# Self Suckling doe question



## GoatJoy (Aug 9, 2010)

So I have a doe that i discovered likes to nurse herself :hair: Whats worse is that I have four bottle babies that need the milk :GAAH: I've done some research about it and I tried teat tape which didnt work. I really dont have the time to mess with the bucket and all that because i have five children to take care of as well and dont want to deal with it. She is a good goat otherwise and makes beautiful babies. I dont want to cull her and thought of selling her, but would someone really buy a self nursing doe, even for cheap? Thought of seperating her from the rest of the herd, hubby thinks she will teach the other does to self nurse. Is this true? should I pull her baby off her and bottle feed?
Thanks


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

Been there, and never did break her of the habit. I lost her to poisoning almost 2 years ago but she was very frustrating to deal with, she raised each of 3 sets of twins to 8 weeks, and they all thrived it was after they were weaned that she would help herself. Only thing that kept me from wanting to eat her was to make a collar for her that prevented her from bending her head around to reach her teats. And no, I wouldn't want a doe that self nurses, even if she was free


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## GoatJoy (Aug 9, 2010)

Thank you Liz, should I seperate her though? My husband was concerned she would teach the other does her dirty little habit. lol


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## ohiogoatgirl (Jan 31, 2010)

hmmmm....?
how about a big collar, not like a head cone, but like two big half circles...?
the doe could turn to nurse herself but the big collar would hit her side so she wouldnt be able to reach....?

just something that popped in my head....
good luck!


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## Steve (Mar 12, 2011)

I wonder why all the genius college professors and experts have not found a solution to this.

I know its not a huge problem but it is something i think can be cured with a bad tasting salve.I know goat taste buds are different from ours but im sure there is something they dont like to taste,like alum does to us.They might like alum.Mine love to eat green persimmons,have you ever had a green persimmon? Its like you have just eaten a bag full of cottonballs.

Any ideas of what goats dont like? Mix it with some bag balm or petroleum jelly so it will stick.


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## GoatJoy (Aug 9, 2010)

LOL Right Steve! I was thinking something like dipping the teats after being taped into some soft dog food since they aren't meat eaters...lol

I was able to keep her from removing the tape last night after using two different types of medical tape, one over the other. i am worried about her developing sores though and i dont want to use udder balm on her since it may make the tape not want to stick as well. :sigh: 

Is self nursing something really rare that happens though? do i need to worry about my other does picking up the habit from her?


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

When I had Tilly do this, she was with 3 other does in my little herd, none of them EVER started the habit...now, I did come to learn that a sister of Tilly's had the same habit, same dam, different sires and 2 years apart...her mother never had the habit.


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## GoatJoy (Aug 9, 2010)

hmm thats very interesting!


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## Steve (Mar 12, 2011)

if you could stay with her most of the day,maybe on the weekend or sometime your not very busy,i know that is a rare thing when you have goats.Milk her out every hour or so,make it where she cant get any milk from herself,if she did not hold it on you.Im not sure how she milks but it might be worth a try.when you are done tape her back up or put a cone on her.Go back out maybe take off the cone and feed her some good hay or small amount of grain then milk her again.

Im thinking you can train her not to do it,but it will be hard to stop if she has been doing it awhile.Goats are very smart and can learn things easy,but they usually learn bad things when they teach themselves or each other.It will also take alot of time and patience.


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## PattiXmas (Jan 1, 2010)

Have you tried an intertube or a e-collar? We had a goat that we thought was a self-nurser and found the intertube worked well. 

(This year - knock on wood - her udder is looking nice, no mastitis, only one teat longer than the other due to milking on that side only. I think now that it was our other goat that was nursing. We lost that goat in January)


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## milkmaid (Sep 15, 2010)

Pat Coleby says to put a stiff leather gaiter on the neck. Then they can't bend their neck far enough. I don't think leather gaiters are all that common these days :wink: , so I would just find a stiff piece of leather or heavy fabric and lace it firmly around the neck, all the way from chin to shoulder.
But I really like Steve's idea of putting something bad-tasting on the teats, so instead of preventing her from doing it, you're actually teaching her NOT to do it.
I hope you can solve this. It must be so frustrating! :hair:


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## GoatJoy (Aug 9, 2010)

Actually I started double taping her teats and she hasn't chewed it off yet  Next year I will definately not be milking her though! I plan to have more does milking and I dont want to deal with it. She was our first milk goat and she is a sweet doe and a good mother, We decided to keep her on our farm till she's old and grey  LOL but definately not milking her next year!!!!!!!


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## black-smith (Jan 20, 2011)

I had several does that started to nurse themselves, it was a nasty little habit!
I used peppermint oil in a bit of vaseline, it worked like a charm!
Do you use teet dip after you milk?


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## Steve (Mar 12, 2011)

I knew there was something that would solve this.How did you come up with peppermint oil?


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## black-smith (Jan 20, 2011)

it's something I've used for does who won't let down their milk.. massage their udder with with a few drops of peppermint oil before I start milking.
When I found out my girl was nursing herself I started the peppermint again and that seemed to do the trick!


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