Raising orphan goats can be very easy, especially if you purpose to raise them up following the recommended procedures.
Feeding orphan goats is most important. Bottle feed the orphan kids. Usually a kid need about 5 oz of milk for each pound of weight daily. For bottle feeding of your goat kids, you can use milk from another doe or purchase proper goat kid starter milk formula. You can find this starter milk at any of your nearest livestock feed stores. You can also use calf or lamb milk replacer, if you don’t find goat milk. Buy bottles and nipples from the livestock feed storage.
Bottle feeding your goat kids can be tough for you for the first few days. Because the kids naturally look for their mother’s nipple. But within a few days the kids will adjust themselves with the bottle feeding system. During feeding, pick up the kid, hold it in one arm and use the hand to pry open it’s mouth and finally put the nipple in. If you use plastic pop bottles, then gently squeeze some milk into the kids mouth if it is confused to suck or become too week. After a few days, the kid will automatically learn what to do and it will normally drink milk from the bottles.
In case of numerous orphan kids, bottle feed the kids one after another or make a system by which the kids can drink on it’s own. Feed the kids multiple times daily for the first few days and then gradually decrease the times of feeding. Always use fresh, clean and warm water for preparing the milk formula for your kids. But ensure that, the water is not too hot. So it will be better if you test the mixture on your wrist before feeding it to the kids. Along with bottle feeding, feed the kids some greens or fresh hay.
Usually kids learn eating greens, hay or other things by watching their mother. But as you are raising orphan goats, so you have to teach them by picking greens or hay with your hand or by keeping the kids with other kids who are eating. You can also provide the kid ration feed, which is a crumbly product that you will find at the livestock feed store. Feeding is the most important part or raising orphan goats. So be very careful and provide healthy foods.
Housing: Keep the orphan goats in a separated house for a few days so that other goats can’t disturb them. If possible get other goats out from the house. If you have some gentle goats with kids, then you can keep the orphan kids with them. Keep soft bedding inside the house and make it comfortable. Prevent all types of predators and make adequate ventilation system.
Nutrition: Baby goats need to have colostrum (a high calorie natural nutritional product that lactating mother goats produce during the first 24 hours after kidding). If anyhow your baby goats don’t have colostrum from their mother in those critical hours, then they will need colostrum replacer. You can purchase such products from your nearest livestock feed supply stores. After a few weeks of bottle feeding, provide them nutritious feeds such as goat pellets soaked in milk, greens and hay. And always provide them sufficient amount of clean and fresh water.
Grafting: Some farmers raise the orphan kids by grafting them to another doe. It will be better if you have another doe in your farm for raising the orphan kids. It will be much easier than if you raise the kids. And it will also save your time and a lot of costs on milk. You can graft the orphan kids to another doe that has given birth but lost her kids or has only a single kid. But never give a doe more than two or three kids to care for. Keep the orphan kids in the pen with the mom who has only one kid. If the mom become good, then she will accept the kids.
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