Happy New Year! These are our ND new girls, Fankie and Adele. They were born on Christmas morning-If I planned it right I could have taken all of the gifts from under the tree and we could have had only the miracle of goat kids. As it turned out babies and gifts. They are two days old in these pictures. Gemma, my doe is such a wonderful mother. I could really learn from her example- she exibits that perfect combination of nurturing and detachment. The girls are doing great. I am planning on letting them nurse mom 24/7 for another week before I step in. This is my first batch of kids so everything seems a bit of an experiment! Two Questions- 1. For my first disbudding I am planning to take the kids to my local vet. This is the scariest part for me and I want to make sure it is done correctly. The thing is I can only feel the slightest nub. Is this normal? Or is it a sign that they are naturally polled? How fast do the horns grow? I haven't noticed a change since they were born. 2. Is these any reason to choose morning over evening milking? And when I start this would it be best to keep the kids in their own area away from mom for the night? Currently they all sleep together in the barn. Thanks in advance for all of your help- I have learned so much just from reading old posts. erica
Oh my gosh they are adorable. I personally pull my kids at 2-3 weeks of age at night as they don't nurse momma much at night, then I milk momma in the morning and then let the kids at her all day. One thing I noticed though was to make sure you get a good 10 - 12 hour fill on momma for milking - as that way they produce a good amount for ya! Good luck!
cuties :clap: I like to wait till the kids are 4 weeks before separating from mom and milking. I put the kids in a dog cage in mom's stall or I put the kids in a separate stall. By then the kids are eating solid food so I leave hay and grain in there for them. Mom and kids can see each other and this keeps them all happy.
Yes, they both have waddles just like their mom. Pretty cute. Thanks for the milking advice. I think I'll hold off longer than 2 weeks to start milking. erica
I too usually wait til kids are 3-4 weeks old before I separate at night, I do morning milkings because it's easier for me with my work schedule.
I also wait until the kids are about 4 weeks old. Try to milk at the same time every day. I'm a late sleeper so I usually milk at 10 am & when I add in the second milking, I am out there at 10pm also. Everybodys times work different..as long as the times are about 12 hours apart you will get your most production. I usually start by separating the kids at night also, that way the kids can have all day to go out & play, hang with mom & learn how to munch on new things in during the sunlight. As for disbudding--are they using a disbudding iron? My boys are usually done around a week old & the girls are usually closer to 2 weeks old. I think different breeds vary but that it is how I do my nigerian dwarf goats.
