Mean Momma

Lauri · #1 04/20/12, 07:41 PM

Have you ever had a doe dis-like one of her kids? She is a second freshner.

Doe will nuzzle the buckling, clean his bottom, stand calmly for nursing. But not for the doeling. It must be happening enough that the poor thing flinches when Mom turns towards her. If the doeling comes up to nurse, the doe will not only walk away, but knock the doeling down. I have had to hold the doe, tight, for the doeling to have an opportunity to nurse.............not looking forward to it, but I may have to bottle feed her.

Any opinions or suggestions?
Thank you

CaliannG · #2 04/20/12, 09:20 PM

Sounds like rejection to me.

You can put Momma in a stanchion to let the doeling nurse if that is easier, or you can bottle feed the baby. If you have saved any of Momma's birth goo (I always save some and freeze it) you can thaw it out and rub it on the doeling and re-present it to Momma.

Weirdly, it tends to be doelings that have been rejected in my experience. I've never had a buckling rejected, but I have had several doelings rejected.

One of the reasons I started just pulling them all at birth and bottle feeding them. I don't have to wonder if they are getting rejected or not.

Backfourty,MI. · #3 04/20/12, 09:29 PM

I would try like Caliann & rub birth goo on her if you still have any, you can also rub the little buckling all over her but it sounds like your going to end of with a bottle baby to me.
Or keep putting the doe in the stand to let the doeling nurse. maybe she'll finally figure out this kid smells like her & accept her but sometimes they just don't.

I had a doe 1 time that rejected a buckling from a set of triplets. She was a FF & maybe she just figured she could only do 2 that year, she's nursed triplets every since just fine.

Donna1982 · #4 04/20/12, 09:35 PM

We've always seen it be the does too. Personally i love love love bottle babies so all my dairy goats get pulled at birth. We only raised boers babies if the moms wouldn't/couldn't take care of them.

CaliannG · #5 04/20/12, 09:49 PM

I don't adore bottle feeding, but I pull all the babies anyway.

After years of worrying if this momma or that momma was rejecting this or that kid, or if this or that kid was getting enough to eat, and then the mommas crying when I sold a kid (and that sound was just heartbreaking), I decided to save myself, and them, a lot of worry and just pull the kids at birth now to bottle feed.

While it is more of a chore, I sleep a lot better.

Sherry in Iowa · #6 04/20/12, 11:38 PM

We had a doe named Maggie who did not like her little boys for the first few kiddings. I raised more kids for that girl! She took to all of her doelings, but just did not want the boys around and got rough to prove her point. At about 5 years of age..she did raise a couple of boys..but as I recall..she only had boys that year..lol.

motdaugrnds · #7 04/21/12, 08:20 AM

I've had this occur periodically with both bucklings and doelings; but just this year have I seen it in a way I understood.

Emmy had triplets, 2 does and 1 buck. The first born "doe" was larger & stronger than the other two; and I have often seen her "push" that doe away while letting the other two nurse. After awhile I noticed that doe was still getting to nurse; but not when the other two wanted to nurse. When she would try to nurse at the same time, it was she that got pushed away. I decided Emmy knew that doe was getting more than her share; and was determined to feed all three as equally as possible...or she knew that doe did not need as much milk as the smaller two. This was an interesting situation to watch.

As for does simply rejecting one or more of their young, I always tie the doe and force her to let the rejected kid nurse. Doing this a few times has always worked...knock on wood...and it never took very long until she was nursing "all" her kids.

mrs whodunit · #8 04/21/12, 08:32 AM

We have a doeling whos momma didn't let her nurse. She took good care of her but just wouldnt just wouldn't let her nurse.

Now that the doeling has gone to a new home the momma has decided that the runt male cant nurse which is kinda odd as the runt was the first to nurse.

We stantion the momma and force her to feed her baby.

I guess its what happens when a goat momma has quintuplets.