Earliest age to sell kids?

[DixyDoodle]

Already....people asking when my goat kids can be sold to them....and the oldest are only 3 weeks old! LOL

On the other hand, I notice the oldest kids are not nursing very much and seem to prefer the grain/hay. What do you think is the earliest time I could sell kids, provided that they appear to be weaned and are eating adult food? I can't imagine selling before 6 weeks. At the rate they're going, though, 2 months seems to be a little overly cautious. Would 6 weeks be too young?

What age does everyone generally let their babies go? BTW, mine are all miniatures.

Oh, another question: should I sometimes separate bucklings before 8 weeks? My 2 week old buckling is already jumping up on the does---and ONLY the does, he is really "checking them out" like the bucks do, and even chasing adult does around the pen---apparently, he is VERY precocious! Do you think there is any chance he might breed with a doe before 8 weeks? I hope not! He is also one who doesn't appear to be nursing much. I don't mind keeping him with everyone if he's only "going through the motions", and of course he is not physically mature yet, but I don't want any premature matings going on.

Opinion?

[Key]

I wait until the kids are around 8 weeks old. If I am keeping the kids for breeding stock, I keep them on thier moms a month longer.

[ozark_jewels]

I will not wean kids until a good three months of age. So I will not sell dam-raised kids earlier than that either. Mini's or full size, the breed makes no difference in weaning age.

The buckling should be removed by 6 weeks if he is acting extremely bucky........but what I would do is separate him from his dam and the does/doelings, but hold his dam and let him nurse twice a day until he is weaning age. I just don't hold with weaning kids early. The milk makes healthy, growthy kids.

[TennesseeMama23]

IF you sell kids early, they will most likely die or never come close to their full potential if they manage to survive. Depends on your goal-do you want to just get rid of them (dupe some poor soul) or do you care about their fate?

I don't wean mine before 3 months either.

ETA-just because they look like they are eating good doesn't mean they are even remotely ready to go. They are still getting 90% of their calories and nutrition from the milk.

[anita_fc]

I have Pygmies, and my mentor/friend does not let hers go until a minimum of 10 weeks. The only exception was the doe/kid combo I bought when the kid was 6 weeks. She's still nursing at 3 months, and I'm just now contemplating weaning her. I understand some moms just don't wean them.
Anita

[Zone]

Remove the buck kids at 6 weeks and continue to feed them milk. Either by holding its dam two-three times a day or put them on lambars.

I do not suggest ever weaning a kid younger than 8 weeks.They need that milk.
I wean the kids a different ages, depending upon the individual animal. Three I weaned at 9/10 weeks. This next one will be weaned at eight.

One way to keep from worrying about the young bucklings servicing your does, and some do, is to pull the kids at birth and bottle feed or put on lambar straight away. (Making sure of course that they get that colostrum for the first 24 hours or so.)

This is what I would do.

[CarolynRenee]

Last year, I left my doeling on her mother for 14 weeks. Not that I had to, but the couple I was selling her to didn't have their fence up yet. The doeling wasn't nursing nearly as much as earlier on, but she still got a good amount of milk in her belly from mom.

When I go to visit her now, she is MUCH larger than the other doe, although it could be becasue it was from another farm.

I too would be hesitant to wean a kid at 6 weeks. If someone wanted mine "right away", I'd have to say that the earliest would be 10 weeks.

Those couple weeks of extra yummy goat milk in their belly makes for a better growing goat, IMO.

[Togg Lovers]

We brought our little buckling home when he was 5 days old. I think it depends on how much the buyer is willing to do. I knew I was going to be getting up in the middle of the night for bottle feedings. And I was more than prepared to do so since this little guy is our first herdsire. He is doing very well and is no different in size or health from a dam raised kid. He is even winning at shows that we are taking him to. So I think it has to do more with the commitment of the buyer.

[ozark_jewels]

Bottle kids can go at even a few hours old if you send them off with colostrum. As long as the new owner understands about bottling. Waiting till weaning to sell only applies to dam-raised kids.

[Zone]

I agree with the two posts above this one. It depends upon the buyer's commitment (and knowledge).

[mygoat]

My bottle raised kids can go to their new homes at 2 weeks old, and I tell the new owners to continue the bottle until 3 months of age, stress to them why and tell them that earlier raising can stunt the kid or make them unable to meet their full potential.

Dam raised kids stay on until 3 months of age. The only exception is bucklings, who are weaned as soon as they achieve their first erection.

[Ernie]

The wethers go as soon as I can find a buyer. Most of them are going for meat anyway. A buckling I'll let go between 4-6 weeks. A doe I might keep a little longer and see how she's coming along to determine if I want to keep her or sell her.

Technically you can wean/sell a goat 30 seconds after they hit the ground, and a lot of commercial dairy goat farmers do unless they plan on keeping him. I prefer to send that goat off with some colostrum in his/her belly as I think it gives them a better fighting chance, but I don't sell registered or show goats and I don't raise pets.

I'd really be surprised if he's capable of producing viable semen at 8 weeks, but I've been surprised before. I've heard of bull calves impregnating their mothers before they're even off the teat.

I've got a little buckling at my place (Handsome Stranger) who is doing fine and he was weaned at about 4 weeks. He's on pasture and getting a pretty wide range of plants, as opposed to being in a pen on grain or hay. Only concern I have with him is that the goat herd gets pretty far from the house sometimes and the coyotes like to come around. They can pull a kid apart and be making off with the pieces before I even hear the commotion.

[Backfourty,MI.]

I would never let them go & wean kids at 6 weeks of age & especially not at 4 weeks of age either, buck or doe's, and I also don't raise registered or show stock, just sweet little nigerians and some pygmies. I still want them to be healthy and have a good start when they go, because after that you can tell the new owners what you want them to do but you can't make sure they will do it.

[DixyDoodle]

No, no, no, I'm not in a hurry to sell these kids young. I was just wondering what the earliest date was, you do see quite a few ads for kids under 2 months with no mention of bottle feeding.....mainly because it appears that this one buckling is already acting so bucky and doesn't seem to nurse much, but eats adult food for the most part. Two months seemed to be too long, maybe, at least for him. I think separating him at 6 weeks may be a good idea, although from what I understand, 2 months is the norm for bucks to avoid premature breedings?

I already told all interested buyers that I do NOT sell bottle babies. These are mostly goat people that are looking for a few more. I'm sure some people think bottle feeding is cute and all, but I prefer to keep the kids until they're old enough to be weaned.

[Ernie]

Some homesteaders prefer bottlefeeding their breeding stock. It makes them more docile and increases the bond between the milker and the milkee. If I had a buck I was going to keep I would consider bottlefeeding him, so that when he grew up to be a handful he would (hopefully) remain a little more friendly to me.

There's many schools of thought on this, Dixy. It more or less depends on what your goat goal is.