Separating Does and Kids and Weaning
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Separating does and kidsAfter the kids are 2 weeks of age, you can begin to separate the babies and moms. Put the babies in size appropriate groups so they can socialize and play. This will make the separation less stressful fo the babies and it seems after the first couple of days, the moms are ready for short breaks from having to attend to their children.
With the babies separated from the moms, feeding time will become much more important and the kids will quickly imprint on humans as a source of goodness. You can also provide them with tiny yummy treats such as a bit of apple, banana or carrot. At first they may reject the treats, but they will quickly learn. Soon when the babies see you coming you will have a contest amongst them as to which one gets to you first. |
Shelter for older kids
Once your kids are ready to spend the nights or days on their own - your preference regarding your milking schedules and their age, they will obviously need a shelter of their own in their own pen or pasture. What we have found that goats seem to prefer the best are run-in sheds that aren't particularly tall, such as the one on the right. This size also works well for humans as it is easily moved to other pastures or pens as needed.
This particular run-in features: A large doorway providing ample room for animals to move in and out without jostling each other A porch overhang if the goats want to enjoy the breeze, but stay out of the sun Airflow vents for good ventilation A dirt floor that is soft and cozy on the body An attached internal small hay rack inside so feed can be kept dry. A water bucket and cook and an optional and a sweet feed feeder for feed, minerals and supplements |
Goat Kid Pens Construction and PrecautionsAlthough technically goats don't need a lot of fancy digs, there are a few things that you will want in your baby pen. First of all, young kids can squeeze themselves through places you would never imagine they would fit, particularly when they are anxious to get back to their mom's teat. For this reason, if you are using standard wood fencing, goat panels or some other type of fencing with any spaces 4 inches or more, you will want to line them with an extra layer or 2' by 1" fencing. Even if their little bodies can't make it through, if mom's and babies are sharing a fence line, you can be guaranteed it won't take more than a few minutes for the mom's to learn how to back their udders up to the baby fence and the babies to poke their heads through to suck. This gets extremely exasperating when you are trying to keep the milk for yourself and/or your youngsters should be weaned.
The other thing that is fun for both you and your goats is to create a pen for them where there are lots of activities and play structures. Activities with other goat youngsters help babies quickly forget about mom, particularly when youngsters have been converted to 100% bottle feeding. Activities also help youngsters stay out of trouble by working on things that they shouldn't - like perhaps that solar lamp that you didn't realize was close enough to the fence line for them to make a project of disassembling. Lastly, play structures help the goats go strong and healthy while quickly gaining balance and independence. Within the first two days the kids will be up and kicking their heels around and after only one week are already sturdy enough for some serious playtime. Play structures can include rocks, logs, tree stumps and piles of large blocks that you can reconfigure in various ways as the goats grow in size. The other benefit of play structures is the hours of enjoyment you will have watching your baby goats at play. Invite some friends over in the evening when chores are done, enjoy your favorite beverage and laugh hysterically at the hilarious antics of your baby goats. It will offer a wonderfully relaxing and rewarding time that you won't soon forget. |
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Weaning
When to wean
Wean by weight, not age.
This also translates into limit-feeding milk. When milk consumption is limited to 2 pints a day, consumption of dry feed is encouraged. This increases body capacity, with a corresponding increase in feed intake and digestion. Research has shown that a 2 months of age a weaned kid has a reticuloruminal capaicty fives times as large as a sucking kid of the same age.
- A good goal is two times their birth weight.
- While it is possible to wean kids as young as 4 weeks, it's not ideal and often causes weaning stress and sometimes later dysfunctional behavior. Eight weeks is closer to the optimal as that is frequently about the time the target weight is met. Later weaning costs more in milk and labor, and it retards rumen development.
- You can reduce the milk by one feeding per day for a few days to make sure the kids continue to grow and everyone is getting enough to eat. Watch this carefully as sometimes the smaller kids will get pushed out by the larger ones and may need to be fed separately.
This also translates into limit-feeding milk. When milk consumption is limited to 2 pints a day, consumption of dry feed is encouraged. This increases body capacity, with a corresponding increase in feed intake and digestion. Research has shown that a 2 months of age a weaned kid has a reticuloruminal capaicty fives times as large as a sucking kid of the same age.
How to Wean
At two weeks of age you can begin encouraging the sampling of kid starter in addition to the hay.
- At the time of weaning, separate the mothers and kids 100 percent of the time from each other, preferably out of sight from one another, although it is not absolutely critical.
- There will be about 48 hours or so of unbearable crying for one another. This is normal.
- Because kids are escape artists and can get their little heads through almost anything, do not put them in a pen that shares a fence with their mothers or is even close enough for them to stick their heads through and the mothers' to back up to. Otherwise you will come out in the morning to milk to find largely empty udders and babies with full bellies.
- If you are using goat panels, consider putting some additional fencing with small openings along the panels. Kids are amazingly flexible and can get through tiny spaces.
- At weaning, provide plenty of leafy hay and a 1/2 pound of kid starter ration until about 6 months of age at which point the doelings can be switched to a milking ration. Bucks should be kept on a low calcium diet and do not need much grain. Too much calcium in their diet can result in kidney stones.
- By 7 months doelings weigh 75-80 pounds and are bred. Milk-fed kids weighing 20 to 30 pounds are often in demand at meat in some localities, especially at Easter and Passover.
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