3 Raising and selection By “raising”, we mean taking care of the newborn kids until they are sexually mature. The better the care, the greater the number of animals of good quality which will reach maturity. Raising new born kids | 3 Raising and selection By raising we mean taking care of the newborn kids until they are sexually mature. The better the care the greater the number of animals of good quality which will reach maturity. Raising new born kids Milk is the first food of the kid. The gastro-intestinal tract of the young goat is geared to properly digesting this energy- and proteinrich food. The first milk of the mother animal the colostrum is initially very concentrated but 24 hours after the birth the milk already closely resembles that which is produced during the rest of the lactation. Apart from nutrients the colostrum contains antibodies which are not yet broken down in the digestive tract of the newborn kid they are therefore absorbed as a whole through the wall of the intestine by the blood. These antibodies provide protection against certain bacteria. However the digestive tract quickly changes and all protein is then broken down including the antibodies. It is therefore important that the newly born animals drink the colostrum as soon as possible after birth often and a lot. This will be no problem as the kids will find the teats themselves. Young mother animals or animals in poor health sometimes have difficulty accepting their young. You can then either hold the mother still so that the young can drink or place the young with a mother who will accept them. If the latter has also just given birth rubbing the orphan in with her afterbirth can help with acceptance scent recognition . It is important to carefully observe the kids. You will see that one kid is much more active than the others or grows faster. If a kid stands somewhat listlessly alone with raised hairs on an arched back staring straight ahead then it has not had any milk that day. Avoid letting this go unobserved know your kids. 18 Goat keeping in the tropics Supplementary feeding For manual supplementary feeding goat s milk is best. Should no goat s milk be available for whatever reason give other kinds of .
