Kid Care Till Weaning:

[mikey]

Dirty milk bottles,dirty nipples and erratic feeding schedules will cause digestive scours.Baby kids can be fed from a pan,much easier to clean than bottles.Milking the mother is a time honored method and often used.The choice of rearing depends on ones management practices.Restrict contact of kids with adult goats,other goat raisers and especially newly purchased kids,new arrivals and any goats that have left your farm and are returning,should go into quarantine for at least 2 weeks.Check your ventilation to control pneumonia,young kids are healthier in a cold, dry environment than they are in a warm,damp,smelly one.
Bottle or pan fed kids raised in isolation rarely become infected with worms prior to weaning.Kids allowed to run with their dams may become infected.Watch for signs of weakness,unthriftiness,anemia (gums and membranes under eyelids are pale),chronic constripation or diarrhea by the time thay are 2-3 months old.

[doncorleone]

Mickey, how many months should the young kids wean to their mother?  is it right to buy 2 mos old kid? After i buy the kid, should i quarantine it for two weeks?

[mikey]

doncorleone,
hi,yes some farms will wean their kids early,they want to get the doe in shape for the next breeding.There is PRIOR TO WEANING.means the kid is still drinking milk from its mother,natural or bottle fed or pan fed milk,not weaned from its mother yet.WEANED,means the kid is eating solid food and no longer drinking milk.Usually we find that weaned kids loose body weight at first,then will regain body weight back once it is use to eating solid food.Weaned kid(s) take alot of work,at first,one has to watch them all the time.Then there is the question of deworming,the goat will need a deworming program.Always a good management practice,to separate the new arrivals from the main herd,watch them for any signs of sickness.First thing,make sure the goat is healthy,clear eyes,no lumps that you can feel on its body,the goat should be alert,no signs of scour.no problem eating.These all the basics things one looks for in buying a goat of any breed.
Good Farming To You:
mikey

[doncorleone]

Mickey,
Hi, how will i deworm the newly weaned kid? Should i mix it with the grass or to their water? What brand of deworming did you use? When the seller bring the kid to our farm i saw the kid eating grass, but the seller told me that the kid is still drinking milk to his mother.

[mikey]

doncorleone,
hi,this kid is not fully weaned yet,but on his way.Once the kid is weaned from his mother,he will loose body weight until he becomes use to solid food.The deworming medicine, 2 types the injection and the drench (oral liquid poured down the throat through a tube with a funnel on one end).The first time you should hire a vet to do it as this is a expensive goat.With the drench,it is important not to get any into  the lungs of the kid.We use a broad spectrum dewormer,and never use the same brand 2 times in a row,we switch back and forth as not to overuse one brand over the other or if one keeps using only 1 brand after some time that brand will be useless on worms.Remember the amount of dewormer medicine depends on the goat(s) body weight.Ipil-ipil is good at helping to keep worm loads in check.Alot of goat farms have their goats on a dewormer program every 3 months.
Good Farming To You:
mikey