# Rejecting Kid?



## BarnyardBlast (May 1, 2018)

I have a goat currently (or just finishing) kidding. I'm not sure when it started, but it couldn't have been more than an hour or two. One of the kids is still 'dirty' and hasn't been cleaned. It was wandering around the pen and trying to play with another kid (different mother). The other kid has been meticulously cleaned, has fed, and is being nuzzled by the mother goat. I put on a pair of gloves and took the other kid near. She sniffed, bleated a bit (and the kid bleated back), tentatively licked an ear and then backed away to groom the preferred kid. 

I plan to keep an eye as best as I can, but I suspect she's rejecting the kid. How long can I give her to accept the kid before I need to pull and bottle feed? (I am not certain that she's rejecting but I haven't seen this happen before). She makes no attempt to call, even when it's bleating, or move towards it.


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## Wehner Homestead (May 1, 2018)

That kid needs colostrum now! It doesn’t matter if you hold her and help it nurse or milk her and syringe or bottle feed it that. From there, it needs to nurse or be bottle fed 4-6 times a day (depending on breed.) 

I’d put her in a pen with just her kids to increase her chances of accepting it and monitoring.


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## BarnyardBlast (May 2, 2018)

Thanks. I forgot to reply last night as I was at the pen until late. She did let her kid nurse at least twice before I came back to the house (with a bit of help). The mother is a Nubian/Boer cross (a rescue) that was bred to a larger Nigerian Dwarf. (We had exclusively Nigerian Dwarf goats until we agreed to take in three Nubian/Boers - all that was left after repeated dog attacks). I plan to keep a close eye on the kid to make sure the mother doesn't reject again. We do plan on bottle feeding, but I was going to wait until next week to pull both kids.


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