# Help with weaning...Me or the goats?



## Chicos Mama (Jul 29, 2010)

O.K. I must say i am sooo relived that I stumbled on this site. I have found many answers today in the 3 hours I have been reading! 
But I have an issue that is somewhat embarassing and I know Im going to take alot of razzing for..*Deep Breath* here goes...
I am a newbie to goats and these "two babies" I aquired at BIRTH (mama died 6 hours after delivery) have been bottle fed by me for...wait for it...*8 MONTHS NOW*! (Stop laughing! )
I have been gradually pulling away 1 feeding at a time per week untill now they just are getting a morning bottle(16 oz.) and a night feeding (16 oz.) BOTH have been eating hay and grain and Corn Chips  since they were 2 months old.  I know, I know!  But when I try to NOT feed them either of these two feedings, You would think the world is comming to an end!! Did I mention that they are Nubian Goats? (VERRRY VOCAL)  I belive they have *ME* pretty well wrapped around their big fat hooves! It just breaks my heart to hear them cry so pittifully and so i give in. These guys have the run of my front yard and actually will head-but my front window, kick my door, and scream at the top of their lungs untill they get their bottles! Then and only then, is the world at peace again.
*HEEELLLPPP!*
My wither is now abooout...90 lbs. and his sister is abooout...75 lbs. Chubsters huh? They are healthy and in need of nothing else in this world...except for that dang bottle.
*Do I need an Intervention???*:/
Any advice will be taken seriously...even the razzing!
O.K. Goat people...BRING IT ON! 
My Kids...Chico and Violet!


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## Chirpy (Jul 29, 2010)

First... Welcome to BYH!

Oh boy... you do need help.... 

At this point I'd suggest you just stop with the bottles and corn chips right now.  It's cold turkey time... you need to 'harden' your heart for a few days (maybe weeks at this point) and let them yell.   Now, if you have close neighbors this will be much tougher and you will want to inform them of what's coming and you will want to lock them up at night so they can't be heard so loudly if possible.   If you can lock them up in a secure area during the day for this time period that may save your front window and door from abuse also.

The corn chips should be an occasional treat.  Think about them from the standpoint that you are hurting your goats physically by giving them 'candy'.  You don't want to hurt them or make them unhealthy so treats are given in moderation on occasion.

You need to get tough and stop them from the window butting and door kicking.  The window butting is actually very dangerous.. you don't want a goat head coming through the window and getting cut up.   They are spoiled brats, as you obviously know, and they need to be taught 'rules, boundaries and limitations' so that everybody is safer and happier. 

Because they were bottle raised they see you as another goat, not a person who they need to respect.  That's a common problem with bottle babies and needs to be addressed immediately before someone gets hurt... they are going to get bigger and more demanding if it's not nipped in the bud right now.

You can absolutely love your goats and still have them respect and be safe around you and other people.  They will be just as happy (actually happier) when they aren't allowed to be so pushy and dominant.  

Good luck - get tough - turn over that new leaf right now...   


Oh  wow... the picture didn't load for me before so I'm just seeing the horns now so I wanted to add an extra STOP THEM FROM HEAD BUTTING NOW encouragement.  Horns can be very dangerous even on a well behaved goat.   They can just turn their head and catch your eye or face with a horn and cause serious damage to a person.

They sure are a cute pair!


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## helmstead (Jul 29, 2010)

Ear plugs!


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## jodief100 (Jul 29, 2010)

First I will say you have done a wonderful job getting them to this age.  Bottle babies are not easy and lots of things can go wrong.  They are obviously well taken care of and loved.

Now it is Tough Love time.  No more bottles, no more head butting, corn chips as an occasional treat.  If you do not get them under control now you are going have some BIG, dangerous goats on your hands. 

For the sake of your safety you have to let them know who is boss and that is you.  If you or someone else gets hurt it is the goats that will pay the price.


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## Chicos Mama (Jul 29, 2010)

Thank you for answering so quickly...O.K. the corn chips are the easy part You did address an issue that i almost forgot about. "Chico" my bad ex-billy, has aggression issues with everybody that steps foot in my yard! He rams them and tries to gore everyone...EXCEPT ME! I have to physically hold him back by his collar and tell my guests to run for the door and get inside as fast as possible...pretty sad , i know.  He is too heavy to flip anymore which i did when he was younger and I only had to do it once...lesson learned. He seems as if hes being territorial, do you think thats what it is? What once was cute from a little billy is now very dangerous for a large Wither and anyone who is within range. We are in the process of building a large pen OUT BACK for them but in the mean time...No visitors allowed! They do go into their pen that we have for them out back at night now, but its just not big enough for them to be in full time.
My husband suggested a 2x4 upside his head might do the trick...but something tells me that would just piss him off...lol!
Im kidding about that last statement too!
 Can you tell Im having a "FEW" issues? (oh I have more if you have the time!) :/
Bad Boy Chico


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## Emmetts Dairy (Jul 29, 2010)

....Chirpy is absolutly right!!  STOP now...if you love them...!   As its sounds like you do....your createing monsters!!! LOL  Its great when there babies..but there not babies anymore...Its dangerous for them butting the house like that...Boundries are needed for them...Alot can go wrong with goats and they are extremley curious animals...I dont let mine run amuk...they are fenced and I will take them thru the yard myself so they dont get into anything we humans may have left behind.  We specifically designed the windows in the barn so they couldnt get to them..so they wouldnt hurt themselves....
Look at this as a wonderful opportunity to take control...I dont even have to leash my Toggs..they walk with me through acres of woods here in NH...its great....When I weened...and the cries bugged me too...I stopped the bottle and for two weeks I gave them watered down formula in a large bowl once a day for a week and the next week every other day...morning or eve....its your choice..by the middle of the second week they lost interest and wouldnt even finish it. That when I stopped.  You control them...and once you lead them...its amazing how they follow...they do like someone in control...they are pack animals and all packs need a leader!!  Feed is very very important to a goats health...I lost a buck to stones...cuz his PH was off due to feed issues...Important stuff....Good Luck....they look beautiful!!!!

I see they are boys so its life threatening if you dont get that food issue under control....


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## cmjust0 (Jul 29, 2010)

You're either a saint, or a sucker...or maybe both..  

Seriously, I dunno how you've kept it up.  I get sick of bottlefeeding by the time they're like 6wks old..  When they hit about 10wks, I'm totally and utterly, completely DONE.  

Here's some hay.  Scream all you want -- I DON'T CARE.




So, ya...you just gotta quit with the bottles.  If they scream and holler, go somewhere.  The happy place in your head, perhaps..  Or physically...as in, vacate the premises.  Out of earshot, out of mind.

Gotta quit with the bottles, though.


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## Mea (Jul 29, 2010)

Here are my $.02   for what they might be worth...  


   Weaning...  When ours reach "The Time".... we will continue to offer them ...water... in the bottle ( or sucky bucket )   Over several days we switch to cold water.  That , somehow, seems to make it "Their choice" not to nurse.

   Head butting.... Yes !! VERY dangerous !.....   A couple buckets of cold water in his face can often bring about an attitude adjustment.     ( only one bucket at a time, however.  )

  Good luck !


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## aggieterpkatie (Jul 30, 2010)

Wow.  8 months?   I mean this in the nicest way possible, but they are pretty chunky.  I'll tell you what I tell my mom when she says she can't be mean to her dogs...."Grow a pair."  LOL.  Don't let them run you, you're the boss and you control what they eat.  They WILL get over it.


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## dkluzier (Jul 30, 2010)

I would think that weaning a bottle baby would be easier than a baby nursing from the mother, then both mom and baby cry horribly.


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## SDGsoap&dairy (Jul 30, 2010)

You couldn't PAY me to bottle feed a 90 lb buckling!    Seriously, what everyone else said.  They sure look fat and happy, but I suspect that if you left it up to the goats to decide before long you'd be bottle feeding at 150 lb buck! 

Also, I've used a squirt bottle to train my does to respect my space at the gate.  I can't STAND it when they rush the gate at feeding time so unless they back up about 2 feet they get squirted right in the face.  Might sound mean but they learned fast.


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## cmjust0 (Jul 30, 2010)

Mea said:
			
		

> sucky bucket


I think I saw them play in Cincinnatti in the mid '90s..  Hell of a show.


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## Chicos Mama (Jul 30, 2010)

Thank You all for handeling me with humor and wonderful advice!  Today is a new beggining...*Big Gulp*...
Left hand in the air...Right hand on the "Goat Mama" Bible...I swear NO MORE MILK BOTTLES!  I am going to try the cold water only for a few days ( because they already like warm water from a bottle) and NO MORE TREATS!....WELLLL....O.K. only on occasion. I promise to stay vigilate and true to my course! AMEN!

Oh ya...
I tried the squirt bottle idea yesterday to stop Violet from head-butting my big bay window in my front....and IT WORKED! Of course not without the "dirty looks" and huffing...boy was she confused!
Chico is my next project with the water bucket...now THAT should be fun..haha, I`ll take Pictures!
But seriously, Thank you all again and I will keep you posted on OUR progress!


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## glenolam (Jul 30, 2010)

Good luck!  Stick with it...if you need assistance or people to snap you back into place, you know where to find us!


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## Emmetts Dairy (Jul 30, 2010)

Good for you!!!  Take the dirty looks with a grain of salt!!   They will get over it....and they'll love you more for it!!!


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## Mea (Aug 2, 2010)

cmjust0 said:
			
		

> Mea said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Yup.  opening act for  *  Bleating Hearts *  .



         :bun


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## Ariel301 (Aug 7, 2010)

Mea said:
			
		

> Here are my $.02   for what they might be worth...
> 
> 
> Weaning...  When ours reach "The Time".... we will continue to offer them ...water... in the bottle ( or sucky bucket )   Over several days we switch to cold water.  That , somehow, seems to make it "Their choice" not to nurse.


Hahaha I don't know if that trick would work on mine. I weaned my new buckling "cold turkey" and then a few weeks later, took him on a hiking trip. My husband had the bright idea of taking water along for him in a baby bottle so he could drink it easier than trying to suck it from a regular water bottle and we would not have to carry a bucket...but apparently ice-water from a baby bottle is a great treat on a warm day! Now Baruch is biting at my fingers, feet, ankles, knees, etc again and butting at me to get his bottle like he used to, any time I go in his pen. 

Some are really loud at weaning time. I had a screamer this year; we were actually afraid to go outside and have him see us, because that is what would start him, and then he would scream horribly for hours, nonstop! He settled down after a month, though he is still very whiney. You just have to put up with it, though. And it sounds like your goats have learned that they run the household, not you. Time to put a stop to that! I suggest making them their own pen so they cannot chase your guests or bang on your doors/windows and you may have to get very tough on the male about his aggression. If you cannot flip him, you should try a squirt of water or vinegar to the face, it might or might not help. We have a buck that has gotten mean for no obvious reason, and he attacks me any time I go in the pen without a stick/shovel/broom handle to hit him with. He is bigger than me, so that is really the only thing I can do to defend myself until we send him to the freezer. I hope yours straightens up, a dangerous goat, especially with horns, is not an animal you want around!


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## Chicos Mama (Aug 10, 2010)

_O.K. a quick update...
It has been 1 week without *MILK BOTTLES  *
On the down side...They *LOVE* their cold water bottles because you have to remember that I live in Arizona with 115 degrees here latley  
Sooo... as of today I have not given them any bottles and they arent crying or fussing, but they do keep going over to the feeding table, sniffin` and looking around every 5 mins. or so as if to tell me" Mama havent you forgotten something?" So i decided to sit here and write to all of you to help stop the guilt & withdrawl feeling *I am having*...but Im holding strong!!
Chico and Violet are doing amazing with the squirt water bottle trick as well! No More head-butting the windows and Chico actually is being a very well mannered gentleman when guests come over! (As long as he sees Mama with the lil` pink bottle! )
No more Corn chips either...just a few peices of fruit from my orchard a day, Peaches, Apricots and Tomatoes! They Love, love, love Tomatoes!
Thank you all so very much again, I was lost but now I am found!!!
Kudos to all of you!_


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## PJisaMom (Aug 10, 2010)

Congratulations!!!!  Sounds like you are doing fabulously!


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## DonnaBelle (Aug 10, 2010)

And I thought I was the biggest goat spoiler in the world, I can't hold a candle to you.

DonnaBelle


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## Mea (Aug 10, 2010)

Congratulations !!!   Sounds as tho things are under control.    

   I do think it is funny...as in ha-ha funny,  that they liked the cold water.  !!


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## SDGsoap&dairy (Aug 10, 2010)

Great job!


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## cmjust0 (Aug 10, 2010)

Chico's Mama...did you send me a private message?


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## Chicos Mama (Aug 14, 2010)

Yes!


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## Emmetts Dairy (Aug 15, 2010)

Yeah!!!!  Nice to see you were able to bring harmony!!!!  Its great!!!  Im sure there much happier too!!  Great job...Keep up the great work....


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