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06/25/11, 08:36 AM
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II Corinthians 5:7
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Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Virginia
Posts: 8,102
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help please .. baby goat not eating
This doe is "Faith", about 4 months old now. She is the one I thought wasn't going to live as she was born one of 3 and her dam had a difficult time. I had taken her inside in an attempt to keep her alive while periodically letting her visit with her dam under my supervision. All went well, and she got her dam's collostrum and, soon, was nursing and sleeping and grazing with her dam.
I have a small herd of only 3 breeding does and let them all tend their own babies free-ranging over the front 2 acres of the property. When I give them their daily supply of grain, it is in 3 rather large pans where they all eat together. (They usually spill a little; but the chickens clean that up quickly.) All have been doing quite well together and all 3 dams have pretty much weaned their kids ... except for Bliss (Faith's dam). I have recently seen Faith nurse her dam on more than one occasion.
Back to Faith's not eating: At first Faith thought she had two (2) mothers (me and her dam); so she would get hugs/bonding from both of us. I would have to push her toward the feeding pans so she would go over and eat some of the grain with her dam, which worked ok, though she never seemed that interested in eating any of it. (All the other kids scramble for it.) Well, I got tired of having to coach her to eat grain with her dam; so I stopped. Now she shows no interest in the grain. (I have never had a goat that did not enjoy grain; so this confuses me.)
Should I be concerned? Should I milk her dam more so she has no more milk to drink? Any information or shared experiences in situations like this would be welcomed. (Faith is a little thin; but she grazes with the rest of the herd and eats any bailed hay that is put out on rainy days. She is, also, bouncing around and turning flips in the air as though she owned the world. Still I am concerned about her not being interested in eating grain.)
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06/25/11, 08:49 AM
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Join Date: May 2002
Location: Ohio
Posts: 1,521
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I have a 3 month old doeling thats doing the same thing. All the other goats are inside eating shes outside loly-gagging around. She grazes with the rest and eats hay on rainy days.Then she still nurses once in awhile.I wouldnt worry about her she will figure it out.
You could always fix a place only the younger to goats can get into to feed anytime.
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Zone 6
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06/25/11, 10:30 AM
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Show us your teats!!
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Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Northeast Tennessee
Posts: 721
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One of my bottle babies was slow to eat grain and eventually she started loving it. It took her longer than the dam raised babies, but she will eventually find out how yummy it is. I have also started cutting back the milk my bottle babies get, so this increases their appetite for grain, hay and browse. She won't starve herself, she just prefers milk over grain and needs a little extra time.
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Rechelle - Wife and mother to 2 girls ages 4 and 6. Caretaker to 9 goats (Saanens and LaManchas), countless chickens & ducks, 7 Kahtadin Sheep and 6 turkeys - whew.
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06/25/11, 11:30 AM
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II Corinthians 5:7
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Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Virginia
Posts: 8,102
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06/25/11, 11:44 AM
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Flying Farm Nubians
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Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: SW-VA
Posts: 910
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Is she on Cocci prevention?
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06/25/11, 03:09 PM
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II Corinthians 5:7
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Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Virginia
Posts: 8,102
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No she is not on Cocci prevention. Maybe we've been just lucky; but the entire 15 yrs we've had goats, not one case of cocci has shown up. I may be wrong; but I figure, if it isn't present, why treat for it.
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06/25/11, 03:25 PM
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She who waits....
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Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: East of Bryan, Texas
Posts: 6,796
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I have seen kids that still occasionally nursed at 6 or 7 months old. It really depends upon the dam and the kids.
Don't worry about it, as long as she has *access* to feed, eventually she'll decide she likes it....and even further along, she'll decide she prefers it to milk...or her dam will kick her enough she'll decide milk just isn't worth the trouble. 
In the wild, dams will start conscientiously weaning their kids just after they have bred....so wild kids tend to get milk for 6-8 months. It is only in captivity that they wean so young.
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Peace,
Caliann
"First, Show me in the Bible where it says you can save someone's soul by annoying the hell out of them." -- Chuck
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06/25/11, 11:06 PM
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II Corinthians 5:7
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Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Virginia
Posts: 8,102
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Well, Bliss shows no signs of weaning this little one. I caught Bliss laying on the dog bed on our back porch today and guess who was cuddled beside her...yep, her baby Faith. Seems those two are enjoying the bond they have.
Also, Bliss has a very large (well structured) udder and, even with Faith getting all the milk she wants, I still bring in near half a gallon a day from her.
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06/26/11, 12:06 AM
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Katie
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Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Twining, Mi.
Posts: 19,930
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I have a little wether born April 8th I think, maybe a couple days earlier. Anyways biggest kid born here this year & still the biggest kid here, the kids all eat grain with their dams by now & all the dam's have their own dish, well Moose show's very little interest in too much grain, he'd rather eat hay, browse & momma's milk. I don't get worried because he's such a hefty weight & seems happy & healthy. I think they are all different just like people but I will say this is the first time in over 6 years of having goats that I had one that wasn't ready to scarf down any grain put in front of them.
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06/26/11, 02:02 PM
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II Corinthians 5:7
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Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Virginia
Posts: 8,102
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ROFL Backfourty,MI, that is exactly my thoughts too. Never seen a goat not ready to pounce on a grain pan before.
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06/26/11, 02:13 PM
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She who waits....
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Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: East of Bryan, Texas
Posts: 6,796
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It is the same as if we had a gathering of the ladies here, was serving chocolate topped cheesecake and someone said, "Oh, no thanks, I really do not like cheesecake; and I despise chocolate."
How many of us here would stare at her and think, "Is she HUMAN? Is she REALLY a female? How can you not like cheesecake? How can you hate CHOCOLATE!?!"
While it is perfectly valid not to like either of those things, and I am sure there are people out there who dislike the taste of both.....we'd still look at her real funny. It's nearly unnatural.
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Peace,
Caliann
"First, Show me in the Bible where it says you can save someone's soul by annoying the hell out of them." -- Chuck
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06/26/11, 05:35 PM
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My kids have hooves
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Join Date: May 2007
Location: Central Virginia
Posts: 2,224
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I don't like cheesecake, and while I like chocolate just fine, I prefer candy.
Feel better now?
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Beth ~ Old Church, VA
3 Nigerian Dwarf goats, 4 cats, 3 Pekin ducks and 7 chickens. One very patient husband~
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06/26/11, 10:22 PM
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II Corinthians 5:7
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Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Virginia
Posts: 8,102
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OMG BethW are u "human" or something that has arrived here through some wormhole?
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06/27/11, 06:09 PM
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My kids have hooves
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Join Date: May 2007
Location: Central Virginia
Posts: 2,224
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LOL! I am 100% human and while slender, I'm nicely fleshed-out, just like Faith will be 
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Beth ~ Old Church, VA
3 Nigerian Dwarf goats, 4 cats, 3 Pekin ducks and 7 chickens. One very patient husband~
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06/27/11, 08:11 PM
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Katie
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Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Twining, Mi.
Posts: 19,930
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LOL! I don't like cheesecake either but love anything else that has chocolate or sugar in it!
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06/27/11, 08:20 PM
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She who waits....
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Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: East of Bryan, Texas
Posts: 6,796
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The reason I have goats is to make more cheesecake. It is amazing that I am not as fat as my goats.
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Peace,
Caliann
"First, Show me in the Bible where it says you can save someone's soul by annoying the hell out of them." -- Chuck
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06/27/11, 10:40 PM
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My kids have hooves
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Join Date: May 2007
Location: Central Virginia
Posts: 2,224
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I don't get cheesecake. Is it cheese? Or is it cake?
Same thing with carrotcake. It's either a vegetable or it is a dessert. It cannot be both. Nope. 
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Beth ~ Old Church, VA
3 Nigerian Dwarf goats, 4 cats, 3 Pekin ducks and 7 chickens. One very patient husband~
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06/27/11, 10:49 PM
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II Corinthians 5:7
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Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Virginia
Posts: 8,102
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LOL Oh please, please, CaliannG, give us the recipe you use for turning goat milk into cheesecake.
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06/27/11, 11:17 PM
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She who waits....
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Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: East of Bryan, Texas
Posts: 6,796
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LOL First, get a cream separator and run your goat milk through it. Then, make cream cheese.
After that, turn to the New York Style Cheesecake recipe of your choice. Mine is out of an old Betty Crocker cook book that used to belong to my grandmother.
Cheesecake is basically made of cream and eggs. Some of the cream has to be "stiffened" into cream cheese first though.
ETA: I have made cheesecake and substituted chevre for cream cheese in the recipe, and it turned out fine. A little bit more tart than normal, but still yummy!
Oh, and Beth, Cheesecake is technically "custard". Carrot cake is technically "bread" and banana bread is technically "cake". Just thought I'd clear that up for you and make the world less confusing. 
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Peace,
Caliann
"First, Show me in the Bible where it says you can save someone's soul by annoying the hell out of them." -- Chuck
Last edited by CaliannG; 06/27/11 at 11:20 PM.
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06/28/11, 08:19 AM
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II Corinthians 5:7
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Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Virginia
Posts: 8,102
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Sounds delicious. Must try it. Thanks CaliannG
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