[Wabbitstew]

Hi - newbie here.
My apologies if this is an oft repeated question.

I have been given a premature angora kid to bottle rear.  She’s a week old, but the owner doesn’t know how premature.  She’s alert and vocal.  I’m feeding her every three hours, even through the night, and she asks for the bottle (I’m convinced she’s got a clock hidden somewhere), and takes it well.

My question is how to calculate feed requirements.  I’m terrible at maths.  She weighs 3.8kg today, so how do I work out mls of lamb milk replacer!

TIA

[Anke]

3.8kgs is a fair size for a one-week old kid, especially if the breeder reckoned it was premature... I have had full-term GG triplets yesterday and the one female kid is 2.2kgs (the boys are heavier, but we didn't weigh them). She will be totally fine.


If I bottle feed in the first two weeks, it is "to appetitie", usually starting with 125ml per feed, 4 to 5 times per day, then increase by anything from 50ml per feed to 100ml, depending on how quickly they take it. I aim to have all kids on the bottle by 2 weeks old, and moving to feed 4 x 500ml per day for all kids, incl GG's (I do not have Angoras).


So it is not so much necesary to work out quantities based on kid weight, but feed 4 times per day (goat kids don't really need feeding through the night, a last feed around 11pm and a first one at 6am usually works for me), and slowly increase how much you feed. I wouldn't feed more than 2000ml per day.


You also should introduce hay quite early on, if you can get nice fine, soft hay (the stuff sold for rabbits is usually good for that) and after about 2 to 3 weeks some concentrate, though that can be slower for goat kids. Hay is important though.

[Wabbitstew]

Thank you.  Good advice.