It Is Ok to Feed Baby Goats Cows Milk
Introduction
Kids tin can be reared economically using milk replacers, and weaned at an early age, 6 weeks or less, if adequately grown. Alternative rearing systems are a loftier priority to producers of goat milk. The advantages include reduced costs, increased production, and breaking affliction cycles. The success of rearing kids using milk replacers requires strict adherence to correct direction practices, particularly in ensuring good hygiene in rearing facilities, and cleanliness of feed and feeding equipment.
Bogus methods of rearing goat kids are widely used overseas, and are gaining acceptance in Australia. They have a number of advantages over natural methods, particularly in more intensive commercial goat-breeding operations. This Agfact sets out how to apply these methods.
When to use artificial rearing
You can use artificial methods of rearing goats:
- to allow does to be re-mated more quickly if your aim is to increment herd size and maximise genetic progress;
- to rear replacement breeding and meat kids in the goat dairy when y'all cannot afford to feed them marketable milk—you can so utilize this milk more than profitably for product and market development;
- to prepare uniform batches of suckling kids for premium goat meat markets;
- to break affliction cycles—sure diseases, such equally caprine arthritis encephalitis virus (CAEV) and Johne'south affliction, are spread by infected goat colostrum (the doe's first milk), by milk, and by faecal contagion of sucked teats;
- to rear orphans;
- to ensure the survival of multiple-birth kids.
Housing, shelter, yards and paddocks
Successful hand rearing requires that you lot stick to a few primal rules. A dry out, clean, well-drained expanse with shelter is essential. As with all intensively reared animals, good ventilation is important, and whatever draughts should exist eliminated. Make clean bedding, feeders and waterers help to ensure that the kids remain healthy.
If kids are housed together in a suitable shed, additional heat may not be necessary. Even so, in cold conditions, piglet heaters or infra-red heating lamps are suitable. Do non let the temperature in goat housing fall below v°C.
Kids can be reared on an elevated platform of, for example, woven mesh, expanded metal or wooden slats, or on the ground on earth or concrete, in which instance make clean straw freshened up each day should exist provided. Draughts are more than likely with open floors.
If you are housing goats until weaning, allow at to the lowest degree 0.6 m2 of solid floor or 0.2 m2 of open up floor per child. The platonic size of kid groups is about 15, with no more than 25 in a pen.
If there is a large variation in the size and weight of goats of similar ages, group goats of similar size together, especially if you lot take express amounts of feed, to make certain they can all become to the feed.
Figure ane. The situation shown in this illustration should be avoided.
Kids in the aforementioned feeding group should be of compatible size
Housing layout varies co-ordinate to needs, with larger numbers needing more sophisticated arrangements. For instance, if you want to maximise the numbers you lot feed at 1 fourth dimension, you tin locate automatic feeders within a circumvolve of pens—in Europe, 100 to 200 per unit of measurement may be fed in this style. Figure ii shows the layout of a large-scale rearing facility.
Figure 2. Layout of a large-scale kid-rearing facility.
This artificial rearing shed, with six pens, has the capacity to agree 100 head
Afterward their first week of life, kids tin be artificially reared outside if the climate is not besides severe. Brand sure there is shade during summertime, and shelter for when information technology is common cold and wet.
Feeding equipment and shelter located in the paddock or yard should exist moved around to prevent damage to the pasture and fouling of the adjacent expanse. A mesh feeding platform can be useful in such cases.
Intendance of the doe at kidding
A successful nascency and a adept start to the future productive life of a child depend upon how well you care for the doe during the pre-kidding period, and on the kid's weight at birth. The kid should counterbalance 3.5 to iv kg at nascency, although lighter and heavier kids (two to 5 kg) are not uncommon. Kids weighing less than three kg accept a reduced chance of survival.
A few days before kidding, movement your does into a kidding paddock where yous can discover them easily. A well-sheltered paddock that is safe from predators, or caprine animal housing near the house or dairy, is ideal. Go along in heed that for a doe to produce well during lactation, she needs to be fed fairly before kidding then that she is in expert body condition when she kids.
Care of the newborn kid
Information technology is most important for kids to receive colostrum (the doe'due south first milk) during the first 24 hours of its life. A healthy newborn kid rarely needs help to suck from its dam (refer to the section Colostrum).
Kids can go infected with diseases via the navel. You lot can reduce the risk of this by dipping the navel cord in a solution of iodine and water (0.five per cent iodine) as before long as possible subsequently birth (see Health, and illness prevention).
Feeding methods and feeding equipment
There are three principal ways of offering milk feed to kids artificially:
- a bottle
- an open vessel such as a bucket or trough
- a manually filled or automatic self-feed teat.
Concentrate feeders, hay racks and a clean h2o supply are as well required for successful rearing.
Bottle feeding
Bottles with teats are useful for small numbers of kids, but are too labour-intensive for big-scale rearing.
Make sure your bottles, open vessels and feed-mixing equipment are thoroughly done and sterilised after feeding.
Scrub your equipment thoroughly with detergent, sanitise it with a household or dairy bleach, then store information technology in a fashion that prevents recontamination.
As an extra precaution, sanitise equipment before utilize.
Open vessel feeding
Open vessel feeding can be quite satisfactory for kids, merely only if you are offer fresh milk feeds frequently.
Information technology is important to supervise feeding to brand sure that smaller kids beverage enough and that goats practise not overfeed. Overfeeding can cause swelling of the abomasum (fourth stomach)—come across Effigy 11.
If you leave milk in open troughs or buckets it tin can apace get fouled, so brand sure y'all launder any troughs or buckets properly and sanitise them after use. If milk is immune to remain on kids' mouths after drinking, milk sores tin can develop. You tin can foreclose this by wiping their mouths with clean absorbent paper towels.
Figure 3. Small groups of kids tin can be reared using a simple trough feeder
Self-feed teat feeders
Self-feed teat feeders are used for rearing groups of kids. Teats tin can exist located either at the meridian of the container or at the base of the container.
Teats located at the acme of the milk container are fitted to tubes that end at the bottom of the container. With this system, one-style valves can be fitted to help small kids to feed.
Teats ready at the base of a milk container are filled past gravity. Blind teats, with a self-sealing vertical slit in the end, can be located at the base of the milk container or in a teat bar. (See figures 4, 5, half-dozen, seven, viii, ix and 10).
| Figure 4. Bucket feeder—the plastic saucepan has | Figure 5. Garbage bin feeder—plastic bin with |
Figure 6. Esky and teat bar
Effigy 7. Insulated cold-milk feeder
Figure 8. Cold-milk recirculating system
Figure 9. Teat bars for common cold-milk recirculating system
| 9a. Teat bar  | 9b. Teat bar—larger units need a larger milk line to  |
| 9c. Teats betwixt baffles  | 9d. Top view of teats recessed in funnels  |
Figure 10. Electronic automated feeder and teat bars
Blind teats with a slit are particularly proficient for training kids because they release milk equally presently every bit the child starts sucking; however, they can result in milk loss if they are damaged. Tearing of teats occurs well-nigh often in feeding systems that allow continuous access (advertizing libitum systems). Tearing tin be minimised by placing a bamboozle around or between the teats (Figure five) to prevent kids chewing with their back teeth.
Milk containers for small-calibration teat feeders range from simple bucket feeders (Figure iv) to insulated common cold-milk units (Effigy 7).
Electronic automatic continuous feeders (Figure 10), which mix and dispense in response to sucking, have been used for big-scale kid rearing, with skillful results when management has been adequate. Cold-milk recirculating systems (Figure ix) tin can also be used for rearing large numbers.
You need to take extra care in cleaning large-scale teat feeding systems to make sure whatever bacterial residues are removed from milk lines. Y'all can employ techniques developed for cleaning dairy equipment for this purpose.
Water
Make certain there is e'er plenty of clean water available. To avert contagion you lot can place water troughs outside the pens in a position where kids tin reach through to potable (see Figure 3 above), or you might consider installing nipple drinkers, such as those used in piggeries. Goats tin can damage trough float mechanisms, so make sure these are adequately protected.
Concentrate feeders
Concentrate feeds are usually offered in open troughs, but these quickly become fouled, causing health problems and waste of expensive feed.
Information technology is better to utilize a design that locates the feeder outside the pen or incorporates a hood to prevent kids clambering into the food.
Hay racks
To minimise waste matter and prevent wellness problems caused past soiled feed, you can provide hay in racks with a tray to take hold of spillage. 'Keyhole' type racks are particularly adept for reducing waste product. Hay nets are not suitable because kids tend to bound onto them when playing, and can get defenseless, sometimes with serious consequences.
Make sure that the feeders are properly constructed, as hay spillage can clutter up mesh floors and asphyxiate drainage systems.
Small-scale equipment for milk replacer rearing
You tin can make a saucepan feeder (Effigy 4) or garbage bin feeder (Effigy 5) by drilling 12 mm holes at about 15 cm intervals effectually the base of the bucket or bin and pushing teats through from the inside. These feeders demand a stand that is well anchored to stop them tipping over. For example, iii steel posts can be used with a garbage bin feeder.
Some producers use a series of small buckets with single teats, and provide a fix amount of feed two to iii times a day. Problems with this system are the amount of washing-up required and the need to be present at each feeding. If you utilise a bucket or garbage bin in such a organization, the advantages are quicker throughput and less washing-upwardly. Accept intendance to motion each kid away from the feeder when it has had its share. A full general rule is to gradually increase the allowance for each kid until the kid is consuming a maximum of ane.5 L per day.
The feeding equipment shown in figures iv, 5 and 7 needs to exist firmly held on stands that are anchored to foreclose them beingness knocked over. The stands tin can incorporate baffles around the teats to prevent chewing and leakage.
You can employ the esky feeder (Figure 6) to rear 20 kids. In this arrangement, milk is placed in two five 50 plastic buckets in a foam esky. A tube runs from the buckets to a curt teat bar. Milk is mixed daily and half of it is put in the deep freeze. The next day, half the fresh milk is put into the buckets along with the frozen milk from the day before. Still, this system has some disadvantages:
- the tubing must be washed at least every 2 days;
- the balance of the ration needs refrigeration earlier the second feed of the day;
- on hot days, milk may curdle in the lines if information technology is non cool enough;
- the chapters of the esky is limited.
An improvement on the esky-type feeder is an insulated common cold-milk feeder (Figure vii). These types of feeders reduce the labour involved. In this arrangement, the milk is mixed in one case daily, and the kids are left to feed at volition. The milk is placed directly into an insulated container. The container is lined to cease milk being absorbed into the cream, as this can cause bacterial bug. Self-sealing teats are recessed in funnels in the side of the feeder to protect them from being chewed, which can go a problem when the kids reach nearly 2 weeks of historic period. An insulated cold-milk feeder, with a daily filling, will handle 20 kids and will allow cold-milk feeding while kids are running at pasture.
Large-scale rearing systems
Big numbers of kids tin exist reared on a cold-milk recirculating system or with an electronic automatic feeder.
A cold-milk recirculating system (Figure eight) has been used to rear 2000 lambs in trials past NSW Agriculture at Leeton during contempo years. This organisation consists of a refrigerator with a milk container (plastic garbage bin), a delivery line, a teat bar, a return line and a small, low-speed pump to lift milk back to the refrigerator without excessive foaming. Milk is mixed in an anarchist washing machine, chilled, and added to the milk in the refrigerator. Bins and lines are washed at least twice weekly.
In the NSW Agriculture trials, the original teat bar was 19 mm PVC pipe with T-pieces every 10 cm to hold the teats (Effigy 9(a)), with 21 teats on each line. This arrangement reared 30–50 lambs at a time, and had one to two lambs per teat, which is consistent with some overseas kid-rearing systems. The line was altered to provide a three-teat bar (with the same milk line dimensions as Figure 9(b) for each pen of 18 lambs (6 lambs per teat).
In Europe, three teats per 25 lambs are used with advertizing libitum feeding. The teat bar is placed outside the pen and protrudes through 10 cm2 mesh which acts every bit a baffle (Figure ix(c)). Funnel-type teat bars (Figure 9(d)) requite meliorate teat protection.
Electronic automatic feeder
Electronic automatic feeder machines (Effigy 10) are available in Australia. They are produced both locally and in Europe and New Zealand. It is claimed that these machines can be used to rear 200 young at a fourth dimension on a single car located within a circle of eight pens containing 25 kids each.
In trials by NSW Agriculture at Leeton, lxx lambs have been reared simultaneously using 1 machine; rearing college numbers has not been attempted. These machines manipulate warm milk; consequently, milk lines, teat bars and mixing bowls must be washed daily. Otherwise, the labour input is minimal, and comparable with that for the cold-milk organisation—about 1 60 minutes per day for lxx young.
Kid digestion
A newborn child'southward digestion is unlike from that of an adult goat. Although a kid has four stomachs (Figure 11), it does not use them all early in life because the digestive organisation is non fully adult at birth.
| Figure 11. The breadbasket system of a child, showing the  | Effigy 12. The breadbasket system of an adult caprine animal,  |
Whereas in the adult goat the rumen and the reticulum (first and second stomachs) make upwardly about 70 per cent of breadbasket capacity (Figure 12), in early life the position is reversed and the omasum and abomasum (third and quaternary stomachs) business relationship for seventy per cent.
The liquid diet of the young kid goes straight to the abomasum for digestion. Kids cannot digest solid feed, particularly starch, until the rumen develops.
Poor-quality milk replacers with high starch levels will restrict child growth.
Poor kid performance may likewise upshot if a milk replacer with a plant poly peptide source, such as soybean, is used during the start 2–iv weeks, or if fats in the replacer are not properly homogenised into the liquid feed.
During the kickoff ii weeks or so, the kid starts picking at dry affair, such as hay or straw, but at get-go rejects it. Gradually it will eat some of the material, with the result that:
- the roughage present stimulates the physical evolution of the rumen;
- bacteria and other micro-organisms that are present on the dry feed become established every bit part of the normal rumen environs.
From about the 3rd calendar week, the kid starts to nibble at grass, hay or concentrates if they are available, and these pass to the rumen. Rumination, or chewing the cud, follows shortly afterwards.
Colostrum
Colostrum, which is produced by the doe during the first 4 or so days later on kidding, is thicker and darker than ordinary milk. It contains essential antibodies (immunoglobulins) that protect kids from disease, and is a concentrated source of nutrients. The newborn child can blot the essential antibodies in colostrum but during its commencement 24 hours or and then of life. These antibodies protect the child for the first 8–10 weeks confronting many diseases.
Information technology may exist difficult to rear good for you, well-growing kids if they practice not receive colostrum. Kids that practice not receive colostrum will be less resistant to scours (diarrhoea) and other ailments later in life.
If a kid is separated from the doe at birth, make sure it is fed colostrum as soon as possible, and for at least 1 twenty-four hours. If colostrum is not available from the kid'south mother, feed it caprine animal, ewe or moo-cow colostrum that has been stored. The most suitable colostrum is from animals which are starting their second or later lactations, as this colostrum contains college levels of antibodies than does that from young females.
CAEV eradication programs need a source of colostrum that is not infected, such as cow colostrum. An alternative source of colostrum is also needed if the doe cannot produce suitable colostrum because she has mastitis. Similarly, if you buy some day-old kids and you do not know if they accept had colostrum or not, you tin feed them stored colostrum, if only for its nutritional value.
If it is necessary to feed colostrum by manus, practice so in ii to three feeds of 100 to 150 mL each. If no colostrum is bachelor, whole milk is the all-time alternative.
Storage of colostrum
Excess colostrum can be stored for futurity utilise in either fermented class or frozen form.
Fermented colostrum
Put surplus colostrum in a clean container such as a plastic garbage bin and store it in a cool place. The container should accept an open up top to allow the colostrum to 'exhale'. To prevent contamination from flies, cover the container with gauze or muslin.
Stir the colostrum daily. It will ferment, just y'all can keep using information technology for about 3 months. Add fresh colostrum to the container as it becomes available.
Mix i part hot water to iii parts colostrum, and feed it at the recommended charge per unit.
Frozen colostrum
Backlog colostrum can be stored in a freezer for upwards to 12 months. For convenience, freeze it in 200 mL to one L portions in plastic bags. Collect colostrum for freezing from mature females on the first or second day after kidding, lambing or calving. When thawing colostrum, do not use directly heat, as this can destroy the antibodies.
Grooming kids
Kids that have been left on their mothers may need to exist trained to use trough or teat feeders.
Take the kids away from their dams, and await for 3–4 hours earlier you attempt to train them. This will ensure that the kids are hungry, and they volition therefore train hands. If a kid is reluctant to suck, button the back of its head downwards until information technology is in a normal sucking opinion. You can assist training by placing your finger in the kid's rima oris before replacing it with the teat, stroking the child's muzzle and head, and positioning the kid alongside a trained kid to permit contact of muzzles of both kids.
It is of import for a kid to get an immediate response to its efforts when it is being trained. This can be accomplished past canteen feeding, or by using cocky-sealing teats on the base of operations of a milk container. Teats attached to tubes entering the top of a milk container increase the difficulty of grooming kids, as milk takes too long to reach the teat.
The temperature of the milk fed during training should be the aforementioned as for the side by side milk-rearing menstruum (see Milk feeding temperature and feeding frequency). During preparation, and at least for the beginning week, kids must exist kept warm. In common cold weather condition or if kids are weak, it may be preferable to feed kids warm milk during training.
Milk feeds
Kids will readily take a variety of milk replacers. Performance of kids will vary with dissimilar replacers due to the poor digestibility of feed components in some formulations. As a guide, those formulations that give expert results for calves are likely to be the most suitable for kids. Yous tin get farther details on the quality of dogie formulations by contacting NSW Agriculture Livestock Officers (Dairy).
Milk substitutes prepared for calves and lambs usually incorporate 24–26 per cent protein and 14–24 per cent fat. Milk substitutes for lambs contain more fat to bring them up to the college fat level of ewe milk. Overseas research into child rearing suggests that it is advisable not to exceed 30 per cent fat in the milk replacer, and, in the first few weeks of feeding, for the fat non to exceed 22 per cent.
Problems may also exist experienced if replacers contain besides much starch, or, for the first 2–4 weeks, too much plant protein from sources such as soybean.
Some feeds may likewise contain growth promotants, which normally increase weight gain and meliorate feed conversion efficiency. Also, some replacers are formulated to be offered warm; others cold. Always read the nutritional data on the label to ensure the suitability of a milk replacer formula.
Differences in price between milk replacers that contain skim milk as the protein source in the replacer and those that do not may make the cheap non-skim-milk products quite bonny. Not-skim-milk-based replacers are, notwithstanding, normally less digestible.
Mixing milk feeds
Milk replacer powder should be thoroughly mixed with warm water to ensure proper mixing of fats. For large volumes this tin can be achieved using a homogeniser, although automatic feeders mix the solution themselves. For pocket-size volumes, a saucepan that has a sealable chapeau and so that information technology can be shaken vigorously, or a whisk, is suitable. Systems incorporating former washing machines to mix the feed have also been devised. The replacer can be chilled after mixing if desired.
The mixture should comprise 12–16 per cent solids (dry matter) mixed in the proportions fix out in Tabular array 1.
| Per cent solids | Parts powder past weight | Parts h2o by weight |
|---|---|---|
| 12 | 1 | vii.3 |
| xiii | i | half-dozen.7 |
| xiv | i | 6.1 |
| 15 | 1 | 5.7 |
| 16 | 1 | 5.3 |
Skilful results accept been obtained using xv per cent powder in the mixture. Don't vary the feed concentration during rearing. If scouring occurs it is recommended that yous give kids a glucose and electrolyte solution. These mixtures are commercially available.
Milk feeding temperature and feeding frequency
Milk can exist fed cold (refrigerated), hot (34–twoscore°C), or at ambient temperature. Warm or ambient temperature milk is commonly used with bottle feeding or with simple group-feeding units where the quantity fed is restricted to prepare amounts at set times of the day. In larger group-feeding schemes where milk is fabricated bachelor at all times (ad libitum systems), cold-milk feeding is preferable.
You can start common cold-milk feeding from about the eighth day, or possibly earlier. Cold feeding is less labour-intensive than are other methods, but kids may reduce their milk intake initially. You lot can overcome this reduction in intake by feeding as much cold milk as hot milk in the first week of cold feeding. If kids are receiving just cold replacer at an early age, their intake should increase to normal levels later on a brusk period.
With cold feeding, kids drink frequently simply piffling. This prevents overfeeding and its associated problems of bloat, digestive upsets and scouring. Cold feeding makes it easier to maintain hygiene because it retards bacterial growth and requires less frequent washing of equipment.
In warm-milk systems where kids take warm milk available all the time and hence never become hungry, overfeeding may not occur. If, still, at any phase they are without milk, overfeeding tin occur when the warm milk becomes available over again.
Liquid feed intake and growth
Kids drink about 0.5–0.7 L per twenty-four hours for the first week, then ane.0–1.5 Fifty per day after that, although greater levels of intake and increases in growth rate are possible. Kids' weight gains on unlike rearing systems can range between 140 and 250 g per 24-hour interval until weaning, so growth in backlog of 1.5 kg per week can be obtained in a well-managed organisation.
Weaning
Kids can be weaned once they take reached about x kg. Yet, the earlier the weaning age, the greater the weaning shock. The weaning shock at earlier ages requires a higher standard of husbandry. If convenience is important, wean kids at betwixt 8 and 10 weeks of age, or a piffling older. The weaning weight you choose will usually depend on economical and management considerations.
Weaning tin be abrupt, or it can be gradual with milk being withdrawn by restricting the amount fed and the number of feeds per day.
Whichever weaning method you employ, kids must exist consuming, and take set access to, high-quality solid food if they are to be weaned young. As a guide, the ration should contain a minimum of 11 MJ (megajoules) of metabolic energy and near 180 one thousand of crude protein (18 per cent) per kilogram of dry out thing, plus a mineral and vitamin mix (come across Table 2). The ration may include some high-quality roughages, such as chaff, to assist rumen development. It is important for clean water to be available at all times.
| Sodium | 2 m |
| Magnesium | ii thousand |
| Sulfur | 1.five g |
| Copper (a) | x mg |
| Cobalt | 0.1 mg |
| Zinc | 75 mg |
| Manganese | 50 mg |
| Iodine | 0.2 mg |
| Selenium | 0.1 mg |
| Vitamin A | 5000 IU |
| Vitamin D | 1400 IU |
| Vitamin East | 100 IU |
(a) Levels in dry matter above 20 mg/kg may be toxic.
Table 3 shows ii feeding regimes used for rearing and weaning kids. In both cases the milk feed is gradually reduced in quantity and in the number of times the feeders are replenished.
| 10-week weaning(a) | |
|---|---|
| Age (weeks) | Daily milk feeds |
| 1–vi | iii × 750 mL(b) |
| 7–8 | 2 × 850 mL |
| 9 | two × 570 mL |
| 10 | 1 × 570 mL |
| xi | No milk |
| 6-week weaning(a) | |
| Age (weeks) | Daily milk feeds |
| i–four | Advertising libitum |
| five | One-half the amount consumed on the concluding mean solar day of week four |
| vi | Half the amount consumed on the concluding day of week 5 |
| seven | No milk |
Hobby goat keepers tend to feed milk to kids for long periods, sometimes until the kids are 6–9 months one-time. This is an enormous and unnecessary expense for a species that starts ruminating at 2–3 weeks. Most other ruminants are weaned at 5–6 weeks when being reared on milk replacer diets.
Solid feed and supplementation
Pre-weaning
Kids eat solid nutrient from near one week of historic period and are oft seen ruminating at nearly two weeks, and then it is important to give them good-quality hay or chaff and suitable concentrate from ane–two weeks of age. You can besides rear kids on calf or lamb pellets, which range from 18–25 per cent protein.
Usually both hay and concentrates are provided advert libitum, although, particularly with concentrates, you should try to friction match the allowance with the kids' appetites to reduce waste matter.
Equally mentioned before, make sure that the feeders are properly constructed, as hay spillage can clutter upwardly mesh floors and asphyxiate drainage systems.
Milk replacers may have low levels of fatty-soluble vitamins, so an injection of vitamins A, D and E at nascence, and administration of vitamin drops (according to label directions), will enhance operation. Vaccinate kids against clostridial diseases such as enterotoxaemia and tetanus, and yous can include a coccidiostat in the solid feed ration.
Information technology is important to make sure that energy and protein supplements are kept fresh, so it is recommended that you lot feed new cloth daily. Y'all tin can preclude fouling by putting the supplement and water trough outside the pens, which will force the kids to achieve through to feed and drink.
Early weaning
For early weaning to be successful, give kids a supplement of loftier-energy dry feed from age 1 week onwards. Keep with virtually 18 per cent protein (calf starter pellets containing 18–25 per cent poly peptide are suitable) for the beginning 2 weeks after weaning, and progress to 16 per cent protein at viii weeks of age.
If you have larger numbers, you lot may prefer to mix your own supplement. An example of a suitable ration to use is cracked grain (55 per cent), soybean meal (25 per cent), wheat bran or hammermilled hay (xviii.5 per cent), common salt (0.v per cent) and a mineral and vitamin mix (run across Table 2). This should provide 18–20 per cent protein. Two weeks after weaning, reduce the soybean repast to 20 per cent, increase the hay to 25 per cent, and add 0.5 per cent limestone.
Mail service-weaning
Good results have been obtained using a variety of concentrate feeds to rear kids later on weaning. A 16 per cent poly peptide ration is satisfactory. You tin can reduce the quality of the nutrition gradually until kids are half dozen–vii months sometime, when it should contain 12 per cent poly peptide if kids are consuming poor-quality forage, or 10 per cent protein if they are consuming practiced-quality forage. From almost 12–14 weeks of age you tin can rear kids solely on skilful-quality pasture, as long as it has been spelled to minimise parasites.
You can mate replacement does as early as 7 months if they are large enough (35–40 kg). Slower growth until the offset mating is non likely to adversely affect their performance, and therefore you can apply less expensive feeding regimes to rear replacements that are mated later. Whichever rearing regime you apply, brand sure you avert overfatness at kidding, equally this can crusade kidding problems and may have an agin effect on milk production.
The growth rates of replacement does tin exist altered after weaning by adjusting the quality and availability of the concentrate and forage components of their nutrition.
An increase in hay consumption does not compensate for the reduction in energy intake if the concentrate assart decreases; therefore, daily weight gains are reduced.
It is recognised that kids which go on to be housed after weaning grow faster than those reared on pasture. This lower growth rate of animals on pasture is attributed to the relatively low free energy intake of goats at pasture and to problems caused by internal parasites. Management of young goats at pasture, while more than viable economically, should take these factors into account.
Kids reared with access to high-quality 'clean' pasture (that is, pasture with no parasitic larvae) tin can be weaned successfully at an early age. When weaned onto ordinary pasture, they will swallow more pasture than will sucking kids, and consequently they will likewise consume more than parasitic larvae.
Finishing kids for meat
In a feedlot situation, kids that are to be finished for meat, without going onto pasture, can exist weaned onto a ration of 70:xxx of concentrate to roughage. The diet can exist based on, for example, cracked grain (57 per cent), loftier-protein meal such as soybean meal (ten per cent), lucerne hay or chaff (xxx per cent), salt (1.5 per cent), lime (1.5 per cent) and a mineral and vitamin mix.
Health, and disease prevention
The normal kid
It is necessary to know the temperature, the respiration and pulse rates, and the general advent and behaviour of a healthy child:
Temperature usually ranges from 38.8°C to 39.eight°C. Body temperature is highest late in the afternoon. It can be raised past vigorous exercise or when kids lie in hot sun. Body temperature tin can exist measured by inserting an ordinary clinical thermometer into the rectum, with the bulb touching the lining membrane.
Respiration charge per unit is usually between 35 and 45 breaths per minute, but this increases in hot weather or after moderate practise. Panting is normal in young kids only after very vigorous exercise or afterward moderate exercise in hot weather condition. The respiration rate can exist counted by observing the number of movements of the breast wall or, if kids are lying down, counting the rising and falling movements of the abdominal region.
Pulse charge per unit should be nigh sixty–80 beats per infinitesimal. This is most easily counted by feeling the heartbeats through the chest wall close to the attachment of the shoulder behind the elbow.
Normal healthy kids have the post-obit appearance and behaviour characteristics :
- soft, shiny and pliable coats
- slumber for several hours each twenty-four hours
- warning and bright-eyed when awake
- walk and run freely
- accept a well-filled belly
- droppings are normally soft and glutinous.
Marked alter from the normal is an early sign of sickness. Disease usually causes increases in body temperature and in respiration and pulse rates, and changes in the appearance and behaviour of kids.
Disease prevention
Special care and attention to kids pays off in prevention and control of illness.
Kids crave warm, dry weather condition in cold or wet conditions, and adequate shade in hot weather. If kids are housed in sheds, these must be warm, dry and well ventilated. Raised slatted floors—either made of wood or of woven wire mesh—are recommended. Avoid overcrowding, every bit it increases the risk of infection and the spread of disease.
Minor permanent kid pens accumulate a high concentration of infectious organisms, peculiarly when they are occupied for long periods, so rotation of kid pens is recommended. Practiced drainage and proper disinfection of pens between batches of kids are essential.
Poor nutrition, inadequate shelter, poor hygiene, and internal or external parasites all greatly increment susceptibility to disease.
Dirty feeding utensils and permanent feeding sites tin spread infection. Make certain that feeding equipment and areas are thoroughly washed and disinfected afterward each use (for example, a 10 per cent watery solution of ammonia can exist used to sanitise the housing facility). If yous are feeding kids using buckets on the ground, utilise a different feeding expanse each mean solar day.
Call back, it is most important for kids to get colostrum for at least the first 24 hours and preferably the starting time ii days of life, so that they can acquire the immunities information technology confers.
Many diseases tin can be controlled and treated if they are diagnosed early and proper treatment starts at once. A correct diagnosis is near important, so get veterinary communication equally soon every bit you suspect any affliction.
Isolate whatever ill kids from the main group. Nursing care, proficient shelter and dry bedding are essential.
Vaccinate confronting clostridial diseases at iv–10 weeks, and over again ane calendar month afterward.
Disease can be introduced with stock brought in from outside. If other kids are brought onto the farm they should be segregated until you are sure they are healthy and unlikely to spread infection to other animals. (Meet Primefact: Goat health — keeping the herd disease-complimentary).
Scours
Scours is probably the most common ailment affecting goat kids. The recommendations given for prevention of affliction will help to control scours. Still, if outbreaks do occur, get communication from a veterinarian, as correct diagnosis and treatment are essential.
The importance of right diagnosis is emphasised past the fact that, although Escherichia coli is the nearly common crusade, scouring can result from whatsoever one of the post-obit, or a combination:
- dietary mismanagement
- Escherichia coli
- Clostridium perfringens (enterotoxaemia)
- Campylobacter
- viruses
- Salmonella spp.
- toxins and poisons
- Coccidia and other parasites.
If scouring occurs and proper handling is non given inside 24 hours, losses are probable to occur. Kids that scour should exist isolated in club to minimise the take chances of spreading disease to other kids. Again, glucose and electrolytes should be used to forestall aridity. Such mixtures are available commercially.
Summary
When feeding and management of kids is good, illness outbreaks do not ordinarily crusade bug. In fact, the presence of illness may indicate a fault in management. Drugs may cure disease, but they are a very poor substitute for proper care and management. All the same, nigh diseases can be treated satisfactorily, so if disease is suspected, make sure you get veterinarian communication every bit soon equally possible.
Further information
Further data is bachelor from your local Livestock Officer (Dairy, or Sheep and Wool) and from the goat health Agfact serial available in print grade from the NSW Agronomics Bookshop.
References
Morand-Fehr, P. (1981). Growth. In Goat Production (Editor C. Gall). Bookish Printing, London, Great britain.
Mowlem (1984). Artificial Rearing of Kids. Goat Veterinary Club Journal, five:25–30.
Acknowledgments
The kind assistance of Stan Dawe (Table salt Activity Coordinator, formerly Senior Livestock Research Officer, NSW Agronomics,Yanco) and Robert North (formerly Veterinary Officeholder, Newcastle) in providing resource material for the evolution of this Agfact is gratefully best-selling.
Source: https://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/animals-and-livestock/goats/mgt/rearing
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