# doe wont stop nursing!



## hayjade (Jun 11, 2009)

I have a 5 month old doe that WILL not stop nursing!! I have tried everything I can think of, separation(which is difficult, I just dont have the facilities to separate them too far) with separation i find that the doe gets very little freedom, i let my goats free to roam during the day. I have tried putting a cover over the moms teats...she hated it and managed to shake free of it about an hour later. I finally resorted to the shock collar which works great to keep the herd away from areas I dont want them in, but does it work on this doe? NO, oh it works or a little while then as soon as I am not around to push the button she is at it again! I can not spend my whole day watching them! I give up....just let her nurse I guess. I have mom just where I want her milk-wise however. She is giving about a half gallon a day and that is just right for us. When she nurses she produces over a gallon plus whatever the doe takes and i worry it is too much stress on her! I dont understand why mom doesnt push her away as most moms do. She almost looks like she encourages it, in fact, by rubbing against her doe and even humping her when she wont nurse...it weird!!! If I do allow her to just go ahead and nurse I will at least have to separate them at night so that I have something to milk in the morning, but it seems like such a waste to allow this doe to nurse! She doesnt need it, she is so much more robust then her mother who has still not gained much weight since she kidded. AND its tough to keep separating them...what a pain!!!


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## Bricheze (Jun 21, 2008)

This is why I bottle raise my goats lol, sorry I don't know if there is anything you can do now... either then try and keep them separated... you could keep them separated and use the shock collar for a few hours a day so they can be together for a little while? Luckily when my first 2 kids I had needed to be weened, they were on a larger farm where I could keep them like a quarter of a mile apart... not possible where I am moving them.


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## Minelson (Oct 16, 2007)

Mine stopped nursing at about 6 months...


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## Sweet Goats (Nov 30, 2005)

I have a mom that just will not let her baby nurse anymore. She weaned him. I normally just put all the babies in a weaning pen but he was the only one I had left of the late born babies so I hated to put him in with the big boys.


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## hayjade (Jun 11, 2009)

wow, to the person above who said their goat stopped nursing at 6 months!
i think I will just give up other than night separation. Now I have learned to wean early and perhaps even bottle feed the next bunch. I am still learning and they are quite a handful arent they??


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## emanuelcs34 (Dec 5, 2007)

We got some of the bandage tape, and Just taped up mama at night, that way we still had milk in the morning....that was when baby was 3 months...she is now 5 months and I have been taping her morning and night for about a week. Baby has only gotten the tape off once, but I had put on a really small piece. It works for me, I can't really separate on our place.


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## nehimama (Jun 18, 2005)

I had a young doe that was bred, and STILL nursing her mama at eight months of age! Her mama was bred, too. When mama was about two months into her pregnancy, she weaned the young doe. 

NeHi


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## jil101ca (Jul 2, 2007)

I'm in the same boat except I have room to separate. The doeling just won't stop but My mom goat is at least starting to kick her away sometimes.


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## betsy h. (Sep 28, 2008)

I have a DRY YEARLING that is still on the tit, going to college! She WILL NOT stop nursing her dam, and her dam also nurse every other baby that wants it. (Rolls eyes at sky, takes a long deeep sigh....) Her dam did not kid this year because of it, but I know I have genetics for running through a year in my herd.

Maybe if I can get the dry yearling bred before her dam this fall, she'll stop nursing!


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

Teat tape.


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## Minelson (Oct 16, 2007)

hayjade said:


> wow, to the person above who said their goat stopped nursing at 6 months!
> i think I will just give up other than night separation. Now I have learned to wean early and perhaps even bottle feed the next bunch. I am still learning and they are quite a handful arent they??


I wasn't milking though..I also didn't try to discourage it. My twins are dam raised and I just let nature take it's course. That is just when it stopped.


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## farmmom (Jan 4, 2009)

I would be concerned about these does that nurse so long, being ones that would continue nursing other does or starting to nurse themselves. I don't know if there is an link or not. It just makes me wonder.


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