Concerning behavior between mom and 1 week old twin bucklings

[Tmaxson]

Mom does take care of the twins, watches after them, and will let them nurse, that is when she feels like it. Sometimes though she won't let them nurse, runs away from them and tonight she head butted them to get away from her, then in the same few min started licking them. Is this strange behavior? The only experience I have is with a mom and a single doeling and she never walked away from her baby when she was trying to nurse and certainly never ran away or head butted her.

 

[SDBoerGoats]

Are these her first? That could be why. If she's not letting them eat enough to grow and be healthy you might have to tie her up or hold her so they can nurse. Only problem I have had is a first freshener refused her doeling but absolutely loved her boy. We had to bottle feed the little girl cause she would head butt her and charge her, when we tried to hold her to let her nurse, she would swing around and keep knocking her off, she knew it was the girl eating! Little girl figured out real fast we had the bottles and would come running, so we let her stay in the herd.

 

[Tmaxson]

Yes she is a ff and the strange thing is that she will sometimes let them but sometimes she won't. They are growing and have gained 5 lbs in a week so I think they are getting some just seems odd.

 

[20kidsonhill]

I would just keep tracking their weight gain, Does don't always let the babies nurse when ever they want to, I have seen my older does walk away from their kids. Sometimes they just don't think it is time. But what you are discribing does sound like a young doe being a little to picky about it. Check her teats, maybe she has sores on the back of them near the top, where the teats attach to the udder.

 

[Tmaxson]

I've been watching them and it kinda seems like she is only like this when grain or treat branches are invovled. She's the queen and wants it all to herself. When there is no food invovled and they are in the stall alone with no other goats to bother them she's does just fine. So this morning she ate her grain while they were asleep and I left them in the stall an extra hour and watched both of them nurse before I let them all out. She is my little sweetheart but when it comes to other goats she can be a real you know what.

 

[20kidsonhill]

I've been watching them and it kinda seems like she is only like this when grain or treat branches are invovled. She's the queen and wants it all to herself. When there is no food invovled and they are in the stall alone with no other goats to bother them she's does just fine. So this morning she ate her grain while they were asleep and I left them in the stall an extra hour and watched both of them nurse before I let them all out. She is my little sweetheart but when it comes to other goats she can be a real you know what.

She sounds like a goat to me. Some can be worse than others, but what you are describing is pretty common for a doe.

 

[Bunny-kids]

I thought my younger doe had lost her mind when she kidded. She'd let them nurse sometimes, and lick them. Much of the time she'd just walk away as if they weren't there and refuse to feed them for hours, and totally ignore their crying. She wouldn't even check on them if they were distressed at the far end of the pasture. Then it was like it all "clicked" for her suddenly one day, and she became a much better mother. Not the best I've seen, but good enough. I think that was around the time the kids were about 3 weeks old, but I didn't write it down.

That was the first time I've ever seen a doe act like that, but I guess you get all kinds. Especially FFs.

Glad you know what's going on with her and can manage it that way.