Ruby drank her own colostrum?

Hannah90 · #1 03/10/13, 08:31 AM

I was milking her out a bit this morning as she was quite engorged. I assume since it's been just shy of 2 days, what is coming out is mostly colostrum.

Anyway, I don't have a milk stand, so I just tie her in the corner and milk from there. I got done and set the tub on my milk stool and unhooked her. Before I knew what was happening, she dove her head in the tub and VACUUMED it all down. Wasn't a lot, but I was shocked. What's going on here?

CarolT · #2 03/10/13, 08:58 AM

My girls will do it, too. I always figured it was a case of "Waste not, want not". If the kids aren't getting it, it has calcium and everything she has invested in it. If you take it away, it's gone, if she drinks it, it just gets recycled. I have never sweated it when my girls wanted some I wasn't needing to save.

"SPIKE" · #3 03/10/13, 09:40 AM

That made me think of my Annie Goat.
I can not take my eye off her when food or milk is near by.
It seems they can suck fluids down faster when it is the ones you do have out for them.

SPIKE

mekasmom · #4 03/10/13, 10:31 AM

It's quite common. Some goats even nurse themselves sans milking.

Alice In TX/MO · #5 03/10/13, 10:43 AM

Smart goatie!

Donna1982 · #6 03/10/13, 11:29 AM

My Addie girl drank over four pounds of milk one morning. I only have two milk stands so I used to just let her hang out in the milk house. One morning I heard a slurping sound and yelled at our dog (who was not out there.) When the sound didn't stop I turned around to my total shock Addie was standing on her hind legs sucking down the milk. When I yelled at her she I swear looked at me like "What it came out of me so its mine "

Oat Bucket Farm · #7 03/10/13, 11:41 AM

We had a doe that self-sucked. Drove us crazy.

Frosted Mini's · #8 03/10/13, 07:14 PM

I have fed the whey back to my girls from cheesemaking before, and any of them who have tasted it LOVE it (there are some who sniff and won't try it, but eventually if they take a little sip, they decide it is wonderful like the others). I have to limit them or they would suck the whole bucket down and get diarrhea! Those who like it, usually develop a bucket obsession, so you have to be careful!

julieq · #9 03/10/13, 07:40 PM

Totally agree with Alice, she's a very smart doe! We don't give ours the chance to drink colostrum, but if we did I'm sure there'd be absolutely nothing left to feed bottle kids or freeze.

coso · #10 03/10/13, 07:43 PM

If you let them start, they will try to stick there head in every milk bucket they see. Which is not a good thing, especially if you show. The milk itself won't hurt them. Dad had one when I was a kid that would do this. She was a PITB because you had to watch her like a hawk or she would have milk slurped down before you turned around if you left it unattended.