Feeding schedule for 10-week old kids


My wife just got two young Dwarf Nigerian goats, 10 weeks old. They weight 17 and 14 pounds and have been fed twice a day by the breeder, at 7AM and 5PM. The breeder explained that she always feeds her goats twice a day.

My wife had a visitor yesterday who herself raises goats (not Dwarf Nigerians) and she advised to migrate them to once a day feeding which is more practical/easier.

She advised to do so over a period of one week, reducing the morning feed and increasing the evening feed. They always have access to hay.

With the goats so young and only having arrived two days ago I am concerned that changing their feeding schedule might not be a good idea. I am just looking to see if moving them to a once-a-day schedule at 10 weeks of age is appropriate or not.

Thanks

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  • Not to confuse you further, but the baking soda was okay. I know it's crazy high in sodium, but it's for any type of imbalance in their rumen, so they can self-medicate. It's basically like a person taking a Tums when they feel the need. Since it's not just salty, the goats usually don't touch it unless they really need it. They seem to figure out quickly what it's for. In fact, many people with only 2-4 goats will say that it seems the level never goes down, which I always say is a good thing. That means their rumen isn't being upset. 

    I know this stuff can be kind of confusing in the beginning. Hang in there. Sounds like you're doing good.

  • Deborah

    Thanks for the reply.

    Yes, they are totally on grain at this point. They seem to be doing well and we agree that even just from a socialisation perspective it makes sense to keep up the AM routine. I work from home and can see the goats during the day but my wife is the one who does the feedings so she was unsure about whether a mivoe to once a day was OK. We agree it doesn't make sense to do so.

    We hadn't realized they neede water daily. We had water in a container which we would change when empty so it is good to know that we need a) a smaller container to reduce waste and b) to replenish it each day.

    The plan is to breed them in a couple of years so the weight shouldn't be an issue.

    Thanks a million for the info re salt. We removed the salt this morning. Had no idea salt was already in the minerals. My wife had been advised to have 3 containers in there with Baking Soda, Salt and Minerals. We have now removed two of them, leaving only the Minerals.

    You live and learn I guess.

    Again, thanks for the input.

  • Oh, dear! I totally misunderstood. I guess because the kids are so small, I thought you were initially saying that they were getting milk. I also don't think I've ever heard of anyone who didn't want to feed grain twice a day. It's not that much work, especially with only two kids. There's no benefit to the goats of going to once a day. And you should be spending time with them twice a day to socialize them and also to get to know them. If something is amiss, it's better to know sooner rather than later. Plus, most goats want fresh water twice a day. I didn't believe it when someone told me 15 years ago, but it's true that goats don't like stale water. They drink less if you only give them clean water once a day as opposed to giving them clean water twice a day. That will be especially important when they're milking, as it can negatively affect their supply if they don't get enough water. As I used to tell my daughters, they can't make milk out of air.

    They look great, so parasites are probably not the problem. If they really are 14 and 17 pounds, they should have just stayed with mom and nursed a little longer. You might not be able to breed them to kid as yearlings. They need to be at least 40 pounds before being bred (2/3 of their adult weight), and they are not really on track for that at this point. 

    When you say they have access to salt, if you're saying that you have a separate dish with salt in it, you should remove that. The minerals use salt as a way to drive the goat's consumption of the minerals, and if they are getting salt separately, they will not consume enough minerals and could wind up deficient in something. Feeding instructions on most minerals will say that there should not be any other sources of salt available -- unless you found some type of salt-free mineral mix that I'm not aware of.

    That's funny about your neighbors, but it's not as bad as what I did my first kidding season. I thought something was wrong with a doe, and I called my mentor. She told me to sniff the doe's back end, so I asked a friend to hold her so I could stick my nose back there. Talk about someone thinking you're weird! 

  • Grain, they are getting no milk now.

    They are on grain/hay and nothing else but have access to minerals and salt.

  • Half a cup of grain or milk?

    P Coghlan said:

    Deborah

    They are getting 1/2 cup in the AM and again in the PM. We were told to maybe migrate them to a full cup in the evening.

    I will take some photos but they honestly seem like healthy, happy goats. They poop pebbles, no issues there.

    Paul

  • By the way, I am pretty sure one of our neighbors thinks I am pretty weird after seeing me take those photos.

  • Here you go. Photos standing and of their rear.

    2771473733?profile=original2771473859?profile=original2771474041?profile=original2771474205?profile=original

  • Deborah

    They are getting 1/2 cup in the AM and again in the PM. We were told to maybe migrate them to a full cup in the evening.

    I will take some photos but they honestly seem like healthy, happy goats. They poop pebbles, no issues there.

    Paul

  • It sounds like the kids are no longer getting any milk. Is that correct? Are they getting 1/2 cup of grain, and someone else told you to give them 1 cup of grain per day in a single feeding? If so, that's too much grain for kids that size. They could wind up with diarrhea. Does this other person raise boers or some other large breed? I've seen people with bigger breeds totally mess up with feeding NDs.

    Being a triplet is not an excuse for being small. There might be a quad that's small at birth, but I've had plenty that were normal sized, and I've even had quintuplets without a runt. I know you will see that in sale ads a lot -- "small because it's one of quads" -- but being one of multiples is NOT a reason for a kid to be small at more than about two weeks of age. Once they're born, it's all about what they're fed. We've had quintuplets that stay within my weight goals because I monitor their weight and make sure they're getting enough. Being small at 10 weeks is a result of not enough milk, genetics, or parasites. Genetics is almost never the reason, as there is not that much difference between most NDs. Not enough milk or parasites is usually the problem. Unfortunately you see a ton of misinformation about this. No one wants to admit that their does can't produce enough to feed triplets or quads or that their kids have parasites, even though all goats have parasites (worms). The goal is have healthy kids that can tolerate parasites so that they don't get an overload. 

    Can you post pictures of the kids standing?

    When you pull down the eyelids, is the inside of the eyelid red, dark pink, light pink, or white?

    Are they pooping pebbles, logs, or liquid?

    When they hold their tail over their back, do you see a triangle (wide at the base, narrowing to a point at the tip) or is it the same thickness from base to tip (like a rat tail)?

  • Deborah

    Many thanks for your reply.

    I think the kids stopped taking their mother's milk @2 weeks ago and they are on Purina Goat grain which is what the breeder had said they were on. They are being fed 1/2 cup each in the AM and PM at the moment. The visitor this wekeend said to try to migrate them to 1 cup in the evening over a period of 1+ week.

    They are on 50% alfalfa 50% orchard hay, unlimited supply.

    Each of them came from triplets in case that explains the small size?

    Oh, and these are future breeding does.

    I really appreciate any input given here. My wife is just trying to ensure they get a good start in life but this is her first experience with goats of any kind.

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