How much should i be feeding my nigerian dwarf goat baby?

Question

she is 7 days old and she is on a milk replacer formula called sav-a-kid i was told to feed her 3-4 oz. every 6 hours and i was also told 10-12 oz. 4 times a day. which is correct?? i have been feeding her 3.5 ounces every 6 hours but she is always nudging me like she is still hungry? i was also told if you over...

Answer 1

I raise Nigerians and have had to bottle feed a few. For miniature goats, smaller feedings more often is best. They have very tiny tummies. Especially when using milk replacer, you want to be very careful not to overfeed because of the possibility of scours which can dehydrate a baby very quickly and be fatal. At 7 days, I'd be feeding around 4 - 5 oz. every 4 to 6 hours during the day. I let them go 7 hours overnight overnight after the first couple of days and it's never caused any problems.

That's just a starting point for you...you can gradually increase your feeding size while you also increase the time between feedings. With mini breeds NEVER feed more than 8 oz. at a feeding, even when they are older. By the time they are about 6 weeks old I feed about 8 oz. 3 times a day. By that time she should also be nibbling on grain & hay. At about 8 weeks I start gradually cutting back on the milk, and wean them completely around 12 weeks.

One more suggestion...whole cow's milk from the store is MUCH better for her. A goat kid is much less likely to get scours from whole cow's milk, even if you feed too much. Make the switch gradually...the first day only do 1 oz. cow's milk & the rest formula for every feeding....every day gradually add more cow's milk and less formula until you are feeding straight cow's milk. Take about a week to make the switch.

It's perfectly normal for her to act like she is still hungry after a feeding, I've never seen one that didn't act like that. Being a bit hungry is much better than being over fed. Start offering hay/grass for her to chew on at about 10 days to 2 weeks. At first she will mostly just chew on it and not eat it, but she will get the idea pretty quickly.

Good luck! They are really pretty tough little animals even though they are tiny....relax, have fun, & enjoy your baby!

Answer 2

it's not a brain surgery as long as your close your fine feed it 4 -5 times a day and watch it if its side are continuously caved in looking you need to give it a little more not a lot because it will get the runs as far as killing it I doubt it unless you aspirate it (giving it food through a bottle with to big a hole and it breathes the milk in rather than swallowing it)

Answer 3

2 hand fulls of dry mixed rabbit feed and 1 and a half handfuls of fruit and veg.