# How long does it take for a weaning kid to forget?



## cjb (May 2, 2006)

I separated my doe's doeling from her 6-7 weeks ago and she has not nursed since then. I would like to put the doeling back in the herd but am afraid that she will start nursing again.

How long does it take for both mother and daughter to forget about the nursing days?

I have to post this exact thread in the cow forum for my cow.


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

Three months to three years. Or more.


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## Genevieve M. (Nov 14, 2006)

That's the main reason we bottle raise kids and calves. I'd rather have 4 months of bottles than 3 years of trying to keep them separated.

We bought a weaned Nigerian. A year later, we were at a show where her dam was. That goat jumped into the show ring and started nursing her mother!


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## cjb (May 2, 2006)

That is NOT what I wanted to hear.


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## Feathers-N-Fur (Dec 17, 2007)

It depends on the individual. I have does who will let them nurse until around 6 or 7 months. I have one doe who always weans hers by 3 months, no help from me.


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## freedomfrom4 (Jul 27, 2009)

I've had my human baby weaned for 2 months now and she decided to nurse last night :shrug: 
Good luck


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## HilltopDaisy (Feb 26, 2003)

Cute story ~ (but not what you want to hear); nice family approached me this past spring, wanted to buy two kids but wanted to return them in the fall, because caring for them in the winter months was not something they wanted to do. Brownie was a bottle kid, Lucy was dam-raised and weaned at 4 months by mom. 

I brought these two yearlings home a few days ago, after nearly 4 months, and Lucy yelled "Maaaaa" and went straight for her udder.

I thought it was cute.......

And they paid me full price for the kids! By the way, Brownie was my favorite out of 10 kids, so I was very happy with the arrangement.

Edited to add that Lucy's mom was dried up at this point.


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## cjb (May 2, 2006)

Wow, so can I buy Herriot a bra that makes it impossible?

I had no idea. If I knew that she was the doeling that I was going to keep, I would have bottle raised her from the beginning.


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## dezeeuwgoats (Jan 12, 2006)

I dam raise my breeding replacements because I like the results. Like others have mentioned, some dam's wean their own kids. I separate at around five months. I leave them separated until everyone kids. Then they usually are too busy with new kids to allow others to nurse. AND the kids have kidded so they are busy being first time mothers. I have NEVER in the eight years I've been doing this had an offspring older than six months nursing on their mothers after being weaned. And I do put all my milking does, jr and sr in the same pen together.

I don't know how they tell, but a doe can be distracted, eating her breakfast and she KNOWS which kid is nursing her! She will kick the sneaky older one to the curb - and allow the new kids to nurse. A few times of that and the older kids give up. 

Niki


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

This is for a pendulous udder, but it would accomplish preventing nursing.


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## nehimama (Jun 18, 2005)

I have a doe who allowed her doe kid to nurse up to the age of 8 or 9 months, and both were pregnant! I was going to intervene by separating them, but mama finally kicked the daughter off when they were three months into the pregnancy. 

NeHi


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## luvzmybabz (Sep 8, 2008)

Alice In TX/MO said:


> This is for a pendulous udder, but it would accomplish preventing nursing.


Caption: I know you hate these things so you are going to make me wear one that is just WRONG!!


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

Yeah, I know. :help: But after a couple of days, she is SO relieved to be able to walk normally! Her udder is SO bad that when she tries to walk, it twists and gets behind her back legs. Trotting or running is just out of the question. 

She gives more milk with the udder support on, too.

Here is her udder without support. Please note, she was bought for milk production, and we do not sell her kids for milk herds. They go for cabrito or pets.









I learned a lot about what to look for and what NOT to buy when I got this goat.


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## ozark_jewels (Oct 7, 2005)

Years ago I had one doeling who was weaned away from her dam at 3 months of age. Lived completely separate for the next 9 months. She kidded out, was a very good mother and after two weeks I moved she and her kids back into the pen with her dam and the rest of the does. She started right back into nursing and her dam(who also had new kids!) let her nurse. I had to sell that young doe off the farm since she wouldn't be weaned.
Granted, that was an extreme example, but it was the worst I ever had. I had other dam-raised doelings who forgot after 2-6 months. Still a pain though.
I've only ever had problems with dairy goats this way. The Boers never seem to have this problem.


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## moonspinner (Jul 2, 2002)

I've never had a kid nurse after about eight months - mom cuts them off. And perhaps not coincidentally that's around the time she gets pregnant.


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## freedomfrom4 (Jul 27, 2009)

Alice your poor doe needs a lift. I had seen you all talk about good attachment but i DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TO LOOK FOR (SORRY CAP LOCKed). Now how can you tell when they are young if that is what they are going to look like later?


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## ozark_jewels (Oct 7, 2005)

freedomfrom4 said:


> Now how can you tell when they are young if that is what they are going to look like later?


Look at the parents and grandparents. No way that poor doe got THAT BAD in one generation.


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## luvzmybabz (Sep 8, 2008)

Alice In TX/MO said:


> Here is her udder without support. Please note, she was bought for milk production, and we do not sell her kids for milk herds. They go for cabrito or pets.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


OK now I have some ?s are those considered bottled, and why the lumpiness (not even sure if that is a word or not). I think your goat could be the poster child of what not to look for in a udder and I do not even know that much about udders.

I saw a doe at the fair I recently attended that her teats were huge fat around I forget what that is called very nice udder from what I could tell BUT weird teats. She won her class and I think the senior Best doe also. is this from dam raising or what?


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## luv2farm (Feb 15, 2008)

cjb said:


> I had no idea. If I knew that she was the doeling that I was going to keep, I would have bottle raised her from the beginning.


How much is the proper amount of milk if you bottle raise from the start. I have 3 that are due and this is my first time having goats. I usually buy mine already in milk. So, I'm a newbie to goats. (Raised alot of sheep though). This topic interests me because I have my "girls" for milk. I don't want the babies stealing it all, but I want them getting all they need.


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

I'm going to start a new thread for this, too.


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## mpete (Mar 4, 2008)

I have a doe that was without her kids for 2 months. Dried up, the kids broke in one day and all of a sudden, the doe had milk again. I am considering taping the teats. I know you can do this for when you are expecting your doe to kid, but what about older kids?


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## LaManchaPaul (May 21, 2008)

I picked up a great deal on a Saanen doe-in-milk because she had 4-month old doelings but she still stole milk from her mother. The owner had the dam and dau. separated three months while drying off the dam. The dam is the favorite milker on the farm and the dau. is a good milker. I hope it isn't hereditary because I look forward to having doelings from her.

Paul


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## jil101ca (Jul 2, 2007)

My doeling, Penny is almost 7 mths and still trying to nurse Mom


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## HappyFarmer (Jun 17, 2006)

The longest we had a kid nurse was about 5 months, she was a single. Most are weaned by 3 -4 months by the dam.
HF


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## Cat (Jun 19, 2004)

luv2farm said:


> How much is the proper amount of milk if you bottle raise from the start. I have 3 that are due and this is my first time having goats. I usually buy mine already in milk. So, I'm a newbie to goats. (Raised alot of sheep though). This topic interests me because I have my "girls" for milk. I don't want the babies stealing it all, but I want them getting all they need.


With goats we feed 16 oz. 2x daily. With sheep, usually orphans who are disadvantaged from the get-go, I will sometimes go 8 oz 4x daily until they can handle a full bottle. Smaller breeds might not need this much but we've never had anything but the larger Swiss breeds or Nubian, etc. Unless a kid was unthrifty usually they could all handle 16 oz within the first two days.


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## Jane Yang (Jul 2, 2020)

cjb said:


> Wow, so can I buy Herriot a bra that makes it impossible?
> Hahaha, I think it is a very good idea ! I'd like to buy one for my doe too.
> I had no idea. If I knew that she was the doeling that I was going to keep, I would have bottle raised her from the beginning.


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## MosaicsMLS (May 12, 2020)

Funny that I saw this thread today because just this morning I separated this year‘s kids from their mothers along with a yearling that would not stop nursing. I “weaned“ her last year, but I guess I didn’t wait until her mother was dried up because she went right back to nursing after a month. I tried to wean her this spring, but she jumped the fence the first day. This time, I moved her to a pasture where she can’t see her mom. hopefully this time it‘ll take. I’ve never had this problem before. I’ve retired her mother so haven’t really minded. But you should see her udder. I call her Cyclops now. The kid only nurses on one side. So one side is HUGE and almost drags the ground and the other side is like a little shriveled up pickle. It is ridiculous. I should take pictures.


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## motdaugrnds (Jul 3, 2002)

I never worry about weaning as my entire herd free-range 24/7 The dam decides when to wean! (If I'm wanting milk I simply separate the dam from kids at night, milk the next morning and then turn them loose with each other for the rest of the day.)


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