# When is to early to wean?



## wornoutmomto3 (Mar 23, 2015)

There is a local farmer who I typically get my chicken hatching eggs. This spring he has branched into raising and selling goats. He has some beautiful kids I am looking into buying. However, there is one concern I have. He weans his kids around 6 weeks or up until they are sold, or he breeds the mama again. That seems a little early to me for weaning. I am not sure the exact breed but some of the mamas are pygmies and the others are a little bit larger.


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## mysunwolf (Mar 23, 2015)

Well, personally I prefer to wean at 7-8 weeks, anything longer than that is pretty silly. We have weaned at 5-6 weeks when we needed to and the kids have turned out fine. We get them on hay and creep ASAP, but it helps if they have another kid to show them how to eat the food and drink the water. I recently purchased a dairy lamb that was weaned at 4 weeks, not by me, and is doing great. Early-weaned lambs or kids usually start out a little smaller, but pretty often they will catch up in size as they get on pasture (though not always).

The general rule is that if they are eating a good portion of hay and grain, plus drinking water from a bowl, and they are at a weaning age, you can probably start tapering off their milk consumption.


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## Fullhousefarm (Mar 23, 2015)

I don't like to wean until 8 weeks, but have had some Nigerian Dwarf bucklings that were eating so well I'm sure they would have been fine. Our 8 week Lamanchas get to nurse for 15 minutes after I milk mom morning and night now and that's it. They'd be fine being weaned- but I like them emptying mom right now. 

I'll probably keep keeper doelings on mom a lot longer- and we've given 1-2 bottles a day with bottle babies until babies are 12 weeks- especially smaller does. We have lots of milk, otherwise I'd probably feel differently.


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## Southern by choice (Mar 24, 2015)

Our Nigies are fully weaned by 8 weeks. The Nigie bucklings around 6 weeks sometimes 8. The Nigie bucklings must be seperated from the does by then anyway so they really are fine.
Our Miniature goats 8 weeks.
Standard Goats- by 12 weeks. They can be weaned earlier but they are larger and I feel like they do better if they go a little longer.


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## jodief100 (Mar 26, 2015)

We wean bucks at 8-12 weeks, does we let the dams wean them.  6 weeks is the earliest I would recommend and then only if they have been eating grain and hay well for awhile.  I don't think anyone should deliberately wean that young but if done right, the kids are fine.   Much better on the dams.


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## Hens and Roos (Mar 26, 2015)

so when you wean-bucklings in particular- do you just make a pen right in with the rest of the group so does/kids can still see each other or do you move the kids so they are completely separated?

Here is why I ask...our buckling(will be wethered- probably around 12 weeks) will be 6 weeks next week Wednesday- if we need to move him completely away from the does we can but this would bring him into contact with Melanie(she isn't old enough to be tested for CAE, CL and Johne's yet) and although he hasn't been tested- the 3 does have been and are negative for all 3.


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## KinderKorner (Mar 26, 2015)

I try not to wean mine until week 10.


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## SheepGirl (Mar 26, 2015)

I wean dam raised lambs at 60 days and bottle baby lambs at 30 days.


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