# 5 weeks old to early to wean?



## JessaLynn (Aug 30, 2009)

I have a doe who apears to be trying to wean her 5 week old.She wont let him near her when he tries to nurse and head butts him sometimes.I haven't seen him nurse lately but I'm not out there all the time either.He is eating hay and grain but I just think 5 weeks is to young for her to be doing that.Any suggestions or thoughts on this? We did castrate him just recently if that would make a difference :shrug:


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

Im sure she is letting him nurse. Once they get to be that age all they do is nag mom all day long but mom knows they don't need to nurse every 15min like when a newborn. 

My doe has 2 week old triplets I was watching her almost do the same but after being out there for over an hour she called them over and they ate. She didn't stand that long - maybe a minute. But at there age they are nursing fast so it takes less time. 

My two week olds are drinking water and nibbling on hay


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## old-style (Apr 24, 2011)

5 weeks is too early. Back when I allowed a few does to nurse their kids, they typically weaned them 4-5 months.

Are you sure she isn't just aggravated at him? The little boys can be rather hard on their mommies sometimes. Check her teats and make sure she isn't cracked, bleeding, or dry. If she is a dairy breed, (i see your signature says Alpines.) and she hasn't let him nurse for awhile and her udder has a fair amount in it, I would check her for mastitis. If she is hurting, she certainly won't want her buckling to suck. 

Has she freshened before? I had an Alpine that loved the milking routine and she tried weaning her babies at two weeks just to be able to be milked. I put them on the bottle and milked her and everything went fine. They were two boys and they were pretty hard on her. Her teats were cracked and bleeding and they were sucking on her even when she didn't have any milk. And for a heavy producing doe (11lb + a day) that wasn't good.

Hope you find the root of the problem!


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## JessaLynn (Aug 30, 2009)

I'm just a bit paranoid maybe  When I see her head butting him it got me worried.I've always just seen them kick or walk away.Maybe he's being alittle piggy then.Poor momma


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## Just goats (Apr 21, 2011)

Can you spend anytime at all to make sure he's not getting any milk? 
I was watching our mama with one of her twins after they moved them here, and she always walked away from the black twin Mocha (she is black with a little white and tan (broke my heart). I told my granddaughter about it, we tried giving Mocha a bottle but she decided she wanted to nurse. We ended up having to tie the mama each time so Mocha could get her milk. We've been doing this now since then and she's almost 3 months old and finally growing. 
Brenda


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## JessaLynn (Aug 30, 2009)

I milk her in the morning and everything checks out fine with her.She is a 3rd freshener and a great mom.Even tried to take my other does kid cus they had their kids back to back lol Milking her once a day I get 5lbs so he must be taking from her during. Just wondered with not actually seeing him sneek a meal in like I'm use to.


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## old-style (Apr 24, 2011)

She was probably just having a bad day and he was being annoying... Glad everything's okay. 

There is also the possibility she is thinking she will save some of his milk for other kids... if she is an adoptive mama like that. Sometimes those tend to that, if this is the case she will eventually forget about it when she realizes his needs.


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## JessaLynn (Aug 30, 2009)

Well she isn't full of milk at night so he is indeed getting milk.She did slam him hard while we were cleaning stalls  He was tryen to get milk from all my does and they weren't haven it! What a hog!!


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## TinyHoovesRanch (Jan 16, 2010)

My doe WEANED her kids at 5 weeks, she WOULDNT let them near her udder, and they are fine, now 7 weeks old and moved onto there new homes with new owners, All are doing well and eating and growing big. I wont be breeding her again, she weans too early and is kinda mean.


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## Calico Patch Farm (Mar 8, 2011)

Last year, we had two twin doelings that lost their mom when they were five weeks old, but they had been eating mostly grain since they were three weeks old and where perfectly fine, so I guess it is possible, but in your case, I'm betting he is getting something to eat.


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