# Question about letting the mama goat self-wean her kids



## mydog8it (Nov 1, 2011)

I'm hoping for some feedback on whether or not it's OK to allow a mama goat to decide when to stop letting her kids nurse? If she refuses to let them, will she dry up on her own or will being so over-full of milk cause problems? 

The kids are 3 1/2 months, so they can definitely be done nursing. When I put them in with her she won't let them nurse anymore. She gets so full of milk after a few days, and I feel bad for her. I've been putting her on a leash & holding onto her to let her kids drain her once every few days while she eats her grains (I am not good enough at hand milking to do it). Not sure if this is the right thing to be doing. This is a rescued goat that is not in the best condition as she's been seriously overbred, so I would like her to be done producing milk so her little body can focus on healing itself.


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## SheepGirl (Nov 1, 2011)

I don't have goats, but one of my ewes nursed her single lamb up until she was six months old and about 100 lbs. That was putting way too much stress on that ewe so we removed the lamb for about two weeks...put the lamb back in the pasture with mom and no interest in nursing. But other than that, we almost always wean at 60 days.


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## Queen Mum (Nov 1, 2011)

She is weaning at an appropriate age.   Don't force the kids on her. Having her kids on her will stimulate milk production.  If she is engorged, just milk out a little bit from her and then let her dry up naturally.  She will be fine.  There are herbs you can give her to help her dry up.  But the more you milk her the more milk she will produce.


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## mydog8it (Nov 3, 2011)

Thank you for the feedback. I will continue to put them in with her once a day then, but I'll let her decide whether or not to let them nurse. So far she's deciding not to. I did milk her a tiny bit yesterday - she looked like she was going to pop!

Thanks for the suggestion about the herbs, too. I will look into that.


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## Chaty (Nov 4, 2011)

If she isnt in the bst type of condition I would wean them cmpletely as she will dry up faster than letting them in with her. She knows that they dont need her anymore and if they are eating grain and hay well I would separate and let her dry up. As long as they are nursing her she will continue to make milk which is a stress on her. Her udder will look really full for a few days but will go down as it tells her body to stop as the babies can suck her dry in just a few seconds. This is just what I do in this situation.


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## cmjust0 (Nov 4, 2011)

I've found that some mamas know when to wean babies, and some don't..  Those that wean at 3-4 mos tend to have kids that are plenty healthy, and tend to be healthier themselves because they don't get stripped to the bone by giant greedy youngins..  

If she's in poor body condition and trying to wean her babies, good for her.  She's smart..  Definitely let her wean them..  She must not be all that uncomfortable or she'd be *encouraging* them to nurse.


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## mydog8it (Nov 9, 2011)

So far so good. Up until yesterday I had been letting the babies in with her once every couple of days and giving her the choice to nurse, but she wants nothing to do with it. She's really full, but I suppose if she were desperate she'd let them drink. Hopefully she'll be dry soon. The babies are 4 months now and eating really well, so I'm not worried about them. They're pretty chubby.


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## Queen Mum (Nov 9, 2011)

Mamas know when.  We think we know better than they do but we don't.   Nature tells them when it's time.  My diary doe weans when she's about 3 months from delivery of her next babies.  In other words her kids are about 7 months old and almost as big as she is.  OR she weans them when they are about 1 month pregnant if she is not pregnant.  Last time they were almost 9 months old.


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## mydog8it (Nov 9, 2011)

Queen Mum said:
			
		

> Mamas know when.  We think we know better than they do but we don't.   Nature tells them when it's time.  My diary doe weans when she's about 3 months from delivery of her next babies.  In other words her kids are about 7 months old and almost as big as she is.  OR she weans them when they are about 1 month pregnant if she is not pregnant.  Last time they were almost 9 months old.


Wow - what a good mama! It must be pretty adorable seeing such a big baby try to get under there to nurse. lol.


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