Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
After 8 weeks, gradually start decreasing the amount of milk. Kids weigh about 7 ½ pounds at
birth and gain about 10 pounds per month. They should be weaned when they reach about 40
pounds, which is typically at 3 months of age. After that, feed kids about 1 pound of grain per
day. The amount of grain a kid needs varies depending on the quality of the hay it is receiving
and how much weight it is gaining. Cut back on grain if the kid is gaining weight too rapidly
or if you cannot feel its ribs through the skin. By the time a doe is 6 months old, it can be put
on a milking ration, and at 7 months, it can be bred for the first time.
Disbudding and Castration
Both male and female goats have horns; a goat that is born hornless (polled) is often infertile.
Most dairy goats have their horns removed because they cannot easily fit their heads into
feeding racks and milk stands and because the horns can cause injury to their human handlers
or to other goats. This is usually done by disbudding, the cauterization of a kid's horn buds,
when it is 3 to 14 days old. If a kid has tight skin and curly hair over its horn buds, it has still
horns and must be disbudded.
An electric disbudding iron with a ¾- to 1-inch tip can be purchased from a goat supplier.
Here are the steps you should follow to disbud a goat:
• Heat the iron until it is hot enough to leave a burn mark on wood.
• Hold the kid on your lap, or place it in a restraining box, and trim the hair around the horn
button with a small pair of scissors.
