Caring for kids is the longest, hardest process of caring for goats - but for good reason. Proper care of kids sets them up with the building blocks to grow successfully into large, productive does and bucks. All of our ADGA Nubian and Nigerian Dwarf kids receive the best care possible.

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Birth: all kids are pulled at birth and bottle fed powdered colostrum. Cords are dipped in iodine to help dry them and prevent infection. Weak kids may be given a pea-sized amount of selenium & vitamin E paste, although I've never had to.

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First Week: For the first week, all kids are fed up to 20oz (as much as they'll take each time) of pasteurized milk 4 times a day. A pinch of baking soda is put in the first bottle of the day to prevent gastrointestinal issues.

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Week 2 - Week 16: After the first week, kids are transitioned to a lambar. Using this system, kids are able to free-feed during the day as they want. This is much closer to how they naturally feed off their dams, and it's so much easier than cleaning and filling 20+ bottles a day. Hay, water, minerals, and Tucker Milling Goat Grower and alfalfa pellets are put out free-choice at this time so that kids can start figuring out what they'll be eating as adults. CD&T shots are given at 4 weeks and 8 weeks of age.

 

16+ Weeks - 1 Year: After 16 weeks, kids are gradually weaned from the lambar by offering less milk each day. They still stay on free-choice grain until 6 months, when by that time they are pretty much eating it as quick as I can pour it and they go to being fed one scoop of grain once in the evenings, as much as they'll eat of it. Copper boluses are given at about 4 months. At a year, they are put on our regime for dry does if they are not already bred. 

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*Note: We do not use coccidia preventatives as part of our kid-raising regime to prevent resistance. We know the symptoms of coccidiosis and run fecals as soon as we feel there's a problem. Kids are weighed for gains weekly.  If they fail to gain, develop diarrhea, start acting lethargic or lose their appetites, we consider that a problem. Areas where kids are kept are cleaned regularly, and feeders are up off the ground to prevent contamination. Coccidiosis can be deadly and should be treated quickly, or prevention protocols should be in place should you choose to do so.