# Doe Not Letting One Twin Eat???



## Shell2 (Apr 13, 2014)

My nubian doe Tiah had twin bucklings on April 25th. Cashew and Taco were both healthy and Tiah didn't have any trouble. I was there for the whole thing. She is a FF. She wasn't overly impressed by the kids but she eventually cleaned them off, with my help, and with a LOT of convincing allowed them both to nurse. Since then she has definitely picked a favorite(Taco), and the other(Cashew) has been sort of shunned...She is still concerned with Cashew somewhat, but really HATES to let him eat!! In the mornings when I go out, he seems so skinny. I have to pin Tiah against the wall and force her to feed him while Taco seems plump and full. It has been days since I have seen Tiah allow Cashew to eat without being forced. I only make her feed him about twice/day and he is not blatting or weak. Could it be my imagination that she has shunned Cashew? If he was only actually getting fed twice/day would he be more vocal or weak? Tiah has LOTS of milk and I have been milking her a bit everyday to give her some comfort. I have been debating bottle feeding Cashew just in case, but don't want to if its not actually necessary. My other doe has a 2 day old kid and she lets her nurse all the time whenever she wants.... Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!!


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## SalteyLove (Jun 18, 2011)

Ugh - this is a really hard call. Have you seen her push him away or butt him or nip at him?

I had two does both reject one of their twins this year - extremely frustrating but luckily I was able to find them great bottle homes.

At a week old, 2x a day feedings are really enough for him although he may survive he will probably grow as much as he should. Perhaps her udder is very tender and he is rougher than his twin when feeding?

I'm sorry I don't have more advice for you - I hope someone else call help or that Tiah gets her act together!


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

You need to weigh the kid daily. Get a hanging fish scale. You need a scale that weighs in pounds and ounces or pounds and tenths of pounds.


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## Shell2 (Apr 13, 2014)

Thanks. I have seen her push him away with her head, jump over him and just plain run away when he tries to nurse  She does it everytime... She does not hurt him, but absolutely will not let him feed. He will try to come over when she is feeding the other one and she just takes off as soon as he gets near her udder.... Going to try a bottle today and see what happens. I think that will be easier than trying to pin her all the time. She lets me milk her quite well so I am thinking that is the best solution... He has caught on quickly that when I come in the pen, he should follow me and I will make sure he gets food!


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## SalteyLove (Jun 18, 2011)

I would leave him in with her since she is not being violent and then just bring him out a bottle 3 times a day (if you can do it that often). Maybe she will change her mind after another week of being chased around. If not, at least he has his twin to play with this way.


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## SalteyLove (Jun 18, 2011)

The two does that I had reject this year were at first just jumping away or pushing with their heads but then progressed to all out violence towards the rejected twin. One doe literally bit a piece of her kid's ear off! Once they started tossing them with their horns I pulled them.


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## Shell2 (Apr 13, 2014)

Wow SalteyLove that is crazy. She still likes him it seems and smells him and licks him a little. HEr only issue is when he wants to eat. I am keeping a close eye on them though. She is not an agressive doe normally so I am hoping she will be ok. I think it will be less stressful for her too if I do the feeding. Thanks for the advice


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## oakshirefarms (Jul 5, 2013)

Does the little guy have a specific side that he feeds on? Have you checked her teats/udder to see if there are any small irritations perhaps? Maybe there is something abnormal going on inside his mouth? Perhaps if you feel around while he sucks on your finger you might notice something. Just a thought.


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## Shell2 (Apr 13, 2014)

oakshirefarms said:


> Does the little guy have a specific side that he feeds on? Have you checked her teats/udder to see if there are any small irritations perhaps? Maybe there is something abnormal going on inside his mouth? Perhaps if you feel around while he sucks on your finger you might notice something. Just a thought.


All seems well with her teats and udder. I have let him suck on my finger and nothing seems out of the ordinary... The other kid seems to eat on either side.... Not sure what is going on at all...very strange. Been bottle feeding now and that is going well


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## packhillboers (Feb 2, 2011)

What a naughty Doe! It would take an extensive effort to train her to behave and take Cashew. Sometimes those first time mammas don't want to nurse because it hurts. Maybe he is a biter and she equates him to eating too aggressively. Does she have any cuts on her teat that would keep her from wanting to nurse on one side. That would be a lot of work to get her to behave. I try to lock the mamma and her babies in a small pen together for the first 2 days. I have had some first time mamas not want to nurse at all and we have had to hold the doe down and latch the babies on. After 2 days, they got the hang of it. If this has gone on for a while, it maybe too late now to have the doe bond with him.


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## packhillboers (Feb 2, 2011)

Sorry , I posted after the answer that you gave on the 'cuts on teats' . I hate bottle feeding and avoid it at all costs but you may not have a choice this time.


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## Jezzie (Nov 12, 2013)

packhillboers said:


> Sorry , I posted after the answer that you gave on the 'cuts on teats' . I hate bottle feeding and avoid it at all costs but you may not have a choice this time.


I also dislike bottle feeding and will avoid it at all costs!

One of our does rejected her own twins and stole another's kid. We lost one as she never let him feed but I went out to the barn every 3 - 4 hours to check on him and force him to feed. Eventually (like day 3) he was curled up with his mom and the other kid like they were biological twins and nothing had ever happened!

Also just had a ff deliver 2 weeks ago who did the same thing. She wouldn't let the baby eat would jump and run when she tried. I held her still and got the baby to latch for about a day, also milked her some as she had an utter for like 2 weeks before she kid anyways after a day for me holding her while the baby fed she started letting her and I no longer needed to assist.

Of course everyone must do what's best for themselves but I personally wouldn't always be so quick to jump to bottle feeding is all.

Sent from my iPhone using Goat Forum


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## Shell2 (Apr 13, 2014)

packhillboers said:


> What a naughty Doe! It would take an extensive effort to train her to behave and take Cashew. Sometimes those first time mammas don't want to nurse because it hurts. Maybe he is a biter and she equates him to eating too aggressively. Does she have any cuts on her teat that would keep her from wanting to nurse on one side. That would be a lot of work to get her to behave. I try to lock the mamma and her babies in a small pen together for the first 2 days. I have had some first time mamas not want to nurse at all and we have had to hold the doe down and latch the babies on. After 2 days, they got the hang of it. If this has gone on for a while, it maybe too late now to have the doe bond with him.


IT has been going on for nearly a week now. I am currently bottle feeding Cashew and its going well  I do think he may be rougher than the other twin and maybe that is the reason, but not sure. She still likes him and is concerned about him and is not mean to him at all, but just won't let him eat. So this seems to be working for now! We started out by holding mama to force her to let him eat, but that was stressful on all concerned. We thought she would get the hang of it but she just got worse.


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## canyontrailgoats (Jan 4, 2014)

I'm glad it's working out for you! Sometimes bottle feeding IS the best solution, at least in your case. Plus they can stay together as a family which is nice


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