# Weening headaches



## HonestOmnivore (Feb 26, 2013)

This is my first experience with weening dairy kids. I have four does, and nine kids. We separated the does at night only, until the kids were 8 to 10 weeks old. Then we tried a few methods to separate them all day too... some with comical fails (see three humans running four does through a charging line of nine bleating kids...). Today, after having the kids penned up inside for two weeks, we let them back our with the does. Three of the does seemed to be totally committed to enforcing the weaning rule, one (the only full size dairy doe, and herd matriarch) was all "oh, but they're Sooooooooooo sweeeet! Look at them! They can have a little milk..." so we put her twins back in the pen, and left the rest out. We checked on then a few times and all seemed well.

Tonight? NO MILK except the sad "doe who wouldn't say no", and very determined NDG, who had a little bit of milk. The other two shifty-eyed does were empty. WHAT??

We left the kids out worth the does for the night, and if we have empty does again in the am, we'll haul the kids back inside. How long should this take? Is there anything we could add to the teat dip that would deter them?

Help! I want the kids to enjoy pasture and sunshine and frolicking!

We do have a second pasture, that you get to by going through the first one. We normally open this during the day, letting the goats and chickens roam out to the fields and woods, then close it off at night. Our team of draft horses stay out there 24/7, but I worry that if I put the kids out with the draft horses, they would be in danger of getting picked off by coyotes? That or the little ones would slip through gaps in the fence...

Thoughts? Ideas? Advice?

(Picture is in the "back pasture")


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

weening is not fun...you can pen them for a month and some moms still let them return to nurse!! we built a kidding pen with extended yard...with trees and play stuff...Im hoping once moms have thier new babies we wont have to worry : ) 

Where ever you find space for them..it needs to be secure from preditors and escapies...


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Picture didn't come through. Some does never really wean their kids.


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## sweetgoats (Oct 18, 2007)

That is the hardest part for me. I hate to see them so sad as well but I don't milk my does so I am sure that is hard. Now werw you bottle feeding the babies? To me 8-10 weeks is a little young.


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## dnchck (Mar 24, 2014)

yup,mine was born in june and still trying to nurse although mama deters it!


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## HonestOmnivore (Feb 26, 2013)

They were all work the does until weight to ten weeks. Then we started trying to wean them completely. Now the youngest are over 3 months old. 

This morning the does were empty so clearly they're allowing the kids to nurse.

Amy ideas on a teat dip that would discourage the kids but not hurry the teat?


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## ThreeHavens (Oct 20, 2011)

You could tape the teats. What we're planning, when we put Twinkles back into the main pen (she's being weaned but has company) is to tape her dam's teats, and then coat the tape with dawn dish soap.


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## HonestOmnivore (Feb 26, 2013)

ThreeHavens,
What kind of tape? Have you done this before?


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## ThreeHavens (Oct 20, 2011)

I have not, but Dolly's Acres has. I believe she likes to use tape that "breathes", and you leave a corner bent so you can get it off. Others have done it as well, a search will probably bring threads up.


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## J.O.Y. Farm (Jan 10, 2012)

You can get Teat Tape from Caprine Supply and I'm sure a few others.. I never had luck with it myself.. Couldn't get it to stay on! Lol!

Haven't kept any kids of my own in a while so haven't had to deal with long term weaning in a while, but I had my last two keeper does put in a pen of their own from weaning time till the spring when their mamas were kidding with new kids.. They all went back together at that point. No nursing or anything from the kids and the does were most focused on their new kids.. This worked for me when I only had four does, and now it's becoming harder with more does and I now have less space to work with..
I know that doesn't work well for everyone though...
This year, I'm planning to bottle feed my kids as I'm short on space and I can keep them in with the herd and not have to separate them from mom and listen to wailing and screaming of kids lol!


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## janeen128 (Dec 31, 2012)

Teat tape didn't work well for me either, the kids just kept getting it off.


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## AncientBlue (Dec 21, 2014)

Teat tape with dish soap!! Great idea! My hubby is a sweetie and a softie. He can't stand for them to be upset and bleating. I'm going to give that a try. Right now I'm getting 1/2 cup at best on a good morning.


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## groovyoldlady (Jul 21, 2011)

We don't have the room to separate kids from dams, so we have decided to bottle feed our kids when they're born in April. I've heard all kinds of stories of how sneaky and persistent they can be at stealing that milk!


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## lovinglife (Jun 6, 2013)

This is why I bottle all my dairy kids. Just impossible on my place to get them weaned. One doe found the ONLY place in the entire fence where the little darlings could stick their heads through, even after being seperated the whole summer still nursed the second they were together. So I taped her up, sprayed with vinegar and dried her up. Bucket babies are so much easier.


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## J.O.Y. Farm (Jan 10, 2012)

The part I'm not looking forward to is pulling the kids  that's gonna be really hard for me!


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## chelsboers (Mar 25, 2010)

This is exactly why I hate weaning. I don't have enough pastures either and it seems like no matter how long they are separated the does will accept the kids back. I just sell the kids off their mom now. The moms don't holler because they can't see the kids anymore and the kids don't holler because they can't see their moms. It's a win win for me. I've tried the teat tape and the kids or them moms just pulled it off and I've tried putting something bitter on the teats but the kids just kept coming back until it wasn't bitter anymore. If these aren't kids you are planning on keeping then it sounds like it's time to advertise them for sale. Until then you'll probably have to keep them seperated


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## AncientBlue (Dec 21, 2014)

Ok, reporting back here: The Teat tape worked wonders!! I Teat taped Rosey last night after dinner and milked her this morning. She is a ND, so I'm not expecting buckets or anything. She was giving me 1/4 cup if I was lucky because the kids were getting it all. This morning I got 1 2/3 cups of milk :clap:. I used medical cloth tape with a little dish soap rubbed on the bottom. I'm happy.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Glad it worked for you.


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## ThreeHavens (Oct 20, 2011)

Yayy! Good to know! :thumb:


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## janeen128 (Dec 31, 2012)

Cool!!


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