BRINGING BABY HOME

 You've purchased your new Nigerian Dwarf Goat baby, and you're bringing baby home! It's an exciting time, but there are some things that new owners should be aware of. In particular, and we can't stress this enough - stress! It's simply a well known fact that goats suffer greatly from stress, and babies in particular need extra care and support, because it can be life threatening!

Ideally, your baby will be over 12-14 weeks of age and will have developed some resistance, however we know that not every breeder is set up to keep babies this long.

 

SOME FACTS ABOUT GOAT STRESS

  1. Goats are easily stressed, and unfortunately when stressed, their immune systems don't work as well, which means worms, coccidia, and bacteria can "bloom." Digestion is often affected at the same time, leading to clumpy poop or diarrhea. Stress can also make them more susceptible to respiratory and other illnesses.

  2. Every goat will have some worms and bacteria, including babies. The same goes for coccidia. A healthy adult goat's immune system can, in normal circumstances, handle these things, but during times of stress, they can struggle. And of course, stressed babies are much more likely to become sick and suffer life threatening effects.
     
  3. If you aren't yet experienced with goats, you may not notice the signs of stress in your goat.

  4. A perfectly healthy, robust baby goat can show adverse effects of stress within a day of leaving their original home, and many will have diarrhea within the first three days in a new home. No, your goat breeder more than likely did not sell you a sick baby! Stress can promote an increase in parasites and bacteria, and cause baby to go from perfectly healthy to suffering from pneumonia within just a few days.

  5.  The effects of stress can be seen even with bottle babies! Even two week old bottle babies understand that they have moved to a new home, with different people providing their milk, different smells, different sounds, etc.


CAUSES OF STRESS

Goats of all ages can be stressed due to:
  • moving
  • kidding
  • hot weather, particularly changes in weather
  • too much food
  • a sudden change in diet
  • eating toxic plants or too many green plants
  • being separated from other goats or being the only goat
  • having new goats added to the herd
  • being overcrowded
  • being bullied by other goats
  • not having a waterproof, wind proof shelter
  • not having enough shade
  • having to walk too far to the water source
  • being handled roughly
  • constant changes of routine
  • other animals

SYMPTOMS OF STRESS

Some symptoms of stress:

  • diarrhea
  • looking thinner than they did the day before
  • not wanting to eat
  • not drinking enough, dehydration
  • cold symptoms such a runny nose
  • panting
  • bleating
  • they look sad and depressed
  • tail down
  • they may separate from the herd
  • worm bloom
  • coccidia bloom
  • if sick, will often stand "hunched"

 

HOW TO AVOID STRESS AND SUPPORT YOUR NEW BABY

Stress due to moving to a new home is unfortunately unavoidable. However, there are things you can do to support your baby and reduce the effects of stress.

  1. Be prepared for a lot of work if you are bringing home a bottle baby. Bottle fed kids must be fed on a schedule that suits them, not you. If the baby is rushed to take larger amounts of milk over less feedings, you are most certainly going to see a sick baby. No baby of one or two weeks old should be reduced to 3 or 4 feeds a day. (Our bottle babies don't reduce to 4 feeds a day until they are over a month old.)
  2. Purchase more than one baby, or at least have another baby of similar size and age at home that your new baby can make friends with. One baby alone is a recipe for problems
  3. Vitamin C can increase resistance. We give a vitamin C supplement the day or morning before a goat leaves us. If your breeder doesn't give this, you can still give the baby (or adult goat) a vitamin C supplement as soon as you can. (Goats actually make their own vitamin c and it usually does not need to be added to their diets, but at times of stress, a boost is very helpful.) Adult goats will often take chewable vitamin C tablets easily by mouth. Babies, and suspicious adults can have their tablets crushed (or use ascorbic acid powder) and mixed with a little molasses and/or water which is then drenched. Adults can take up to 1500mg per day (do not give to pregnant does!) for a few days. Babies over 3 weeks,  500mg daily for a few days.
  4. Before the trip, ensure that your baby will be safe and comfortable in the travel crate. In particular, baby goats will do best if they are traveling inside the vehicle, where you can talk to them and keep an eye on them, as opposed to a crate on the back of a truck, alone and exposed to the elements.
  5. Ensure that there are no sharp parts in the crate.
  6. Check the corners for unexpected travel pals like wasps!
  7. Put down a rubber mat, then a layer of blankets, a quilt, or straw/hay that won't slip and slide (plus absorb pee).
  8. Include a small amount of hay for nibbling on, though baby may ignore it.
  9. Ensure the goat will not be too hot or too cold.
  10. If the crate must be on the back of the truck, ensure that it is well covered so that the goat does not have wind blowing on them.
  11. Especially when starting off, be sure to drive very sedately, especially braking and turning corners. If the goat feels it's legs going out from under him or falls down, the stress will already be increasing. After a little while, the goat should lie down and be less likely to overbalance.
  12. If the trip is long, make sure you have hourly water stops and check that baby is okay and is not too hot or too cold.
  13. Upon arrival, allow the baby to come out of the crate on their own, or if baby is very shy, be very gentle in bringing baby out. Keep voices calm and quiet at this time.
  14. Give a dose of either Vitamin B.
  15. A drink of electrolytes will help greatly.
  16. Give probiotics every day for several days up to a week.
  17. Ensure baby has a safe, dry shelter out of the wind and rain.
  18. Ideally, every new goat should be quarantined until tested free of disease, but being away from other goats can cause additional stress. We prefer our babies and even adult goats to be sold in pairs for this reason.
  19. Ensure that there is a place baby can safely hide from other goats (eg. under a bench or wherever they can get out of the way so that other goats can't butt, stand on them or otherwise injure them).