Franklin Vets
Franklin Vets - excellence in veterinary care for dairy, farming, lifestyle, equine and household pets. BESTPRACTICE ACCREDITED NZ.
On occasion, kids are rejected by their mother or are one of triplets. In such cases, one child is removed from its mother because she cannot adequately feed all three. In these cases, the kid may not have received colostrum.
The healthy kid should have a dry, small navel, lively movements, and clear, bright eyes.
If a buck (male) is chosen, he should be castrated at 12 weeks old. This will be significantly more painful at this age, so it should be done with a vet to numb the testicles and give long-acting pain relief. Castrating before 12 weeks old halts the development of the urethra (the tube inside the penis that carries urine). The thin tube is more likely to block in animals castrated before 12 weeks.
If kids are to be dehorned, they should be debudded by a vet at one to two weeks of age. Dehorning of adult goats is not commonly performed, as goats have unique skull anatomy that makes them very high-risk.
Most of these products are available at your local Franklin Vets clinic.
Goat kids should be fed colostrum for the first 2-3 days to boost their natural immune system. A milk replacer such as AnLamb should be introduced after this. A kid goat will continue to drink as much as possible, but the most natural way they feed is little and often.
Lamb/goat teats that can be screwed onto a Coke or water bottle, or complete lamb/goat feeding bottles, are available from Franklin Vets. Supplement the milk with a lamb or multi-feed pellets, and keep moving your goat so it has access to fresh grass every day.
Correct feeding procedure is important to reduce the chance of dietary scours, pneumonia and abomasal bloat.
Abomasal bloat can kill up to 30% of bottle-fed kids before weaning. If feeding big feeds 2-3x/day (as opposed to 5- 6x/day), then you are at HIGH risk & yoghurtising your milk is THE ONLY proven way to remove the risk.
If your kid is bright, happy and feeding but still has runny poo, dietary scours may be the cause.
For more information about correct feeding procedures and how to prevent these diseases, check out the following flyers: Addressing dietary scours.
Follow this link to our blog to learn more, PLUS a yoghurtising recipe.
From vaccinated goat (vaccinated 2-4 weeks before lambing): vaccinated with 2 doses of 5-in-1, 4-6 weeks apart, starting from 6 weeks old.
From an unvaccinated goat, or vaccination status unknown: vaccinated with Lamb-Vaccine when born, then 2 doses of 5-in-1, 4-6 weeks apart, starting at 2 weeks old.
The 5 in 1 is for the prevention of major clostridial diseases, including pulpy kidney disease, tetanus, black disease, malignant oedema and blackleg.
Drench from six weeks of age and continue every four weeks. An oral lamb drench is suitable for goats, at 1 ½ times the lamb recommended dose rate. If unsure, phone your local Franklin Vets clinic.
Lice are a common problem. Lice treatments are available from Franklin Vets.
A dry, draft-free house or kennel is required. It will grow better if it does not use energy to keep warm.
Contact Franklin Vets if you have any concerns about your goat’s health. We are happy to advise over the phone as to whether an animal requires treatment.
Franklin Vets - excellence in veterinary care for dairy, farming, lifestyle, equine and household pets. BESTPRACTICE ACCREDITED NZ.
