Hi John,
Congratulations.
If all three are nursing and the kids seem satisfied with what they get, all is probably fine. Mom may step off them from time to time, but if they seem generally satisfied, that could be normal. They may not nurse quite as much as you would like until the plug comes out too.
With triplets and only two nursing stations, this can sometimes be a problem especially if there are two larger and stronger males pushing a smaller female out of the way. One can sometimes be a lot smaller and weaker and get pushed out of the way too. This doesn't sound like anything you have described though. Once they get coordinated and strong enough, they can insist on getting their share.
Should it ever happen to you in the future, we make sure that all get their collostrum even if we have to hold mom and hold the weaker one on the teat. After that, you can give some supplemental bottle feedings for a few days until the smaller/weaker one gets to the point where they can insist on their share.
We have delivered well over a hundred kids in a kidding season and still worry about the same thing that you are worried about. I suppose that it wouldn't hurt to give a little supplemental feeding to the weaker ones once they have gotten their collustrom, but not too much because you could bring on milk scours if it is excessive. It might be quite enjoyable for you.
We had a situation this year where two does gave birth at the same time and in the same place when we weren't looking. One delivered four and one had a single birth, but the kids got some of each mother's afterbirth on them and the does were confused as to who belonged to who. The doe that delivered four only took two of them and one she was a little unsure of at first, so we had to supplement that one for a few days. The doe that delivered one ended up nursing three and we had to supplement them for a couple of days also.
Never a dull moment with goats.
The kids should be getting all of their needs met by mom for the first couple of days anyway. We don't seperate any of our goats except for extraordinary situations, but the kids would always have access to water whenever they begin to need it either way. So, I can't say when they first start to drink any of the water for sure. I hope someone comes on for you that has a better answer than that about the water.
Bob
Lynchburg, TN.
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by devittjl
Our Nubian kidded yesterday! 2 males and 1 female. This is our first. We are hoping all is wel with them. 1 of the males and the female seemed weak. But all three are going to momma and nursing.
Momma and kids
I do have a couple of questions though...
1) Do I need to provide water for the kids? Right now the mom only has access to fresh water.
2) How much milk do they drink when they nurse? They only go on for about 15 secs then are done. I know momma is producing and flow from each teat since I was able to milk both.
Thanks for the help! |
