warmth of the milk will draw it to keep trying and eventually it will learn to drink (See Reference 2).

    • 3

      Use the bucket to feed the goat kid as it grows. Milk the doe by hand or use a milk-replacement formulated for goats (See Reference 2). Feed the kid four times a day during the first week, and then three times a day for the rest of the first month. Then feed it twice a day for the second month and once a day for the third month (See Reference 1). The kid will need between 1 and 1.5 liters of milk per day depending on the breed (See Reference 1).

    • 4

      Provide the kid with water and hay right away. To wean the kid to eat solid food as soon as possible, it needs access to fresh hay and goat starter feed from 10 days of age (See Reference 2). The starter feed should contain between 18 and 20 percent crude protein (See Reference 2). Aim to wean the goat between 6 and 12 weeks of age, depending on your milk supplies, but not before it weighs at least 20 pounds (See Reference 2). Wean the kid by abruptly withholding the milk, but keep the young goat in a familiar place so that it does not become overly stressed by the sudden change (See Reference 2).

    • 5

      Vaccinate the kid against diseases. From 6 weeks of age, vaccinate the kid against tetanus and overeating disease, with a follow-up booster 4 weeks later (See Reference 2). Treat the kid for worms when it is over 6 weeks old (See Reference 1).