Sweetened's 2016 kidding thread

[Sweetened]

Hey ND owners, when do you ket kids into general population with their mothers?

 

[Hens and Roos]

we keep the doe and her kids separated but within the same area for about a week- it just depends on how well the kids are doing with nursing and moving around.

 

[animalmom]

I keep mine separated for close to two weeks... there is just a fence between the moms/babies and the herd so everyone can see and smell each other. I do it that long more for me, to have time to play with the kids, than any other reason. Whoops, was that a moment of honesty?

 

[ragdollcatlady]

Sorry for your rough go of things for a minute there!

Your baby is beautiful!

I like to keep my babies and moms separate for 2-3 weeks if mom will tolerate being away that long. The babies are so tiny and the more babies they have, the longer I try to keep them apart. They will be better able to handle another goat telling them off if they are faster and sturdier on their legs, as well as if they are more closely bonded to mom so they will know to run to her. When they join the herd sooner, seems they get "lost" more easily if someone gets unhappy with them. And the younger they are, the more likely they will try and nurse from the wrong mom that happens to be the same color as theirs, thus making the other groats irritated. And they seem to get used to handling better when they are confined longer. I guess I tend to hold them more when they are inside, rather than just sitting and watching more when they are outside.

 

[HoneyDreameMomma]

I guess I'm on the shorter side - unless there are complications (babies are unusually small, having trouble nursing, etc) I usually only separate mom and babies for about 3-5 days, but I keep a very close eye on the herd's reaction when I put them back in.

We've had a couple of occasions where mama goats have delivered overnight in the pasture with no warning, so we didn't even get them into birthing stalls. May have been pure, dumb luck, but in all cases, mom and babies were fine with the herd and there was no need to separate them. The only time we had issues with any bullying was with a little doeling a couple of years ago, and we immediately separated her and mama from the rest of the herd. We found out a few weeks later the doeling had several birth defects, and we eventually had to euthanize her due to failure to thrive. The vet told us the herds' bullying was their 'survival of the fittest' instinct. Her mama goat loved her and cared for her regardless of the problems, which I thought was so sweet - it showed that the mama's love instinct was the strongest!

If your goats are fairly good-natured, they will usually accept the new babies without much more than sniffing and gentle headbutting to help the kid know their place in the herd. Mamas are generally very protective of their young and will defend them if any herd members get too out-of-line. Mind you, this is just my personal experience. I've only been at this for about 4 years, so I am by no means an expert.

 

[Sweetened]

The twins have their antique names.

Rose (matches daisy) and Wendel (we often cal Sven Svendel)

 

[Sweetened]

The twins have their antique names.

Rose (matches daisy) and Wendel (we often cal Sven Svendel)

 

[samssimonsays]

I LOVE the names!

 

[Poka_Doodle]

X2, they're perfect

 

[sadieml]

The names are cute. Have you ever seen a BBC show called "Keeping up Appearances"? There are 4 sisters named Hyacinth, Daisy, Violet, & Rose. LOVE those marvelous British comedies!