A three-week-old kid should be getting 18 to 24 ounces a day. I normally split that up between three or four bottles a day with a kid that young. I don't think it's particularly good for them to stuff themselves twice a day at such a young age, but I know others do it. If she's not accustomed to getting a bottle, you may have to just keep track of how many ounces she gets, and if she's only taking two or three ounces at a time, it means you'll have to give her eight or ten bottles a day. Yes, you can offer her solid feed, but she won't eat much, and she is MUCH too young to be weaned.
She needs a bottle for two or three months. When she's two months old, you can cut her down to one 8-ounce bottle a day, then after a couple weeks or a month, you can drop it. Personally, I find that kids grow better and are healthier if they get milk for at least three months.
PLEASE get another goat! I get phone calls every year from people who were sold a single kid by a clueless or money-hungry backyard breeder who sold them a single kid, and now they have all sorts of problems -- goat escaping from the pasture constantly and staying on the front porch (and pooping all over it), or entertaining itself by escaping and jumping on their cars, or escaping and getting in with a horse who is determined to kick off its head, or won't stop screaming because it's lonely. These are all real stories from people who've bought a single goat. Your mini mule could do all sorts of things to a tiny kid. We had a mini donkey who killed a ewe by trampling her, and he picked up a buck by its front leg and galloped across the pasture with it. That was his idea of playing. Even if your mule doesn't try to hurt your little kid, he is not a goat. Equine play and communication is very different than caprine play and communication.
Personally, I will not sell a single kid. I've had people call here and say that they just want one, and I won't do it. I don't care if I lose a sale, because I don't want to sell my goats to someone who doesn't care about the goat's happiness and well-being. The definition of a good home is one with caprine companionship. It takes no more time to take care of two goats than one, and the cost of feed is negligible. There is simply NO reason to have a single goat.
Good luck getting her switched to a bottle. Some kids take to it right away, but others scream like you're killing them, and you're only able to get a few drops down them at a time. Three weeks is a terrible age to take a kid away from its mom.
Jill Ennis said:
Ok, I thought the breeder would have given me a bit more info about bottle feeding. And now I see on the forum where she should not have been taken from her mom like this! I was just told a bottle twice a day. I have been offering it to her every few hours. How many ounces should she be eating per day? How and when do I wean her from the bottle? Should she have some hay and feed now?
Right now she is the only goat, but will have many barnyard friends. Horses, chickens, ducks. She's in the house right now until we figure the bottle out. Then she will be in the barn with our mini mule for a companion.
Deborah Niemann-Boehle said:
I hope you're getting more than one, because they are herd animals and will be unhappy -- and sometimes unhealthy -- if you only have one.
Otherwise, read the archives in the forum. There is tons of good info on housing, fencing, feed, and other basic info.
Ok, I thought the breeder would have given me a bit more info about bottle feeding. And now I see on the forum where she should not have been taken from her mom like this! I was just told a bottle twice a day. I have been offering it to her every few hours. How many ounces should she be eating per day? How and when do I wean her from the bottle? Should she have some hay and feed now?
Right now she is the only goat, but will have many barnyard friends. Horses, chickens, ducks. She's in the house right now until we figure the bottle out. Then she will be in the barn with our mini mule for a companion.
Deborah Niemann-Boehle said:
I hope you're getting more than one, because they are herd animals and will be unhappy -- and sometimes unhealthy -- if you only have one.
Otherwise, read the archives in the forum. There is tons of good info on housing, fencing, feed, and other basic info.
Replies
She needs a bottle for two or three months. When she's two months old, you can cut her down to one 8-ounce bottle a day, then after a couple weeks or a month, you can drop it. Personally, I find that kids grow better and are healthier if they get milk for at least three months.
PLEASE get another goat! I get phone calls every year from people who were sold a single kid by a clueless or money-hungry backyard breeder who sold them a single kid, and now they have all sorts of problems -- goat escaping from the pasture constantly and staying on the front porch (and pooping all over it), or entertaining itself by escaping and jumping on their cars, or escaping and getting in with a horse who is determined to kick off its head, or won't stop screaming because it's lonely. These are all real stories from people who've bought a single goat. Your mini mule could do all sorts of things to a tiny kid. We had a mini donkey who killed a ewe by trampling her, and he picked up a buck by its front leg and galloped across the pasture with it. That was his idea of playing. Even if your mule doesn't try to hurt your little kid, he is not a goat. Equine play and communication is very different than caprine play and communication.
Personally, I will not sell a single kid. I've had people call here and say that they just want one, and I won't do it. I don't care if I lose a sale, because I don't want to sell my goats to someone who doesn't care about the goat's happiness and well-being. The definition of a good home is one with caprine companionship. It takes no more time to take care of two goats than one, and the cost of feed is negligible. There is simply NO reason to have a single goat.
Good luck getting her switched to a bottle. Some kids take to it right away, but others scream like you're killing them, and you're only able to get a few drops down them at a time. Three weeks is a terrible age to take a kid away from its mom.
Jill Ennis said:
Right now she is the only goat, but will have many barnyard friends. Horses, chickens, ducks. She's in the house right now until we figure the bottle out. Then she will be in the barn with our mini mule for a companion.
Deborah Niemann-Boehle said:
Otherwise, read the archives in the forum. There is tons of good info on housing, fencing, feed, and other basic info.
If you have any specific questions, just holler!