# i have a concern...



## heavenlyhaven (Apr 17, 2008)

...i have a buckling that was born the end of march and he is still on the bottle
i have 3 sets of twins and they still drink from their mom's

there is a 2.5 month old pygmy doeling at the fair without her momma
i said something to the goat super (guy in charge of all goat things at fair)
he didn't seem to think it was a big issue
i know one night she got the chills and they had to put warm towels on her to heat her back up
should i "raise a ruckus" about this or just let it go?
i know i spoil my goats more than most ppl do
well, more than ppl in my area
i think all of us here treat our goats like children
anyway
but shouldn't this little girl still be with momma or, at least, on th bottle?
i'm not even sure these ppl own the momma
which is worse
because the little girl prolly wont have much of a chance at life if this is how she is starting out  :sigh: :shrug: :worried: :tears:


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## KW Farms (Jun 21, 2008)

Holy cow! Still on the bottle from March!?!?! I'm sorry, but mine are off the bottle at around 8-9 weeks. We wean our kids(if they are sold and going to a new home) at about 9 weeks. If we are retaining, they stay on mom for about 3 months and wean themselves at about that time. I know of people weaning them at about 6 weeks! 2.5 months doesn't seem to young at all! Maybe I am wrong?? But all of our kids have thrived w/ the way we wean so :shrug: dunno??


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## RunAround (Feb 17, 2008)

I separate the boys at 2 months old. The girls anytime after 2 months. The two girls I am keeping will stay on their moms for a while. That way I only need to milk their moms once a day. ha ha I make sure they are eating grain and stuff first, but most of mine are eating hay really good by 3 weeks at least.


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## SDK (Jun 26, 2008)

bottle or dam raised i usually wean at 7-8 weeks for the nigerians and 3 months for the boers


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## hornless (Oct 5, 2007)

I wean at 2-2.5 months myself, 2 months is the usual time. I think you are overreacting, she is definitely old enough to be weaned. And a bottle baby since the end of March! That is quite a long time.


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## heavenlyhaven (Apr 17, 2008)

ok
i'm over reacting
i htought maybe but wanted to check
i guess my biggest concern is she was in a stall on the outside wall of the barn all by her lonesome - no one to snuggle with
that's why i came here to you guys before i said anything to anyone 
o
and arthur only gets 1-16oz bottle at night
he cries so pitifully when i'm milking that he guilts me into it


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## harmonygoats (Nov 20, 2007)

Could it have been they came in later and gave a bottle? Our bottle babies go with us to shows because we have no one that will take care of them when we are on the road. We have taken some as young as a week old. What works for us though is to put the pet carrier in the pen without the door so they have a place to snuggle. Some of ours have weaned themselves at 6 weeks old. No matter how many bottles we offer they won't take it.


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## heavenlyhaven (Apr 17, 2008)

our fair is over now
we brought the goats home this morning
i know they did not bottle feed as i politely inquired
tho i didnt find out if they owned the mom or not
hmmm.........
anyway
i will just leave well enough alone and chalk it up to the fact i worry too much


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

hornless said:


> I wean at 2-2.5 months myself, 2 months is the usual time. I think you are overreacting, she is definitely old enough to be weaned. And a bottle baby since the end of March! That is quite a long time.


Ok that wasnt called for.

but to the question: as to her being weaned well at 2 months plus she is old enough to be weaned but being chilled is not good. Shows signs of something else going on. A kid that is over 2 months old should be able to control is body temp. I see how that could make you concerned.

Bottle kids are so hard to wean so i dont blame you for giving him a bottle even at 4-5 months old. What does it hurt you? I figure that Presto is plenty old enough to be weaned at just shy of 12 weeks especially since all his siblings are sold and gone but as the bottle baby he gets his bottle because I am a softy. 

There is nothing wrong with being concerned for an animal and I would hope that others here would respect that in you.


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

Being concerned for the little doe isn't over reacting...seeing her shiver is a call for alarm, and really at 2 1/2 months she should be eating very well on her own to be weaned...all my kids have been dam raised and are weaned as soon as I see them eating well and drinking from a bucket, though my year old buck will still get an occassional bottle just because :greengrin: ( most of my kids leave my farm at 7-9 weeks, unless I feel differently about them being weaned)


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## heavenlyhaven (Apr 17, 2008)

thanx stacy and liz

first - i dont know if the little girl was bottle raised or dam raised

second - i wasn't there to see her "chilled" - i live close to the fair grounds and went home to bed every night - i went back to the fair grounds around 7/730am - there was a microwave plugged in by my goat's stall and i asked why - i was told that the baby pygmy had gotten chilled in the night and they were microwaving towels and blankets to heat her back up and a lady with small kids cut the sleeves off a sweatshirt to put on the baby goat

2.5 months old very well may be a good weaning age - she was eating and drinking water - but we all know how very stressful fairs are to us and our goats - plus our barns only have 4' walls then it's like a big cattle panel - all open and airy and drippy and the baby was in a stall on the outside wall - the night she got the chills was a rainy night

last year we had a momma nigi with twins and the twins died 2 days after fair  

the only reason Arthur still gets a bottle at night is because he is spoiled rotten and i cant take it when i'm milking and he looks at me thru the fence going "maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! please?!"


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

You are right about the dampness chilling her, such a shame that she wasn't given a "box" to snuggle into, being that she was the only one in that big stall. Quick thinking of them to heat towels for her and put a sweater on her though. I know the sad look of those kids that just have to have a bubby even though they don't need it! My buck was a bottle baby and "weaned" at 10 weeks...I just thot it was cute that he still wanted a bottle so when my little doe came to me at 6 weeks it was a blessing that she wanted his...and they both got a bubby for about 5 months! Chief still takes one with water in it if I feel he's not drinking enough and Angel will too, the "babies" that are 5 months old would rather suck milk from a bucket...it's so cute when they have milk mustaches!

I hope the lil' one at the fair has a good home with as an attentive owner as you are, we all love our kids


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## nancy d (Oct 5, 2007)

At the Spring Freeze Fair in Wa it was cold and windy and bouts of snow outside.
The shorn market lambs were chilled to the bone even with those cute little lycra suits they wear. They were shivering horribly. My friend (seasoned Boer & Alpaca breeder) hunted down someone to tell them. 
I had brought a couple of 2 mo old Boers who were still nursing. I also brought the dam I wasnt about to put that stress on the young uns.
But the people did make a great effort to warm those kids up, glad they recognized it and took action!


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## capriola-nd (Jul 6, 2008)

That is sad the poor little baby was all by herself in an open stall.  I think she is old enough to have been weaned but we all do things differently. 

I'm trying to wean a bottle-baby born in mid-June right now. She's not liking that too much!! She's been growing really well though. If we're keeping the kid then they get to stay w/ mom as long as they want to. 
This is probably not so good but we have a mom/daughter that came to us as "rescues" - well, the daughter was 5 months when we got her and still nursing.  She is now a year old this month and just weaned herself last month!! I figure if momma lets them, then that's okay.


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## heavenlyhaven (Apr 17, 2008)

forgot all about this thread...

...the doeling died 3 days after fair   :sigh: :tears:


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## capriola-nd (Jul 6, 2008)

Oh, that is terribly sad!!  :tears: Poor baby girl!


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## rgbdab (Nov 26, 2007)

I personally let mine nurse for a minimum of 3 months even if they are eating good. I feel like they need the milk, but maybe not. I raise boers and at 2 months old (8 weeks) I can't imagine weaning one unless it was for the momma's health.
I am sorry to hear the kid died.


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## kelebek (Oct 5, 2007)

I am so sorry that she passed. It sounds like she had something else going on.

I wean m kids at 6-7 weeks if they are leaving. But I make sure that they are eating and drinking out of the bucket.

My bottle baby, Turner, is weaned - all though he thinks he still needs a bottle. He was born 29 July of this year. He is about 2 months old. 

I have a mom daughter set that i purchased and the daughter is 2 i think. Anyway, before her own kids were born, she would nurse periodically from her mom - AT 2 years old. Now that is to long - LOL!!!!


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## heavenlyhaven (Apr 17, 2008)

my main concern was not that she was off the bottle / mom / whatever
my main concern was that she was so young and tiny and in a stall on the outside wall of the barn by her lonesome
she died of a severe cold and her lungs filled up and she couldn't breathe


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

I'm so sorry to hear hat...such a shame as it could have been prevented.


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## goatnutty (Oct 9, 2007)

Oh that is so sad. Unfortunately things happen this may have had nothing to do with when she was weaned.


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## nancy d (Oct 5, 2007)

So sorry for your loss.


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## heavenlyhaven (Apr 17, 2008)

thanx y'all
thanx nancy but it wasn't my doeling
it was a doeling at the fair (july) that i was worried about


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## CountryGalwGoats (Sep 19, 2008)

That's so sad. But it shows that you were right in your concern. Well, we are all the wiser, now. Thanks for this thread, so we can just be a little more aware and try to help sometimes if there is a need. Poor baby. 

I want to start showing. I have been reading about it, but am still a long way off from knowing about it.


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## heavenlyhaven (Apr 17, 2008)

the best thing i can say about showing is jump in feet first and learn as you go
you will find some snobby ppl and some ppl that are just thrilled to help
i found that all in one family
the daughter was nasty and the mother was awesome


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

I have found most show people to be slightly intense when the show is going on --- I can be one of those --- but before or after the show they are just great. I have learned so much and I enjoyed my first year.

Yes I just jumped in feet first and learned along the way


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## nancy d (Oct 5, 2007)

As for showing. I found that we just had to get out there. Even not knowing how to clip etc. 
At first people didnt know who we were and werent real friendly. As time went on they warmed up.
People in the barns know who leaves early, who helps, who mingles with the general public just as much as who gets the ribbons!


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