How to Bottlefeed Goat Kids

Co-authored by wikiHow Staff

Last Updated: May 6, 2021 References

If a young goat isn't being fed by its mother, bottle feeding is important. Your goat needs to be bottle fed to get vital vitamins and nutrients. Bottle feed your goat using natural ingredients and an ordinary bottle. Have patience, as it may take awhile for goats to take to a bottle. Make sure to be safe. If your goat won't bottle feed, consult a vet.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Assembling Your Supplies

1
Figure out how much food your goat needs. Goats need different amounts of food depending on their weight. As overfeeding can cause serious health problems, determine how much to feed your goat before gathering your supplies.^{[1]
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- Weigh your goat. If you don't have a scale yourself, you can take your goat to a livestock vet.
- Convert their weight into ounces and find 10 to 12% of their total body weight.
- Divide this number by four. Feed your goat that amount four times a day.
- For example, say your goat weighs 96 ounces. It would need around 10 ounces of milk a day. You would feed your goat a little over three ounces of food three times a day.
2
Provide colostrum for very young goats. Colostrum is the milk a mother produces when a goat is first born. In the event your young goat was rejected or abandoned by its mother, you will have provide colostrum yourself. It is difficult for a goat to survive without a steady intake of colostrum.^{[2]
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- You need to get a baby goat colostrum within its first 24 hours of life. If you have a goat on your farm that recently gave birth, milk that goat and bottle feed your goat the mother's milk.
- However, you may not always have real colostrum on hand. In the event you don't have colostrum, there are many online providers that allow you to purchase colostrum.
- If you know you're raising goats, freeze milk from goats who have recently given birth or keep colostrum substitute on hand. It's vital to get colostrum to a goat as soon as possible.
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3
Use natural ingredients if possible. When bottle feeding, it's always best to get your goat as natural ingredients possible. These will best assure your goat gets the vitamins and minerals it needs to thrive. Go for goat's milk or cow's milk, which you an find at most grocery stores.^{[3]
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- Never feed a baby goat powdered milk or canned milk. These can cause health issues.
- If you're using cow's milk, add three tablespoons of corn syrup per gallon of cow's milk.
4
Determine how often to feed your goat. In general, you should aim to feed your goat around three or four times a day. Space out feedings over the course of a day, as kids need to eat on and off all day. If your goat is looking for food and seems hungry, bottle feed it as needed. However, keep the total amount you feed within the range you calculated based on the goat's weight.^{[4]
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- If your goat is three weeks old or older, provide hay and water for free feeding as well.
5
Put the formula in an ordinary bottle. Place the proper amount of milk in a regular baby bottle. You do not need a special bottle to bottle feed a goat. Pick up a conventional baby bottle from a department store for the feeding process.

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Feeding Your Goat

1
Try many times a day at first. Have patience when you first start the feeding process. Some goats will take to the bottle without trouble. Others, however, may be hesitant to feed early on. You may have to try several times a day at first to get your goat to get the proper amount of milk per day.^{[5]
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- You will have to hold the goat and have a helper hold its mouth open. Try squirting some of the milk into the goat's mouth to help it understand it needs to suckle to get food.
- Some goats will understand right away, while others may take more work. You may have to feed your goat eight to 10 times a day at first, instead of three or four, in order to get your goat enough food.
2
Get the bottle in a similar position to a mother's natural stance. This can help the goat instinctively understand it needs to suckle. Try holding the bottle above the goat's head, roughly the same height as a mother goat. For younger goats, you may have to take the baby in your arms and hold the bottle near your chin.^{[6]
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- This tends to work better when your goat has previously fed from its mother.
- It can sometimes help to have the goat suckle on your finger first, and then slip the bottle in its mouth.
3
Allow the goat to take the milk naturally. Once your goat understands what the bottle is for, try to get it to suckle naturally. After a few days of regular bottle feeding, your goat should take to the bottle without trouble. Force feeding by opening a goat's mouth and squirting the milk in should no longer be necessary.^{[7]
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Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Taking Safety Precautions

1
Try to get colostrum naturally, if possible. While goats can still thrive on substitute colostrum, natural is usually best. A mother's milk has vital nutrients for survival, so if you can get your goat natural colostrum, go this route.^{[8]
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- Allow your goat to suckle from its mother for the first 24 hours.
- If the goat has been abandoned by its mother, provide colostrum from another goat who has recently given birth.
2
Consult a vet if your goat refuses to bottle feed. Goats need to bottle feed if they're not being fed by a mother. It's normal for a goat to take a few days to take to the bottle. However, if it's been more than a few days and a goat is not feeding regularly, consult a veterinarian. You can find a livestock vet online or in your local yellow pages.^{[9]
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- Ask something like, "Is there anything I can do to get my goat to take to its bottle?"
3
Avoid overfeeding your goat. Weigh your goat regularly and adjust its feeding by weight, using the same calculation involving 10 to 12% of the goat's body weight. Overfeeding can cause serious problems. If your goat seems to be putting on a lot of weight, you may need to reduce feeding. Talk to a vet if you're concerned about your goat's weight.^{[10]
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Community Q&A

Question

Is it all right to give hand raised, weaned goats bottles of water to suck on?

Community Answer

No, let your goat drink from a trough or bucket unless it is an emergency.
Question

What if a goat is held like a baby while being bottle fed?

Community Answer

Hold them upward and the bottle up. They can't be on their back. I would let them stand while feeding. This works best.
Question

Can kids sleep in houses?

Starlight_Laufeyson

Community Answer

Yes, but it's best if you only let them sleep in the house for a few weeks. If you let them sleep in the house for too long, they will think that they live in the house and it will be harder to transition them outside.