# Weaning



## mominpa (Mar 11, 2009)

What is the earliest you have weaned a baby boer goat?

We had a mamma die last night..... her babies are 5 weeks old-- nice and big (good mamma)-- do they NEED bottle fed? We watched them eat hay/grass & drink from the water bucket.

Totally OUR BAD that the mamma died-- we think it may have been worms. She kidded the week I had a baby and I totally forgot to worm her.

I don't know what else it could be!?!?!?!?! She was healthy and FINE yesterday.!?!?


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## Creamers (Aug 3, 2010)

Never wean doelings before 12 weeks - 5 weeks is NOT nearly close enough - I wean at 20-24 weeks - bucks or does - but there is no way to consider weaning the bucklings/wethers before 8 weeks, and I'd not consider the does prior to 12. They aren't going to accept bottled without a fit, but offer whole cow's milk - no replacer - unless you have a goat in milk - in a bucket until they are bottlefeeding - might take a lot of time and fighting. Offer at least 40 oz a kid a day -


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## hardworkingwoman (Jun 4, 2009)

I am just weaning mine at 4 months. One is mounting my doeling and I don't want a pregnant 4 month old even though that is not common. The other one I am selling. They are doing great. I wouldn't want to do it any earlier. They just seem more adjusted to be able to adapt better. That doesn't help their loud mouths though!! lol 
They had loud mouths before they were being weaned.


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## houndlover (Feb 20, 2009)

I have had a few kids and lambs lose their dam at a month to six weeks. None of them would take a bottle. They were fine. They were nibbling hay and pellets by that time, and after going hungry for a day or so, really dug in. Nobody wants to wean this early, but honestly if you can't get them to bottle feed, they'll be weaned.


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## mominpa (Mar 11, 2009)

The female took a bottle.

The boy keeps drinking the water from the waterer and he is going to the bathroom (both ways) quite a bit-- so I know he too is "eating" but would NOT take a bottle yet. Since I've seen him go to the bathroom I am okay and will try again tomorrow after church.


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## CaliannG (Apr 29, 2005)

Eventually, they will take a bottle. I have managed to get a Spanish kid, at 10 weeks old who had NEVER had anything but his momma, and was wild as heck, to take a bottle readily within 2-3 days.

SOME people seem to think that it is just fine to wean real early and will attempt to talk you into it. I will tell you straight up that by weaning that early, you are running some severe risks. Yeah, they COULD turn out JUST FINE, but odds are way against it. It is more likely that they will turn out stunted, have severe parasite problems, and overall end up unhealthy in the long run.

Just like with human babies....yeah, you might get away with weaning a human baby really early, but you can SEE how often that turns out bad. Babies need milk to grow big and strong...and become healthy adults.

Most folks wean at 12-16 weeks. I prefer to wean at 20 weeks for doelings.


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## Rechellef (Oct 5, 2010)

I had a 6 week old lamb that was seriously injured and couldn't stand to nurse for about a month and although she was eating grain and hay, I coaxed her into the bottle eventually. It took about a good solid 10-14 days before she would willing take it. Now all I have to do is call her name in the pasture and she comes running for her bottle.


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## houndlover (Feb 20, 2009)

And SOME people will lead you to believe that the kid will die without nursing from a bottle. Some kids simply will never take a bottle no matter how long you stress both them and yourself out trying. And they live. They make take a while to catch up with their same age peers, and maybe not. I've never had one die that wouldn't take a bottle after nursing for a month or more. Don't ever forget that the advice you get on HST is a tiny tiny percentage of goat owners as a whole, and that there are many ways to successfully raise goats.


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## ozark_jewels (Oct 7, 2005)

You do not WANT to wean them this early, so keep trying to get them to eat(glad that the doeling is taking the bottle). But if he absolutely will not, and he is eating plenty of solids and drinking water, I wouldn't worry too much about it. Make sure they get the best of everything though, as they will need it more than kids still on their mothers.


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## CaliannG (Apr 29, 2005)

I would have gotten back earlier on this, but I had to go hunt down some references to things that people have known since the 1940's, because SOME people are stubborn, and when dealing with stubborn people, I like to have some scientific back-up.  

So here are some basics:

http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/livestock/goat/facts/goatnutrition.htm

http://www.archanimbreed.com/pdf/2005/at05p185.pdf

I can hunt up a couple more. However, basically, it is not the actual AGE of the goat, but the size and maturity of its digestive system that effect whether you have severe losses with weaning shock or not.

That means, in small groups, SOME PEOPLE might not experience losses due to weaning shock, especially if their lines tend to put on weight fast and have early maturing digestive systems. This is ESPECIALLY true of less commercial breeds, such as NDs, Pygmies, or Spanish goats. 

A rule of thumb is that you never want to wean if the *standard sized* goat is under 20 lbs, and if you want to be on the safe side, you'll wait until the goat is 25-30 lbs before weaning. Males are more effected by weaning shock than females.

If you want to take chances with your goats and you can easily afford their loss (like many commercial breeders, where it is about the numbers), then yes, go ahead and wean at 8 weeks. (But definitely not FIVE weeks!  :run: )

If it is very important to you that your kids survive and you don't want to take chances, then the TRADITIONAL time for weaning goats is 12- 14 weeks. Of course, it is TRADITIONAL for a reason...millions of goat keepers found that their mortality rates were much lower for 12-14 week old weaned kids than they were for 8-10 week old weaned kids.

Your call.


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