AboutGoatlady Expertise Specializing in New Goat Owner understanding of goat physiology, goat anatomy, goat care and herd management. *I am not a veterinarian, any advice and information should be verified by your veterinarian before administering to your goats.
(! During times of severe weather in the Midwest, I may experience a delay in internet service due to the interference of the satellite reception - but will answer your questions as soon as service is restored. !)
Note: Keep in mind, the goat expert is volunteering her time to help other goat owners, she also runs her farm with her own herd of 100 goats and may not be at her computer at all hours. Questions are answered as soon as she can possibly read and answer them, usually within 24 hours.
Experience 18 years experience of raising goats and herd management. Active hands on experience with goat herd and research with various Caprine University Research and Extension Centers nationwide. 15 years dedicated to helping other goat breeders/owners with goat anatomy, goat disease and goat health care issues via phone, published goat care articles and internet interaction. The information I have to offer is not only from personal experience and years of research updated often as new information is made available to me, but supported by many Veterinary Research colleges and all medications and information I have to offer on how the medications work and what dosages "I" use, is information I have acquired by discussing directly with the company's veterinarians and staff research experts.
Organizations 5 year active member of International Veterinary Information Service
Publications United Caprine News, Homesteaders Magazine, Columnist for Goat Magazine, Owner and Author of GoatPedia™
Education/Credentials Graduate Programs in Medicine, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Stanford University
Question Yes Hi My name is Ashley Jones I am 15 years old and my baby goat my parents got me at a live stalk auction is not eating like she should be and we have had her for 5 days and she is 3 weeks old and i need to know if i am to force her to eat or not so if you could help me i would like that alot...
Thanks,
Ashley Jones
ashleyjones2011@yahoo.com
Answer Hi Ashley,
I'm going to try to get this out to you before the storms cause me to go offline again.
I don't know how new you are to goats but so that you can get a complete understanding of how things work I have great articles on my website just for new goat owners.
If you are feeding the baby milk replacer- stop - and get some regular whole cow milk from the grocery store.
Guideline for Bottle Baby Dairy Goat Feeding Schedule
Pygmy and Nigerian Goat Baby Amounts in []:
* * Day one- 2-4oz. [1-3] (per feeding) colostrum, every 2-3 hours.
* * Day two- 3 oz. [2-3] (per feeding) whole milk, 6 times a day
* * Day three- 4 oz.[3] (per feeding) whole milk, 6 times a day
* * Day four- 6oz. [4-5] (per feeding) whole milk, 5-6 times a day.
* * For the next 2 weeks-6-8oz.[4-6] (per feeding) whole milk,5 times a day.
* * For the next 2 months-10-12 oz.[6-8] (per feeding)whole milk, 4-5 times a day.
* * For the next 1 month or 6 weeks-10-12 oz. [6-8] (per feeding)whole milk, 3 times a day.
* * 10-12 oz. [8-10] (per feeding) once a day for the next 2 months.
This is JUST a guideline- Adjust as needed - start with the recommended amount and feel the baby's tummy- Stop when it feels full but not tight- measure what is left in the bottle and feed what the baby ate- as the baby grows add to that amount according to size.
If she has not pooped yet or much (they should poop often through the day) and it should not be runny (diarrhea-which is what we call scours in goats)
If she doesn't want to eat and she has not gone poop it may be that her digestion is not working like it should and if the food doesn't get through the digestive tract- it can make her very sick. The first thing I would do is to give her an enema and I have complete instruction on my website article here: http://goat-link.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=92&Itemid=74
You may have to call the vet or call feed stores to get some medicine called CD ANTI toxin and the correct dosage for a goat this young (small) is 2ccs injected SUBQ every 6 hours- this is important- Do not let the feed store sell you something called CDT Toxoid vaccine- this is NOT the same thing! Usually tractor supply stores carry it in the refrigerated section.
