Goat milking and weaning questions

huminbird · #1 04/29/08, 02:32 PM

I have two Nubian mothers who kidded together on April 1st (they are sisters and that wasn't a fun week, I was sleeping in the goat barn while 8+ months pregnant for three nights) and the good mama took all four of the babies because the bad mama didn't want anything to do with them. The bad mama is a great milker by the way. I just put the kids on her while she was on the stand, first four times a day, and then three and so on. Now they only feed off of her at night so I can have the milk in the mornings.

My question is, is this enough milk for four babies? The good mama feeds them on demand all day and all night. The babies have been eating grass and I think drinking a little water. They haven't yet taken to the grain.

Also, when can I cut them off completely from the bad mama who will only feed them on the stand? They are just about a month old. I would like to get her milk for myself twice a day instead of just once.

Minelson · #2 04/30/08, 08:03 AM

bump

Vicki McGaugh TX Nubians · #3 04/30/08, 03:29 PM

Why not sell any buckling kids now, or butcher them, and let doelings nurse. This would give you some house milk, and get rid of bucklings you surely dont' want to keep when they do learn to eat grain$$$.

If you are not just going to butcher these kids and are keeping doelings than you shouldn't even think about weaning the doelings until 12 weeks, longer if you can. There is no way they are getting enough calories from grass and water to grow, look good, let alone be bred to kid themselves the first year. You are setting yourself up for failure with these kids thinking about weaning young like this. Vicki

huminbird · #4 04/30/08, 09:55 PM

I was not figuring on weaning them completely. I have two mothers and the kids nurse off of one of them all day every day. I was wondering when I could wean them off of the other mother. All four are feeding off of one mother once a day and the other mother all day.

When they were born one mother rejected them all and the other took them all. I had to bottle feed for a little while to make sure they all got enough milk but now I just let them run with the mothers and let them on the bad mother only at night while she is on the milking stand.