Runts:do they catch up?

[mary,tx]

Usually when my does have triplets, one is considerably smaller than the other two, and they all are smaller than the twins I get. My question is, do you expect the smallest of a group like that to eventually catch up, or will he/she always be somewhat smaller?
thanks,
mary

[farmmaid]

No, they do not catch up. I love twins, usually both big and twins each have a place at dinner...Joan

[Sondra Peterson]

Well I sure am not an expert but out of my last years kids I had one set of triplets. 2 bucks and a doe. The doe was the smallest and I took and bottle fed her. Out of 6 does she and one other bottle babies the other 4 on their dams. The triplet is as big as all the rest and bigger than a couple of the dam raised. Now the boys were sold at 2mo old so no longer have them to compare with.

[Tracy in Idaho]

Yes, my smaller triplets catch up very quickly and are indistinguishable from their siblings in no time.

But then I bottle feed -- a weaker triplet left on a doe will never thrive....they will be forever knocked off the teat and out of the way. That's why most sheep ranchers will take a third lamb off, and leave 2 on the ewe. I would do the same if I was dam raising goats.

Tracy

[Vicki McGaugh TX Nubians]

Other than a big ole buck kid and two doelings of the same size, your multiple kids should be about the same size. Remember in dairy goats, it's more common to have triplets than twins and lastly singles. If you are having a runt with each triplet birth, mostly twins (and it's not bloodline like our LaMancha group was) in older goats, or lots of singles (other than in perhaps young first fresheners, I would look into the nutrition and minerals of my pregnant doe crop. Selenium levels have lots to do with ovulation as does copper defficiency.

Not enough protein or energy can make the does slough or absorb eggs when they start growing.

All eggs ovulated will be fertilized with the millions of sperm per ejaculate, so you can rarely balme this one on the boys Vicki

[debitaber]

when I got one of my does, her triplets were 4 weks old to the day. the one doe was smaller, , I bottle fed them , she did catch up some , but not alot. the tripelts i had last year, one was smaller, but I bottle fed, from the start. and you couldn't tell her from the gang in a couple of weeks time. Vickie is right on this one, if left on the doe, the smaller one always gets the hind teat so to speak, and never gets enough. one reason I bottle feed.

[Freeholder]

I have twin does, Kinders, that were five weeks old when I got them, and had been bottle fed (I continued bottle feeding until they were about twelve weeks old). One doe was, and continues to be, quite a bit smaller than her sister. Since I know they were getting the same amount of food, and they've been quite healthy, I attribute it to one taking more after their pygmy ancestors and the other more after the Nubian side of the family. This wouldn't apply to older and more standardized breeds, though, I wouldn't think.

Kathleen

[Laura Workman]

I have supplemented the smaller triplet with bottles twice a day until it catches up. In other sets they seemed pretty even and no supplementation was necessary.

[SherrieC]

My doe just had triplets fri, a 6lb doe, 7 1/2 lb doe, and a 8 lb buck All doing great!