doeling won't stop milking pregnant mom

[Livinwright Farm]

How can I stop my 6 month old doeling from continuing to feed off her mom who is due to kid in late March..?? I thought that the mom would have weaned her by now, but she encourages the doeling(who is also preggers,btw) by pulling her close and mothering her. I have tried seperating by putting the mom into a stall, but I can't have her in the stall 24/7... can I?

 

[greenfamilyfarms]

Wait, the 6 month old doe kid is pregnant, also? How far along is she?

You are probably going to have to separate them to stop this behavior.

 

[themrslove]

Yikes! Your doeling is 6 months and pregnant? :/
Regardless, there is nothing you can do besides separate them. Maybe you need to have different areas for your different aged goats. A pen for senior does, a pen for junior does of non breeding age, (which would avoid breeding too young of little girlies) and then your buck pen.

 

[Livinwright Farm]

yes, my 6 month old doeling is preggers, also due to kid in late March, potentially not until beginning of April. It was not by choice, we were unable to seperate the 2 bucklings in time.

 

[Roll farms]

Teat tape, if you can't seperate them.

 

[mistee]

ok i am tired,, baby kept me up all night last night but if she is 6 months old due next month or so then she was 1 to 2 months when bred,, right?

 

[mistee]

my babies will still take hits off mom at 6 months but momma weans them before she kids again but i also dont breed mine to have babies 2xs in one year.. if your does has a 6 month old and is due next month,, that is a lot on poor momma!

 

[elevan]

Mom should wean her before she gives birth again.

At 2 months old it would have been possible to be bred...My concern is that she will only be 7-8 months old when she gives birth...and am I right that they are pygmy-nigi crosses?

I know that these breedings weren't intentional on your part...those dang little bucklings can be fertile pretty young and you gotta move them away from the girls (lessons learned right). Anyway, have you taken the doeling to the vet to make sure she is handling the pregnancy ok? My biggest concern is that she won't be able to deliver on her own because she still won't be fully developed and done growing herself. Also mama goat should be monitored closely because she didn't get a break between kiddings.

Man, I thought I had a tough one with my troublemaker of a doeling...good luck to you and I hope the girls do ok.

 

[helmstead]

I think the OP has heard enough about this accidental breeding.

Teat tape, as Roll said, or you can fashion an udder bra if you're good with sewing. I've seen them used with mares, so seems the theory would work with goats altho you'd have to make it very sturdy and goat proof!

Good luck!

 

[freemotion]

I had this problem this year with a very large doeling insisting on nursing even after a very long separation from her very gentle and goofy mom. Both are preggers, so it became very important.

Two ideas: Rotate the two through that stall, even if they yell. That way you CAN have them apart 24/7 without either one being stuck inside all day. You can also leave the doeling in with your best hay, or even purchase a bale or two of something special that only she will have access to, or bundles of leafy branches hung off the ground if you have them (know what is edible and what is poisonous.) This may give her a boost in the growth department.

If you need them to be together at all due to space constraints, you can tape her teats. Use bandaids, the type that are meant to stick no matter what, and cross them. My doeling could still suck them off at times, but she gradually gave up. I kept them apart for a while before re-introducing them with the tape.

Since the doe really wants to feed her "baby," she may be very hard to dry off, as the doeling's cries will stimulate her.

If worse comes to worse, just rotate 'em through the one stall.