Little Thiefs!

[christij]

I am trying to wean my two 3 1/2 month old Nubian doelings! I have them in a seperate field from mama. DH said he caught Cassie with her butt against the fence and one of them taking a few sips! As if all the crying wasn't enough they are stealing milk! (I'm sure my neighbors love us! I did warn them though.) Does anyone have any tips on how to prevent them from nursing? Does teat tape work?

TIA.

[manygoatsnmore]

Yes, teat tape works, as long as you check it frequently to make sure they haven't managed to work it off.

Last year, my dd's 4-H doe had to be penned with her kid at our small community fair. Her wether kid managed to get the teat tape off of one side during the night before the show, and dd had to show a doe with a very lopsided udder. <argh> Her doe, who had a lovely udder normally, was placed at the bottom of the class due to this. It was hard to hear comments from the judge about the "poor udder on this doe", when we knew it was because one half was normally full, and the other half had been nursed out all night, but what are ya gonna do, eh?

If you keep the kids in the other pen and have mom teat taped, I doubt she'll stand there long enough for them to get the tape off.

Oh, and save some money on that teat tape - the product is Micropore paper tape, and is available in any pharmacy or medical supply house for less than the cost through Hoeggers, Jeffers, etc - and NO SHIPPING costs. I ordered the teat tape, and at $5 for 2 rolls + shipping, it was pricey. Also annoying to me to find out it was the same stuff I use every day on the job (I'm an RN). I had a whole lot of the stuff sitting around the house - it tends to come home in pockets at the end of the day.

[goatkid]

If you really don't want them nursing anymore, they need to be kept in a pen that isn't directly adjacent to their dam. I know teat tape will work for newborn kids when you are practicing prevention, but with older, more vigorous kids, I wouldn't trust it and also wouldn't want to risk the babies swallowing the tape. When I wean my doelings, I put them in my bottle baby pen. They aren't used to that method of feeding so don't try to nurse, plus they get the kid pellets I feed.

[ozark_jewels]

I know your place is small and you probably don't have a ton of options, but the best way I know to wean dam-raised kids is to have them as far from their dam as possible. Especially if you want them to tame down more. They need to see you as their companionship and food provider. As long as they can snuggle down next to momma on the other side of the fence, they won't consider you a neccesity.
Is there any way you can get them out of sight of Cassie??

[christij]

I wish there was. The goat area kinda forms a U around the backyard/garden. I moved her to the far field but was afraid they would clear the garden fence and end up in there. (Jay is adding additonal fence to that area.) However they can still see her at some points. Then at night they are all stalled in the same barn with them being two stalls down from Cassie. Jewel (Miracle's babe) is coming around and I don't think I will have a problem with Sedona -- Misty has always been skittish even out of the womb!

The poor things barely have a voice from all of thier crying. With all the rain this weekend it's been musical goats b/c I don't have shelters any of the other fields.

What I do have is a smaller pen area that was built inside of the middle field that is in the farthest corner of our property. If I put them in there and Cassie in the far field they wouldn't see each other but could probably still hear each other.

I haven't been graining them while they were on mom - saving that for this time -- was curious how much a young kid would get?

It turns out weaning Sydney was ALOT easier then weaning the goats is going to be!

[ozark_jewels]

Originally Posted by christij

I haven't been graining them while they were on mom - saving that for this time -- was curious how much a young kid would get?

Just start them out slow....maybe 1/2 a cup each. You can work them up to a couple cups a day, but really I don' feed kids very much grain, preferring to concentrate growing them on browse and alfalfa pellets. Are they used to any alfalfa pellets??

[mary,tx]

I use Bandaids and brush on a little Thumz the first few days. A vigorous nurser will sometimes get it off, but I keep putting them on every morning after milking, and eventually the kids are dissuaded.

I leave them off at night.

mary