Nutrition in the first days and weeks of life of kids affects not only the health of animals in the future, but also on their productivity. About the rules and methods of feeding - further.
Activities before the first feeding
Before the first feeding of the kid (after his birth), the following measures should be taken:
- Cord cutting.
- Rubbing a born kid with a dry and sterile towel.
- Elimination of mucus from the kid’s mouth and nostrils - to prevent it from entering the lungs. If this is not done, the risk of developing infections increases.
- Wash the udder with warm water.
- Squeezing out several streams of colostrum. The most dangerous first jets - they may contain pathogenic microbes.
- Feeding is carried out from the first hour of life. Feeding is done directly from the udder or from a bottle with a pacifier.
The kid is covered with a warm blanket - so as not to freeze. Newborns have problems with heat transfer, their skin is still not able to retain and absorb heat.
Colostrum is extremely necessary for kids - it forms the immunity of the animal for the whole subsequent life. In the first servings of milk - colostrum, a lot of easily digestible protein, fats and enzymes necessary for digestion.
Mother goat must necessarily lick the kid - this is not only useful for the joints and muscles of the newborn, but also for future lactation. Licking triggers the mechanism of milk formation.
If the newborn does not receive colostrum in the first hour of life, he will be stunted - he will not be suitable for replenishing the herd. Being late with the first feeding for 2-3 hours leads to a 50% probability of death of young animals.
Kids feeding options
There are two main methods of feeding kids: under the uterus and without it. The choice depends on the productivity of the goats and the goals for which they are bred - for the sake of milk or for the increase in livestock. If the farmer is interested in high milk productivity, the kids are artificially fed. If the goats do not require high milk productivity, the task is simplified - the goat mother is engaged in feeding the kids.
Under the uterus, goats are raised from unproductive goats. The kids are next to such mothers for 3-4 months.
Under the uterus
This is the easiest and most convenient option, both for animals and for their owner. Leaving a kid with his mother, a man is freed from painstaking fuss with feeding - the baby, having an udder in the public domain, will receive everything necessary for his growth, development and immunity.
While feeding kids under the uterus, a person does not control the rate and volume of milk, but he watches the udder. In the mammary glands, after sucking, milk remains, which must be discarded so that mastitis does not develop.
At first, the kid eats only breast milk. As he grows up, his diet changes. From 3 weeks it is fed with mineral supplements - salt, bone meal and chalk. These components are necessary for the absorption of calcium and the strengthening of bone tissue. The animal is given 10 g of these products per day. At 3 months, the norm doubles.
Advantages of feeding under the uterus:
- strong immunity is formed in kids
- the nutritional value of milk is higher than when feeding from a bottle;
- kids grow quickly and gain weight;
- reduced time for goat care;
- the learning ability of young animals improves - they quickly learn to eat adult food and get used to order on the farm.
We recommend watching a video where the breeder talks about feeding the kids:
Cons of feeding under the uterus:
- increased risk of mastitis in goats;
- due to damage to the rudimentary nipples, the uterus develops painful swelling, it is necessary to treat the animal with medication.
Artificial Feeding
If the baby goats are fed without a uterus, they are taken away from the goat mother after birth. Babies are hand-fed with warm colostrum from a sterile bottle with a pacifier. They remove colostrum by hand, give it to the goats in pairs. Artificial kids are fed 5 times a day for the first 10 days.
If the female milk disappears, it is replaced with cow or shop pasteurized. Whole milk can be replaced with Kormilak. Mixture for kids can also be prepared on their own. The first feeding - at 5-6 hours, the last - at 9 hours. The optimum temperature of milk for feeding is 38 ° C. For feeding use bottles with nipples, bowls, pots - it is rinsed with boiling water after use.
Advantages of artificial feeding:
- the possibility of diet correction;
- goat milk is used for sale, but not spent on young animals.
Cons of artificial feeding:
- waste of time and money - on the purchase of artificial nutrition;
- animals form weaker immunity than with natural feeding;
- saving on food often leads to slow development of kids.
An approximate scheme for feeding young animals is shown in table 1.
Table 1
Age | Number of feedings | The amount of milk for one feeding, g | Approximate time |
1 day | according to need | according to need | according to need |
Week 1 | 6 | 300 | 8, 11, 14, 17, 20, 23 |
2-3 weeks | 5 | 300 | 8, 12,16, 20, 23 |
4-6 weeks | 4 | 600 | 8, 12, 16, 20 |
7-8 weeks | 3 | 600 | 8, 14, 20 |
9 week | 2 | 600 | 8, 20 |
10 week | 1 | 600 | according to need |
For feeding young animals use bottles or buckets with nipples. You can’t feed babies from cups and troughs - they can choke by swallowing too much milk. In addition, swallowing large portions leads to curdling of milk in the digestive system, and then to diarrhea and exhaustion.
Baby bottles are suitable for feeding kids, from which children are fed - they can be purchased at a pharmacy or a children's store. To optimize the feeding process, it is better to use special devices - buckets with attached nipples. One device can "feed" several kids at once.
Table 2 - comparative characteristics of feed for kids.
table 2
Type of feed | Fat% | Protein% | Features | Cost, rub./kg |
Whole goat milk | 3,6 | 3,2 | The best option for kids | 40-80 |
Whole cow's milk | 3,4 | 3,2 | Absorbed worse than goat milk | 20-40 |
Milk Powder (SCM) | 25 | 25,5 | Defective vitamin and mineral composition | 160-200 |
WTC for kids "Felucen" | 12 | 22 | Contains vegetable fat | 100-120 |
Food fusion for kids | 4,5 | 12 | Expensive | 500-2000 |
Combined feeding
The method combines artificial and natural feeding:
- The first 3-4 days, newborn kids live next to their mother, eating on a suction. During this time, babies strengthen their immunity.
- On the fifth day, the kids are taken from the goat, transferred to artificial feeding. After that, the goat is bred, getting high milk yield.
The health status of the kids can be judged from the age of one month. Until this time, it is difficult to identify the weakness of the animal. To stimulate growth, weakened kids are given concentrated feeds - at the age of one month their stomachs already cope with such food. Weakened animals receive 30-50 g of concentrates daily.
Rules and diet by age
The nutrition of the kids depends on the type of feeding and age. From the first day of life until adulthood, the diet of young animals changes - qualitatively and quantitatively. Table 3 shows the approximate amount of milk and feed supplied by kids of different ages.
Table 3
Age days | Feeding once a day | The amount of milk per feeding, g | The daily norm of milk, g | Liquid oatmeal, g | Mixtures of concentrated feed, g | Root crops, g | Hay, g | Table salt, g | Chalk, g |
1-2 | 5 | 100 | 500 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
3-4 | 5 | 140 | 700 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
5-6 | 5 | 180 | 90 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
7-10 | 4 | 250 | 1000 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
11-20 | 4 | 300 | 1200 | 200 | — | — | plenty | 4 | 4 |
21-30 | 4 | 300 | 1200 | 300 | 40 | — | plenty | 4 | 4 |
31-40 | 3 | 350 | 1050 | 400 | 50 | 100 | 100 | 5 | 5 |
41-50 | 3 | 250 | 750 | 500 | 100 | 150 | 150 | 5 | 5 |
51-60 | 3 | 200 | 600 | 600 | 15 | 200 | 200 | 5 | 5 |
61-70 | 3 | 150 | 450 | 500 | 200 | 250 | 250 | 6 | 6 |
71-80 | 2 | 150 | 300 | — | 250 | 300 | 300 | 6 | 6 |
81-90 | 2 | 150 | 300 | — | 300 | 400 | 350 | 6 | 6 |
Feeding newborn kids
Newborn kids are fed colostrum and milk 5-6 times a day. In the second week, the number of feedings is reduced to 4 times. Feeding Rules:
- The first 4 days the kids are given 200 g of milk.
- On the 5th day, give 250 g, on the 6th - 300 g.
- From the 11th day, the kids are not enough mother’s milk, the diet is replenished with liquid oat or semolina porridge. For 0.5 l of water - 1 tbsp. l cereals. A little milk is poured into the cooked porridge.
Meals of 2 week old kids
From two weeks of age, the kids can eat hay, and if there is fresh grass, then it can be given. Thanks to the early accustoming to roughage, the stomachs of kids goat better and quickly adapt to the diet of adult goats.
From the third week of life, the kids are given a "growth elixir" - fish oil. To obtain a vitamin drink in milk, dilute 15 g of fish oil, 10 g of salt and 2-3 eggs. The prepared food is given out a little, slightly warming.
After two weeks of age, chalk, bone meal and concentrated feed are introduced into the kids ’diet. Then give finely chopped root crops. The first servings should not exceed 20-30 g.
Special feeds are sold for kids. Experienced goat farmers often prepare feed themselves. Example feed for 2-week-old kids:
- flattened oats;
- bran;
- a piece of chalk;
- bone flour.
Eating monthly kids
From a month old, milk for kids is diluted with water. To gradually replace the diet, linseed flour or bran is introduced into the liquid feed. Boiled potatoes are often added to enhance nutrition. From the 1st month, kids can be taken to the pasture.
If it is winter outside, the kids are given hay and vegetables harvested for the future. They are fed with washed carrots, beets, cabbage leaves. Since two months, the basis of the diet of young animals is grain, juicy and roughage. The proportion of milk at this age is reduced to 30%. By 3 months of age, the kids are offered an adult “menu”.
3-month-old goat diet
By three months, the kid is being transferred to an adult diet. There is no milk in the “menu” of young animals who have reached this age. Instead of milk, kids eat:
- grass
- branches
- silage;
- hay and straw (in winter);
- vegetables and root crops;
- concentrated feed - 200 g;
- ground cereals - alternately oats, corn, wheat;
- legumes and their tops (peas, beans, asparagus);
- vitamin and mineral complexes.
If goats from three months of age with an appetite eat and actively gain weight, you should not limit them in the feed. It is likely that in the future a highly productive dairy goat will be produced from an animal.
Whole milk replacer feeding
If the goat died after lambing, feeding the kids becomes the care of the farmer. On a large farm, the breeder uses milk from other goats to feed. Farmers often stock up on colostrum in case of a goat loss.
In large goat farms, the kids are fed with a substitute for whole milk (ZMTs). The substitute is selected in accordance with the age and type of animal. There is a special goat substitute created for feeding goats. You can’t give the kids ZMTs for calves, it will not only not bring benefits, but also harm.
Terms of use for milk replacer:
- Volumes of drinking should correspond to the age of the kid. You can not overfeed the animal. If the kid overeat, he will begin diarrhea, which can provoke the death of the animal.
- With an increase in nutrition, the number of feedings is reduced. The older the kid, the less often he should eat.
- Mixtures cannot replace colostrum. If the goat mother died, give the newborn colostrum from another uterus or from the freezer (warmed up).
- Young animals are transferred to WMS gradually - in order to avoid stomach upsets. Do not forget that in the milk replacer there are antibiotics that can cause gastrointestinal upset.
- If you could not find either colostrum or milk replacer, you will have to use cow's milk. Kids who are fed milk from a cow survive, but are noticeably inferior in productivity and health to individuals fed under the uterus.
- Introducing the milk replacer, it is necessary to ensure the clean condition of the drinkers. Install them so that the kids do not pollute the water.
Mix recipe
Growing kids on the WTC lasts a month and a half. During this period, one animal eats about 9 kg of dry mix. Rules for preparing the mixture:
- The dry mixture is mixed with water - 5 l is taken per 1 kg.
- Stirring non-stop, warm the mixture over a fire to 40-45 ° C.
- Strain, give a warm mixture to the kids. Screening is necessary to remove lumps.
Daily consumption rates of milk replacer:
- From 1 to 7 days - 900-1200 ml.
- From 1 to 3 weeks - 1300-1600 ml.
- Up to 2 months - 1700-1900 ml.
Next, the kids are transferred to an adult diet, and they do not need a milk replacer.
Pasteurized Milk Feeding
Instead of milk replacer, you can use goat pasteurized milk of natural origin. Thanks to pasteurization, all microbes in the milk are destroyed - it becomes completely safe, suitable for feeding the kids.
Pasteurization is carried out by 2 methods:
- Fast. Milk is heated for 30 seconds to 74 ° C.
- Slow. Milk is heated to 64 ° C for half an hour.
To prepare pasteurized milk, use a conventional stove or a household pasteurizer. After pasteurization, the milk is cooled. Dishes in which milk is poured must be sterile. Any item relating to milk must be sterilized.
Colostrum is heated using a different technology - it is heated to 56 ° C, and then kept for 60 minutes. All harmful microbes die after such exposure, and the elements needed by the kid, on the contrary, remain active.
Pan feeding
From the first days of life, you can teach kids to drink milk on their own. Pan-feeding is not the most popular method. But young animals are extremely pleased with this option of feeding, since with this method they can drink plenty of milk - as much as they wish at the moment.
How to feed a sick kid?
Not all kids are born healthy. Signs of a sick kid:
- weighs less than 2 kg;
- not standing on his feet;
- eats without appetite;
- poorly holds his head.
A condition accompanied by the above symptoms is called - antenatal hypotrophy.
If the kid is not born from close relatives, and the goat did not have a deficiency of magnesium, it can be saved. The procedure for caring for a sick newborn:
- Weakened and sick kids give Gamavit or Katozal - in the composition of these funds there is an extract of the placenta, as well as vitamins and substances that increase immunity. These drugs heal anemia and activate metabolism.
- If the kid does not want to eat, colostrum is injected through a syringe - through the mouth. 50 ml of colostrum are poured at a time. When a kid gets stronger, it is fed from a nipple or bowl.
- Patients with kids must have improved conditions. The kid is kept in a box, at the bottom of which a thick layer of litter is lined. So that the kid does not get too cold, he is given a heating pad and covered with warm blankets.
- It is strictly forbidden to overfeed sick kids with colostrum. If the animal nevertheless ate more than the norm, you will have to skip the next feeding, halving the portion due.
Useful tips for the farmer
Pay attention to the following recommendations from experienced farmers:
- It is recommended that a goat that has been nourished be drank with dill infusion. To prepare the infusion, take several large branches of dill, salt (1 tbsp. L.) And sugar (150 g). The broth is given warm - about 40 ° C. Thanks to this drink, the goat recovers faster after lambing.
- Having milked colostrum in goats, it is heated in a water bath. Do not heat colostrum in the microwave.
- The first day passes without normalized feeding. The kid eats often. The first feedings take place with an interval of 1 hour.
- Already on the second day of life, the baby can get out of the goathouse. The kids are curious and mobile, they quickly begin to develop muscles. Having three days old, a kid can walk up to 1 km.
- Having taken the kid from the uterus, the latter is crushed 4 times a day - so that there is more milk.
- Young animals should have access to clean water from birth. Water temperature - room.
Okot is the most important event for any farm. With the birth of kids, the farmer's trouble is added, especially with artificial feeding. Competent care for the nutrition of kids is the key to the cultivation of healthy and highly productive goats.
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Russia. City Novosibirsk
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