# Obsessive sucking



## Texas.girl (Dec 20, 2011)

I am new to goat ranching. First one wandered into the yard last November and I have been given 3 abandoned kids since. Midnight, my happy Spanish buck was 2 weeks old when I got him. He loved his bottle but never once tried to nurse on me. The morning of Friday, June 29 Sport was born and was with me by that afternoon. He is a Boer buck and is obsessive about nursing on me. He sucks my fingers, clothes, ear, arms, shoe laces, pretty much anything he can get his little mouth around. It is really fun trying to hang clothes or do other jobs with a goat sucking on my shorts. He shows no signs of getting tired of this behavior. I am feeding him 4 times a day. I am wondering how normal is this and when should I expect him to outgrow his need to suck. Anyone know where I can get a goat pacifier?


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

How much are you feeding him per bottle and how much does he weigh?


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## Breezy-Trail (Sep 16, 2011)

In my experience Boers (yes even full grown does) like to suck on things.
I had a doe that would suck on my finger and was "glued" to them.
She was very timid and shy around me but not my fingers, weird huh?
Also nubians and lamanchas I have found to also be like that, although mostly kids.


Also he may be hungry. How many oz are in each feeding?
How much does he weigh?
Always check his tummy to see if its full(but not tight) after feedings or he won't be satified.
Other people would know more though. I have never bottle fed (but will have to next year).
ksalvagno- we posted the same thing at the same time.


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## Texas.girl (Dec 20, 2011)

I just weighed him on my cheap-o bathroom scale. Guessing he is around 10 pounds. I keep him inside a dog kennel in my kitchen at night (safe from both 2 and 4 legged predators) and outside in a 10 by 10 foot dog kennel during the day, which any human could lift up and snatch him for cabrito (illegal’s sometimes pass by at night). Vet advised me to keep him away from the other goats due to not getting any Colostrum at birth and my other goats attaching him. My year+ old Boer doe does show dominate behavior through the fence towards him.

His poop the day after he was born looked pretty good, sort of round berries. He went a week without pooping inside but this morning I found evidence of scours. He sniffs plants a lot, but only nibbles on them a little. I have tried giving him pellets but he ignores them. I am feeding him Doe’s Match goat replacer 4x a day. I was giving him ½ cup a meal but lately in preparation of switching him to 3x a day I have been adding a little extra, half way between ½ and 2/3 cup to get his tummy use to more food. 

He has grown a lot since arriving here. The rancher he was born too gave him nothing so that he would not be switched by the new owner. So I gave him his first bottle. It took him most of the day to figure out that plastic teat was the food source. He would reject the bottle and suck on me instead. Once he did figure out the plastic teat was where the food is he has been a good eater ever since, though he would only grab on if he was being held across my lap like a baby for the first week. At around 1 week of age he suddenly understood he could just stand there and grab the teat and milk would come out. His first day he looked pretty bad and there was a lot of concern, but now he has really filled out and his coat looks so much shinier. He will be 2 weeks old on Friday.

Jesse—my vet’s favorite goat replacer is Land O’ Lakes Doe’s Match. It is good stuff. He told me powdered Colostrum is basically worthless and not to bother driving the hour to town to get Sport some. Just some advice for next year when you get the fun of bottle feeding.

Thanks to all for the advice.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

I start out with giving one ounce per pound of body weight for amount and give it 4 times per day. I have Nigerians so that usually amounts to 2-4 ounces. Then I gradually increase as I see the need.

One measuring cup is 8 ounces. So he should be getting a minimum of 10 ounces (over a cup) per bottle. Boers grow at a faster rate and would probably need their bottle amount to be increased at more frequent intervals than a Spanish. You would want to slowly increase his milk but I'm guessing your little guy is hungry.


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## Texas.girl (Dec 20, 2011)

That is interesting. Last week my elderly neighbor who use to have goats thought I was giving him to much milk.


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## keren (Oct 26, 2008)

the easiest way to tell how much milk he needs is to look at the shape of his belly after he has drunk his bottle. you want his sides to be gently rounded, not bulging and tight but not flat either. 

its too late now, but the powdered colostrum is not worthless, its much better than nothing at all.


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## luvmyherd (Apr 9, 2011)

I can identify. My LaManch/Alpine buckling eats and eats and still sucks. He was taken from his mom really young and I have had to teach him how to eat. If I hold out leaves or hay to him; he tries to suck them from my hands!!!!


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## Texas.girl (Dec 20, 2011)

Starting with the noon meal I gave him 2/3 cup milk. He gobbled it up of course. He is gaining weight, a pound in less then a week. His teeth are getting sharper too, sucking on my fingers are starting to hurt. I took him with me while working today in my garden and he did nibble on some weeds, but once again he let the pellet I tried to feed him fall to the ground. Least he knows how to drink water so I am not worried about dehydration. Tomorrow I will feed him 3/4 cup and see how he does.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

He is still pretty young so he won't be eating pellets yet.


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

Go off what Karen said about the tummy, that is the best way to do it. If it looks like he is getting enough dont stress about the sucking. i have a bottle baby right now and even though he is full at the end of his eating, some times before it is gone he still butts and sucks on me. He is getting stronger and is starting to hurt so have been telling him no, pushing him away and walking off. I think its just a comfort love thing, but still HURTS.


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## Texas.girl (Dec 20, 2011)

Thanks for all the advice. I am offering him pellets on the advice of the vet tech I spoke too, who told me he would waste them. I figure he will either figure out it is food on his own or when he is big enough to be put in with the other goats he will see how they go for them. He does eventually lay down and rest after I give him his bottle and leave. A lot of the sucking probably is comfort related. It has been raining off and on this evening so he has been in the inside kennel. A little while ago he started making a lot of noise so I let him out to wander around the kitchen while I made him a bottle. He started sucking on a dish towel within his reach. I had a hard time getting his attention when the bottle was ready for him.


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## keren (Oct 26, 2008)

i should add my eight month old buck still likes to suck on my fongers and toes sometimes


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## Texas.girl (Dec 20, 2011)

I sure hope Sport doesn't want to suck at 8 months. Those teeth have gotten sharp. This morning he woke me up at 6:30 demanding breakfast (I usually feed him earlier but overslept). I gave him 3/4 cup. He then spent most of the morning grazing and resting in the garden (not yet a threat to my vegetables but nibbles on the weeds outside of my garden beds). Around 10:30am he was resting when I went to transfer him to his kennel. He ran up to me and tried to suck on my clothes. I gave him a cup of milk a little after noon. I then went into the kennel and gave him fresh water to drink. As I was trying to pour the water into his water bowl he once again tried to suck on my clothes. His behavior has not changed with the extra food. So this clearly is an emotional thing. I sure hope he outgrows this soon because I am convinced my Boer doe (born sometime in the sprimg of 2011) who thinks she is the queen around here will not take kindly to him trying to suck on her.


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

lol @ Karen, thats how my buck will be, he is 5 months and weaned and still crys when he sees my bottle babys being fed, but on me he likes to nibble which I do not like.


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## keren (Oct 26, 2008)

yep Jess, my buck is a bit of a biter too. He bites fingers and toes cos he's looking to suckle. He is old enough now I give him a tap over the nose and say NO firmly. He is getting the idea now, much better behaved though will still try to bite a bit when he is super excited, like around feeding time.


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