# Weaning question



## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

Yep I am just full of questions!!

So... we have 9 week old twins.... Someone is interested in the buckling as a herdsire for a commercial herd he is putting together.

His dam is a large boer/nubian and sire is boer. He is just under 40lbs. 

Is this a good weight for a 9 week old kid who is a twin? His twin sister was the bigger baby, and is still a little bit bigger than him. 

How soon would you wean? He eats hay and grain just fine, he's a slow eater just like his daddy though! So I have to make sure his twin doesn't hog up all the food! 

Thanks for any advice, as I am just not real sure what's a good size for weaning. I know some people that will pull their bucklings from the dam at 2 - 2 1/2 months.... I don't want to pull him too early.... I want him to grow with all the potential he can get


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## RPC (Nov 6, 2009)

I weaned last year between 8-12 weeks of age. The wethers were 12 weeks and the doe 8 weeks. The wethers did awesome but I wish I would have left the doe on a little longer. So I would say any time is alright. Do you have any place you could put him to be weaned? If so I would wean him for a week then sell him that way it is not to much change too fast. I am glad you found someone that wanted a buck and you dont have to worry about sending that little baby to the market. Plus Flash will be a lot happier keeping his man hood. LOL


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## ()relics (Dec 25, 2010)

I don't wean by weight. I wean by age. At 100 days ALL my kids are weaned, regardlessly. I think anytime beyond that the doe loses too much body condition and the kid is usually at a good weight to either market or completely wean. I have been known to pull a multiple, to be sold as a bottle kids, to give the other, usually also the better kid, ALL the milk. If you are going to get into boer goats seriously, one of the first pruchases you should make is a good scale. Weigh all your kids at birth, at 14 days,at 60 days, and then at 100 days. After a few years you will have a working ADG specific to your farm, your genetics, your feed rations. Once you have this and it is fairly accurate, you will be able to project your weights out to weaning even on your newborn kids. The should you ever have a suspected "problem kid" you can simply project what his weight SHOULD be then weigh him to verify if he really is having problems....jmo


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

The youngest I wean bucklings is 2.5 months old.... no younger that that.. with happy customers....they grow just the same..... as if I where to wait til... 3 months old to wean.... with my boers :wink: 

I don't go by weight either....for weaning... :wink:


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## AlaskaBoers (May 7, 2008)

Agree with Toth and Relics.


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

Thanks so much I appreciate it! He is sold, but he is going to stay with his dam for another week or two, so he would be 2 1/2 months or more. 
I definitely need to get a scale. I do a measurement I've found, and then use a goat weight tape and it seems fairly accurate, especially doing both of those and picking them up. Next month I plan on getting a regular scale and we'll use it just have to hide it from my kids! 

The kids that were weaned last year I remember were 3 months old. But for one that is younger, I was worried about how he would do. 
I really think in a week or two he'll be ready to go. 

We don't have a good place to keep him seperate. Possibly our back yard and then keep him in a stall at night. So I guess we'll see what happens? A friend of mine weans when the owner comes and picks them up and has never had a problem, she makes sure the new owner worms them when they get them home, and sends the feed they are used to with the new owner. 
Would this be a bad idea?

I can always find a place for him and seperate him for about a week. 
He'll have 2 other doelings a little older than him to buddy up with.


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## ()relics (Dec 25, 2010)

I just bought a really accurate scale this year. I always used my bigger scale and settled for pounds. But this winter I was browsing around in a sporting good shop in the clearance aisle and found a digital fishing scale, the kind with the hook you would hang a fish from. It is VERY accurate down to tenths of ounces and good up to 50#. I hang a bucket from the hook rezero the scale and get a perfect, accurate weight. x# Y.00 oz. . I think I paid $10(?) for it. Weighing a 7# kid on a big scale just doesn't work so well, at least for me, could be 6# could be 9#, I was just never completely sure. It is easy to use on kids until they are about 30 days old. Then they get a little too strong and don't like the idea of being inside a bucket for any reason except to eat.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

> Thanks so much I appreciate it! He is sold, but he is going to stay with his dam for another week or two, so he would be 2 1/2 months or more.


 Your welcome.....glad he is sold...congrats... :thumb:


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

Thanks Pam  It will be sad when he goes, he's a great lil man, he has such a nice, easy going personality, and seems very level headed, not a wild and crazy, act before you think like his sister...LOL

I'm hoping the mama will start the weaning process on her own, but don't know if she will or not.


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