If they did weigh that when born that is really good. As long as the tummy seems full and they are bouncy i do not weigh mine after birth weights much. If they are meh i weigh then a d daily while meh. If this kid is a singlet i would be milking the dam already.
I haven't been consistently weighing them because every time I pick them up they have full a full tummy and are very lively and running around. I will start milking her in the next couple of days! Should he be ok to separate at night now?
If it is a singlet kid.... i milk from the get go but do not separate until two weeks. If it is more than one i separate at two weeks as long as everyone is doing well. With a singlet they will usually not keep her udder empty enough hence the milking from the get go. But this also really depends on how much milk your doe is making. You just have to watch her udder and if it looks full milk her... talking about singlet here. Also if a singlet and you do not milk that udder if it stays full her production will go down. If you plan to milk her that wont help you. And. Bucks will usually be larger than does. So i always watch the doelings more closely jist to make sure their brothers are playing nice and sharing. Lol.
Thank you so much! I do want to milk her, so I will start tomorrow. I have milked her a few times. Once it seemed like the buckling was only nursing one side so we milked 14 ounces out of the other side. A couple other times she was out in the field and I wanted to try the buckling on a bottle so I milked her a little while she was grazing (he wouldn't take the bottle...lol). I'll get started for real tomorrow though and hope it goes well!
Y'all....I'm so glad we are keeping this little guy because he is SO SWEET! Every time I check on the goats during the day and bring the stroller in the barn Nova hops in the back and curls up for a ride.
Ok I'm back with a weaning question/support. Nova is just shy of 10 weeks. He is now peeing on himself, able to extend and is showing interest in the ladies. We've been separating him from the non-pregnant does, but today he graduated to the buck pen and OMG the cries are SO SAD. I had to come inside because it's just so pitiful. Someone tell me it's ok!! Do they always cry when separated? He's with a wether and a buck. They are both close to his size, since he's a mini-nubian he got close to the ND size super fast. Anyway, I just feel so bad for him. He started crying instantly. I wanted to wait until 12 weeks, but we have 3 ND doelings that aren't ready for breeding so we had to separate.
Is it a bad idea to still let him nurse a couple times per day? I can bring mom over and let them visit for a minute. I just don't know if that will prolong the crying.
Yes, it is very sad to listen to. One of the harder parts of goat breeding. A buck apron from House of Bacchus has helped us here to keep a buckling with mom longer.
I had that scenario while I was waiting on the buck apron to arrive. My buckling thought it was time for the “visit” every time I went near them or when he heard the house door. I think it would prolong the crying.
Ok I'll avoid the visits. I do want to get a buck apron. I also noticed that he is SUPER rough when he nurses and makes mom's leg fly up into the air each time. She's been letting him nurse less and less anyway, so I probably need to avoid projecting my feelings on the situation lol! I might just go by and give him some extra cuddles a few times per day instead of letting him nurse.