Goats Case
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BAH! BAH! These are the sounds of a baby goat telling anyone within earshot that it is hungry. Many people struggle with the process of how to prepare and bottle feed a kid, which is the name for a baby goat. So with just a few tips, bottle feeding can be a piece of cake. A mother goat can have just a single baby, or she can also have twins, triplets, and even quadruplets. In the case, of having a set of multiples the mother may be unable to care for all the kids. In this case, the owner would need to bottle feed, the kids she can not take care of. Other reasons that bottle feeding may be necessary, is if the mother does not claim the baby, or if the mother dies. Many breeders believe that the hassle of feeding a baby goat is frustrating, but the work is all worth it in the long run to see the kid grow up into a happy and healthy goat. Getting a tiny, helpless kid started with sufficient nutrition requires proper equipment, safe supplies, and plenty of patience.
When a kid is first born, the mother feeds the baby colostrum. Colostrum is a form of first milk, or pre-milk, produced by female mammals within the first days of giving birth to the babies. The colostrum supplies the baby with key immune system antibodies, essential vitamins, minerals, amino-acids, and nourishes the baby with the best possible nutrients on earth necessary for proper growth. The colostrum is very thick, so it will take some time for the kid to drink it. After the first 24 hours, the kid can no longer get many benefits from the colostrum; therefore, other types of milk or milk supplement may be used.
Colostrum can be obtained from a mother goat or it can be purchased as a supplement. When buying colostrum as a supplement, please be sure to get a supplement that does not contain soy protein, because a kid cannot digest the soy. As a result, the kid may seem like they are full, but it will likely end up starving to death on a full stomach. For this reason, before ever purchasing the colostrum, a herdsman must read every ingredient to be sure that it is safe for the kid; many breeders just sit down in the aisle to read the ingredients to make sure the product is safe for their animals. There is also a tube of gel colostrum that can be given to the baby goats instantly after they are born to provide the key nutrients they need.
The advantages of the gel colostrum is it has a longer shelf life, it is instant so it requires no preparation, and it is premeasured for quick delivery to the kid.
After the first 24 hours, the kid no longer needs colostrum so a person can switch them to a regular milk replacement formula. There are many different kinds of formula you can buy that will be fine. Available which include: calf replacer, sheep replacer, horse replacer, and goat replacer. This means that whatever kind of milk replacer the local feed store carries will be fine. When buying milk replacer, always check the expiration date on the bag. An expired bag of milk replacer could kill the babies, when it is feed to them.
At this time, the two kids that Im bottle feeding are only drinking about a pint, so thats how much Im going to mix a full pint of