Separating kids?

[freechicken]

This is our first year owning goats (we have two Alpines) and one is due within the next month. We are planning to milk twice a day and so my plan was to bottle feed the kids from the very beginning and get mom used to being milked by us. Do I need to keep the kids separate from the mother? If they are bottle feeding, will they still nurse? I'm so confused. Thanks for the input!

 

[SkyWarrior]

This is our first year owning goats (we have two Alpines) and one is due within the next month. We are planning to milk twice a day and so my plan was to bottle feed the kids from the very beginning and get mom used to being milked by us. Do I need to keep the kids separate from the mother? If they are bottle feeding, will they still nurse? I'm so confused. Thanks for the input!

Yes, keep them away for a week or so. Take the kids away from the mother immediately (don't let her bond with them) and milk out the colostrum for the next several days and give the kids the colostrum. A week to two weeks will keep the doe from accepting the kids as her own and the kids will only bottle feed.

 

[freechicken]

Thanks for the reply. That's basically what I was expecting. Can the kids be housed in the same barn, just a separate stall? Or do I need to house them somewhere else?

 

[SkyWarrior]

Thanks for the reply. That's basically what I was expecting. Can the kids be housed in the same barn, just a separate stall? Or do I need to house them somewhere else?

Yes, they can be housed in the barn in a separate stall. There may be some complaints, but they eventually "get it." When you first take them away, bring them into the house to dry off and then back to the barn. Don't let mom clean them off -- let her clean the afterbirth off you. That will bond her to you and not the kids.