Can Baby Goats Drink Cow Milk, Bottle Feeding Kids

Often times, farm life doesn’t go as planned, especially when dealing with livestock births. Not all animals have the best mothering instincts or milk production. Rarely, a mother is lost and the homesteader is left with a newborn animal to feed. As a small dairy producer of cows milk, I frequently receive the begging question can baby goats drink cow milk?

How Can Baby Goats Drink Cow Milk

​Cow’s milk and goat’s milk have the same nutrients, including protein, fat, calcium, phosphorus, and various vitamins. They both have every essential nutrient and vitamin needed by baby goats. (Coincidentally, they have every essential nutrient and vitamin that humans need too, except iron, but I digress.)

The basic composition of both milks is similar in that they both contain water, lactose (milk sugar), and milk proteins (casein and whey proteins). Goats are able to easily digest cow’s milk without issues because they are so similar.

What Do You Feed Baby Goat Kids?

​The best choice for baby goat kids is their mother’s milk, and it’s even better if you can allow moms to feed babies naturally. If this isn’t possible, you have to intervene and feed that baby. This is the order that I’d choose, from best to worst, to raise healthy baby goats on the bottle:

1. If the mother goat is producing milk, but refusing to feed her baby, then you should milk her out and feed her milk to her baby with a bottle.
2. You can certainly feed the baby fresh goat milk from another goat.
3. If you can’t obtain goat’s milk from your farm or from another farm, the next best thing is raw, whole cow milk.
4. Goat milk replacer would be next on the list. It’s expensive and inferior, but it’ll feed the baby.
5. Whole, pasteurized cow milk from the local store would be my last resort.

Colostrum Is a Must

Before you can even consider which milk or replacer formula to feed, the most important thing is to be sure that baby gets colostrum within the first hour of life. Colostrum helps protect the baby from harmful bacteria and viral diseases while it’s young. Ruminant animals like goats will eventually die if they don’t receive colostrum. 

Continue feeding colostrum for the first 24 hours. 

After the baby goat is 24 hours old, its gut lining becomes closed off to receiving colostrum. This means the baby won’t get the immune system benefits from it anymore, but it will still get the extra boost in nutrition. If you want to feed colostrum for a second day, that’s okay too.

Use colostrum replacer if you’re in an emergency situation and can’t get colostrum. This is better than nothing, and every homesteader with livestock ruminants on their farm should keep this on hand.

If you’re ever milking a dairy animal and find yourself with more colostrum than babies can eat, freeze the extra in zip lock bags for future emergencies. This is far better than colostrum replacer.

Feeding Baby Goats Whole Cow’s Milk

If you aren’t able to source raw goat milk, then whole cow’s milk will work great. I promise this works well. A good friend of mine has raised many goat babies on our jersey’s raw milk. I, myself, have raised healthy, fat lambs on the bottle too. Everyone in my farming circle who has needed to raise bottle baby goats on cows milk, has had good luck with the health of their babies.

Sourcing the Best Kind of Cow’s Milk

Now that you know that baby goats can thrive on cow milk, let’s point you in the right direction to find the right product.

Raw

Goat breeders will choose raw milk every time. If possible, they’ll look for a source of raw, whole milk with the most heavy cream included in the milk. Babies need lot of fat for proper weight gain.

A2/A2

This isn’t essential, but it’s helpful to look for an A2/A2 producer. Goat’s milk carries the A2/A2 casein protein, so if you can find cow’s milk that is A2/A2, it’s better. But that’s not a deal breaker.

Finding Cow’s Milk

In the perfect farming scenario, you have a milk cow on site to provide you with all the raw cow milk that you need for your family and your orphaned young animals. Not everyone keeps a milk cow though. If this is you, then you’re going to have to scour the area for another source.

Check your local social media pages and forums to see what’s for sale around you. Realmilk.org is a fantastic resource to direct you to a local supplier of raw cows milk. You just enter your zip code, and they’ll tell you who is registered with them in your area.

Sometimes, health food stores carry raw cows milk too, so check there if your state allows raw milk sales. Some states do not, and some have stipulations to sell as pet feed. You might need to ask the store associates if they carry it in a different department of the store than the rest of the dairy products.

Supplies to Keep on Hand

• A clean and sanitized bottle with a nipple designed for feeding goat kids or lambs.
• Goat milk or a suitable goat kid milk replacer if the mother’s milk is not available.
• A bottle brush for cleaning and sanitizing the bottle and nipple.
• Warm water for mixing milk replacer (if using).

Preparation of Cow’s Milk

Cold milk will upset your baby’s digestive system. Also, raw milk is non-homogenized so the cream (fat) will rise to the top. Shake the milk well so the fat globules mix back into the milk. Warm the milk to 101° Fahrenheit before attempting to feed your baby goat. You can use a stove top on low or a microwave to achieve this. Do not overheat the milk. 104°F is the warmest you should attempt to feed.

​If you feed milk replacer, make sure that you follow the instructions for mixing it with warm water.

Successful Bottle Feeding – The Basics

​Congratulations! You just added livestock to your homestead. It’s so fun to watch cute babies play and the idea of bottle feeding them is so exciting. Hang on to that feeling.

You’ve just been saddled with 12-16 weeks of scheduling your life around feeding babies. It’s going to feel daunting and time consuming, but its the proper care that your new babies need. The sooner that you mentally take this in, the better off you’ll be for the long haul.

Start by making sure that you keep bottles and nipples on hand before your mothers-to-be give birth. I like to use pritchard lamb nipples instead of kid nipples, even for my goats. They just seem to latch onto them better. These are my favorites because they screw onto water bottles which are easy to replace. 

If you have to feed milk replacer instead of milk, then add some Probios to their bottle, or supplement with this Jumpstart paste. These supplements will help give your babies important probiotics that they’d normally get from their mother’s milk.

You will probably need to slightly enlarge the hole in the bottle nipple with a clean razor blade. Cut the opening the tiniest bit at a time. It’s easy to make it too big, and the baby can choke if the flow is too fast.

How to Get a Baby Goat to Bottle Feed

​Okay, you have a hungry baby, you have your warmed milk in the bottle, now what?

1. ​Hold the baby in your lap with one hand under its neck. You may want to hold a clean cloth in the same hand as well. This could get messy as they tend to lose milk out of the sides of their mouths.
2. Gently tilt the baby goat’s head back so that his mouth is facing up and insert the bottle nipple into his mouth.
3. If he doesn’t take it at first, squeeze a few drops out so that enough milk makes it into his mouth, and he tastes it, You can try gently rubbing the nipple against his lips to stimulate his instinct to nurse. He should start to suckle after a few attempts.
4. Let the kid suck at its own pace. Do not force the milk into its mouth, as he should have the freedom to control the flow of milk with self-regulation.
5. Pay attention to the kid’s swallowing and ensure they are not choking or getting too much milk too quickly.

Soon, you won’t need to hold him to feed him. He’ll see that bottle and eagerly accept it at his regular feeding.

Cleaning

After feeding your baby goat kids, be sure to wash and sanitize all of the bottles, nipples, and any mixing containers. I choose to use antibacterial dish soap and then a bleach rinse, followed by a fresh water rinse. Let them air dry until they’re needed again for the next feeding.

Signs of Hunger and Fullness

​​You’ll quickly become familiar with the hunger and fullness cues that your baby goat exhibits, but don’t be fooled. Often times, after finishing a bottle, they may roughly request more milk with a head butt to your body. You should be able to see a found belly on a recently-fed baby goat. 

If you follow the suggested feeding amounts below, then your baby is just attempting to overeat for gratification. They try this when nursing too, but moms kick them off of the udder. When they’re finished with the bottle, they’re finished. 

Once they fall into the routine of how much they get and how often they get it, they’ll usually stop acting like they’re still hungry. If they continue this behavior, perhaps its time to add some grain and hay into their diet.

Whenever we have bottle babies of goats, lambs, or calves, we offer a little bit of grain after their bottles. Just a handful of an all stock, 12% protein sweet feed would be fine for baby goats. If they’re eating grain, they can eat hay too, so be sure there’s roughage available to them as well.

How Much Milk to Feed a Baby Goat

At minimum, a baby goat kid needs about three to four times it’s body weight (in pounds) of milk in ounces per day. For example, a five pound baby goat would need at least 15 – 20 ounces of milk in a day. Personally, I’d lean towards the higher amount of milk.

This is the total of daily consumption. That five pound baby would get its 20 ounces in multiple feedings throughout the day and night. If he only wants to take 15, that will be fine too.

You can see that as your baby goat grows, you’ll increase the amount of milk that he gets. Since he’ll be able to take more at each feeding, you’ll simultaneously work him down to less frequent feedings per day. See the next section for details.

Feeding a Goat Kid After the First 24 Hours

Use this handy chart to guide you in how often you should feed your bottle babies. This is a general rule of thumb and can be altered a little if needed.

Just be sure that you don’t overfeed your baby goat during any single feeding.

How Soon Should You Start Young Goats on a Bottle

​Assess the mom and baby as soon as possible. If you’re present at birth, watch the clock. If baby hasn’t latched onto mom by two hours after birth, then go ahead and start the baby goat on the bottle with colostrum. 

My first choice would be to attempt to encourage mom and baby to figure out nursing for the first day or two before giving up. This takes around the clock persistence, but I have had success getting mom to feed her baby even if she didn’t at birth. This is especially true with a traumatizing birthing event.

If it isn’t working out, don’t hesitate to take baby from mom and bottle feed it yourself. There’s no such thing as “too early” or “too young” to start them on the bottle.

How Long Do You Bottle Feed a Baby Goat

Baby goats should not be weaned until they’re at least 12 weeks old. Many high-quality goat breeders with excellent health practices require they’re kids to remain on moms or bottles for up to 16 weeks.

On our farm, we weaned goats between 12 and 16 weeks, depending on milk availability and life circumstances. We still operate this way with our lambs.

Besides Feeding Milk

​​New baby goat owners often ask if they should feed their babies plain water in their bottles. Simply put, no. If they’re on the bottle, goat kids should be getting milk in their bottles. Just keep clean water available for them to access as they want.

​Keep in mind that as your baby goat kid grows, you will add hay and grain to his diet. As he weans off of the bottle, he’ll transition to eating like an adolescent or adult goat, choosing pasture, browse, and hay.

You should also keep out free choice minerals for your goats. A quality loose mineral will help them fight parasites, boost immune systems, and help regulate hormones and metabolism.

If Your Newborn Kids are Already Down and Weak

This is a really hard spot to be in, but don’t panic. First, check his body temperature with a rectal thermometer. A newborn goat should be 101.5°F to 103.5°F. If he’s too cold, he will not have a working suckle reflex. 

Warm him quickly. He needs to be warm and dry before feeding. You can use a hair dryer on a low setting to avoid burning him. If he’s already dry, but still cold, you can wrap him in a heating pad and a towel. I’ve done this with a lamb and held her inside my coat against my body so that she benefitted from my body heat.

If his temperature is extremely low, put his entire body inside of a plastic bag or obstetric sleeve, leaving his head out of course. Dunk his body into a warm bath, heated to 102°F. The bag is intended to keep him dry. This works amazingly well for goat owners.

Know When to Call for Professional Help

​I highly recommend you seek out some goat handling mentorship. Any reputable goat breeder that you purchase from should be happy to further assist and answer questions throughout your goat-raising experience. It’s great to be able to ask them how to resolve a situation like knowing when to bottle feed goats or respond to your wondering can baby goats drink cow milk.

If your newborn baby is lethargic, contact your veterinarian immediately. Be sure that you’re in contact with a livestock vet who is familiar with goats before you face this situation. Many of them will not see you for an emergency if you aren’t already an established client.

Bonding With Your Bottle Baby

The positive side of this is that bottle fed baby animals are generally much more loving and friendly to their people. You are now momma to that sweet baby. This means that you’ll be met with screaming babies every time you go out to the goat yard. They’ll want to be with you, which is always welcome.

If you bottle feed a young buckling that you’re going to keep intact, just know that he’ll be so happy to rub his stinky, urine-soaked body all over you during the rut when he matures. This is not so welcome, and just another aspect to be aware of.

Conclusion on Can Baby Goats Drink Cow Milk

Follow up reading this post with listening to our goat podcast episodes with our friend, Emily at Bridge Acres Farm, Parts One and Two.

If this is your first time exploring the idea of bottle feeding baby goats, don’t be scared. Just know that bottle feeding is a definite possibility. Make sure that you have the supplies that you might need on hand before you find yourself in the situation of needing them. I hope this eases your mind when wondering “can baby goats drink cow milk?” Now, put on your big girl boots and get to work.

Happy goat-raising!

Donna Larson, FarmSteadHer, grower, and milk-maid at Hazel Belle Farm. Podcaster, blogger, and educator at the American FarmSteadHers

Donna and her family have been homesteading for most of their 20+ plus years together in some shape or fashion. She currently lives on their 20 acre farm where they grow as much food as possible. Donna’s favorite part of the family farm is her self-built micro-dairy, where she gets to love on dairy cows while serving her local community.