How To Tell If a Baby Goat is Hungry?

Taking care of baby goats can be a challenge if you are not familiar with their feeding needs. Baby goats (kids) show clear signs when they are hungry, and this post covers what to look for.

The quickest checks are the kid’s belly and behavior. A well-fed kid has a full, rounded belly after nursing and sleeps contentedly between meals. A kid with hollow sides that cries constantly and keeps searching for a teat is likely hungry, and a weak kid that won’t nurse needs help right away.

How do you know if a baby goat is hungry?

Following are a few ways to help determine if your baby goat is hungry or not.

1. Check the belly:

Feel the kid’s belly after it nurses. It should feel full and rounded, but not tight or swollen like a drum, which can be a sign of bloat. Sunken, hollow sides suggest the kid isn’t getting enough milk.

2. Check the udder:

If the kid is nursing from its mother, check the doe’s udder. A doe whose udder stays full and tight may not be letting the kid nurse, or the kid may be too weak to suck. A very small or empty udder can mean she isn’t producing enough milk.

3. Check the poop:

Watery or mucus-covered droppings (scours) are not a hunger sign. They point to illness, parasites or overfeeding, and young kids can dehydrate quickly, so call your vet.

4. Check the weight:

Weighing your baby goat regularly is a good way to track its health. University of Maine Cooperative Extension suggests weighing kids every 7 to 10 days to make sure they are gaining. A kid that stops gaining or loses weight isn’t getting enough to eat or may be sick.

5. Check for other signs of hunger:

Some other signs that a baby goat may be hungry include restlessness, constant crying, and sucking on fingers, ears or objects. With bottle-fed kids, follow a feeding schedule rather than begging alone; University of Maryland Extension notes it is better to leave them a little hungry than to overfeed.

Tips for getting a baby goat to eat:

Below are a few tips that can help you get your baby goat to eat. Let’s have a look.

1. Offer fresh, clean water:

Provide fresh drinking water at all times in a clean bucket the kid can easily reach. Kids start drinking water and nibbling solid feed within their first few weeks.

2. Offer hay:

Hay is an important part of a goat’s diet. Offer good-quality hay from the first weeks so kids can start nibbling it, which helps their rumen develop. Hay won’t replace milk for young kids, though.

3. Offer grain:

Kids begin nibbling goat pellets at about 30 days old. Use a feed made for kid goats, increase it slowly, and don’t overdo it, as too much grain can cause serious digestive problems.

4. Try goat milk:

Every newborn kid needs colostrum, the mother’s first milk, within the first hours of life. UMaine Extension says newborns need colostrum within eight hours of birth, and the sooner the better. If the doe can’t provide it, use frozen goat colostrum or a colostrum replacer.

After that, the best milk is the doe’s own. For bottle feeding, the University of Maryland Extension recommends a species-specific kid milk replacer mixed exactly as directed. Don’t use calf or multi-species milk replacer, which can cause bloat.

Warm a chilled kid before feeding it. Never squirt milk into a kid’s mouth with a syringe; a weak kid that won’t suck may need tube feeding by someone trained to do it.

5. Call a veterinarian:

If your baby goat still isn’t eating, is weak, or has diarrhea, call a veterinarian right away. Newborn kids can go downhill within hours.

How often do baby goats need to eat?

Newborn kids need small, frequent meals. UMaine Extension suggests bottle feeding young kids every 2 to 3 hours, day and night, following the milk replacer directions. Meals get larger and less frequent as kids grow.

Kids under about 30 days old need a liquid diet, and bottle-fed kids are usually weaned once they eat enough solid feed, often around six weeks or later. Always provide fresh water, and ask your vet about a feeding plan for your kids.

Final thoughts:

If you think your baby goat is hungry, check its belly, weight and behavior first. Make sure every newborn gets colostrum, then feed milk or kid milk replacer on a regular schedule. Also, see my guide on what goats can eat.

Offer water and hay from the first weeks, and call a veterinarian for any kid that is weak, won’t eat, or has scours.

Sources

• Caring for Baby Kid Goats of an Unknown Age, University of Maine Cooperative Extension
• Bottle Feeding Kids and Lambs (FS-1157), University of Maryland Extension