Goat Kid Care Schedule

This is based on the info at dairygoatinfo.com. The orginal was written by Vicki McGaugh of Lonesome Doe Nubians.


The day the Kids are born…

The day they are born give them a Bo-Se Shot. Full size dairy kids get 1/4cc, subcutaneously.

Give 1- 400 unit Vit E Capsule, orally.

IMMEDIATELY dip navel with Iodine, using clean iodine each time. Real iodine is available from your vet, use only the 7%. With iodine hard to find, you can use chlorhexidine or betadine. Some folks dip hooves, too, as they are soft and absorbent.

If you are bottle feeding kids, each kid needs to consume about 20 oz of colostrum within 12 hours. Minimum is 1 ounce of colostrum per pound of kid. After 20 ounces of colostrum, they can be switched to milk.

Bucks, limit to 4 oz colostrum per feeding, but still getting their 20 ounces in 12 hours.

More colostrum of course can be fed, just not less. The highest quality of colostrum comes from your older does in their first 12 hours of milking.

After 12 hours the kids ability to absorb immunity from the colostrum stops; colostrum however is very high in fat, high in calories and has a laxative effect to get the hard tarry meconium out of the intestine, expect to see first black tarry poop, then yellow colostrum poop, poop will then change to brown as they get onto milk. Other colors warn problems. Some kids can get yellow diarrhea from colostrum, but this is normal.

For bottle kids, put a pinch of baking soda per kid into each bottle, once a day.

At day 20, start on Cocci prevention. Use Corid or sulfa, dosages in Goatkeeping 101 on dairygoatinfo.com. Give it once a day for 5 days, then repeat every 20 days until well grown and on meat goat pellets that contain their cocci med (decoquinate, rumensin, lasalocid, bovatec). Do not wait for symptoms of cocci or worms and then use treatment; think prevention always.

Edited to add: There is a new medication available for coccidia that is ONE dose every three weeks. 1 cc per ten pounds, orally.

Day 20 - Deworm with Valbazen - 1cc per 10lbs (this is for tapes) Important note is that my kids are not in pens frequented by adults; so adult worms aren't a worry for me until the kids are older. If your goat kids are in with adults, then you will have to worm them with your adult wormer, usually Cydectin.
Day 60 – vaccinate for CDT. Give BoSe.
Day 90 – booster vaccination for CDT. Deworm with Valbazen.
Day 120 – booster vaccination for CDT. Deworm with Valbazen. Give BoSe.