# Weaning time...



## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

We've slowly been working on weaning our January babies. They are turning 12 weeks old over the next few days.
We started separating them from mom during the day about 10 days ago - mom's go out in the doe pen to graze, and 2 pregnant does come in to hang out with babies. 
Monday we sold 2 babies, so decided to wean. We left 2 of 6 mom's with babies that night, then last night weaned them all. So far so good. They yell when mom's are up near the barn - feeding times. We lock the mom's in the back of our place so there is space between them and good grazing back there right now.

Tomorrow or Fri we'll separate the 3 intact bucklings from the doe kids... it will be sad, but needs to be done. We're just working on finishing up the boys weaning pen - lots of fence repairs and just need to work on a few things that we can hopefully get done today.

So... here are our 8 remaining January 'munchies' hanging onto them for now in case there is a summer show season and also to see what these other 2 girls have that are due next month.

Tandy 









Tandy and Duchess









Skeeter


















Lizzie (broke a horn off a few weeks ago! thankfully it looks to be growing out okay)



























George (was banded a week ago - my daughter's 4H wether)









Duchess 









Bandit 









Axel 









Amelia


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

My daughter had a blast with them Sunday - this is how we spent our Easter, playing with babies, fixing fence and I managed to cook a decent dinner.














































Bandit is something else lol



























They were fighting over her



























Water company had to replace the valve from our meter to the main water line, and my husband made a new surround to put down in the hole... yeah...babies were all over that lol


















​


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## Iluvlilly! (Apr 6, 2019)

Wow absolutely gorgeous babies!!:inlove::goodjob: How do you manage to get them that big in 4 months?


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## Oliveoil (Sep 3, 2019)

Adorable!


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

Iluvlilly! said:


> Wow absolutely gorgeous babies!!:inlove::goodjob: How do you manage to get them that big in 4 months?


Thanks! lol they are eating machines! They are actually just turning 3 months old. We creep feed them an 18% feed, and have started adding in a couple of supplements to help keep them growing well since we're hoping some of them can be shown this summer. 
All the red ones are does and last week weighed between 54 - 61lbs, and the bucks weighed between 54-66lbs.


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## Iluvlilly! (Apr 6, 2019)

Oh wow almost three months! Never would have guessed that:heehee: I feed them 18% too! What kind of supplements do you give them? Wow good job!!(thumbup)


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Wow! They have gotten so big! They look great!


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## MellonFriend (Aug 8, 2017)

What a beautiful bunch you've got there! I love Amelia's little white socks! Beautiful pictures!


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## Hillsideboers (Sep 1, 2019)

Wow!!! Beautiful babies!!


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

Thanks Everyone I appreciate it  We love these babies very much.



Iluvlilly! said:


> Oh wow almost three months! Never would have guessed that:heehee: I feed them 18% too! What kind of supplements do you give them? Wow good job!!(thumbup)


We use a generic form of Calf manna (same thing/nutritional value for 1/2 the price), a nearby feed store makes it/sells it locally.
We also add in a little bit of Amplify which is a high fat horse supplement that is basically the same thing as Power Fuel but has been recommended more and you get a little more for the $$.
We only add a little bit of each.
They also get a timothy/grass hay and alfalfa mix hay.


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## lada823 (Apr 2, 2018)

They're gorgeous and so big!


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

Oh my goodness, how adorable, thanks for sharing.


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## Goats Rock (Jun 20, 2011)

Who had more fun? The goat kids or your daughter? Nice looking kids! (All!)


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

Right? LOL! My daughter loves these babies, and they attack her when they see her lol! Lizzie has been her lap goat from the minute she was born. Bandit was always more standoffish, then a few weeks or so ago he suddenly became super clingy and started challenging Lizzie for lap goat status.

Here's a video from this morning, just random of the babies eating, and messing around - and the 2 pregnant does that are due next month.

Sadly... this may be the last day that the buckling's are with the girls. I'd like to get them separated tonight or tomorrow depending on if we can get the barn arranged for it. Right now the pregnant girls are staying in the barn at night where we plan on keeping the boys.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

:great:


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

Oh the dreaded weaning :/ some of mine ended up being almost 4 months old before I decided to tackle that lol 
They all look wonderful! I always love seeing hour babies, and the love you can tell your daughter has for her goats.


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

Aww thanks Jessica I love seeing yours as well! You guys are hard workers who raise an amazing herd - and farm!

Weaning has been going well! First couple of days the babies were noisy at feeding time in morning and evenings. 
Today we separated the bucks from the does and that seems to be going well - the boys really seem to like their new pen and they like their area in the barn.
The does and wether have a big area next to the 2 pregnant does, and they were all so happy this evening, munching on hay and well... eating some animal crackers too lol.




























They got weighed today too - my daughter was finishing up weighing while I had dinner on the grill I snuck over and tried to get a picture... she hid from me lol









I got the bucks on the old stand and gave them a good look over and got Scat's feet trimmed. 









My daughter braided his beard lol









Guess we were boring him lol









I'm still having a lot of issues with my right arm, so I wasn't able to get Superior's feet trimmed - I had to have my husband do it.


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## Moers kiko boars (Apr 23, 2018)

Boys are looking good! But I would scream tooo if i had a beard to braid...lol lol


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

Thank you Hoosier :hugs: that made me smile. 
So what did you get on weights?


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

LOL, you have to love goats, they put a smile on our faces don't they.


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

Thanks Everyone I appreciate it  The boys are a riot. Scat was actually yawning because we were entertaining him so much lol!

They definitely put smiles on your face 



Jessica84 said:


> Thank you Hoosier :hugs: that made me smile.
> So what did you get on weights?


Your welcome  
Babies 12 week old weights -
Axel 72.8
Bandit 72.6
Skeeter 70.4
George 62.2 (recently banded)

Amelia 64.8
Duchess 67.8
Lizzie 59.2
Tandy 63.2

My daughter also has a paint doe that turned a year old in Dec who weighed 146.8 - hoping she'll grow out a little more soon. 
Her other yearling who just turned 13 months old is 144.6lbs. - Skeeter & Lizzie's yearling sister (different sire).


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

Doing :great:


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

I took the plunge yesterday and registered 7 of the 8 babies!
It was fun coming up with names, we wanted some 'current chaos' type names but some of the suggestions just didn't fit the goats personalities - some were just too innocent lol!

Tandy - I Wear The Crown (her mom is 'my' baby, she is 'my' baby, and her black mark on top of her head faded to white and sort of looks like she is wearing a crown).

Axel - Attitude Adjustment (lol!!! I made a list and my daughter picked this one. He is 'my' baby, and he drives her crazy, but he also knows he is 'my' baby).

Lizzie - Chasing Yesterday (love this! A great name for 'current events')

Skeeter - Boot Scootin' Skeeter (lol!!! OMG I came up with that as a joke and my daughter loved it!).

Duchess - Somethingroyal (my son named her after the great Secretariat's dam)

Amelia - Ain't Misbehavin' (totally the opposite of her - she's a bully!)

Bandit - Ramblin' Man

So... sometimes finding a name we go with a theme. I grew up listening to country music. A big one was Hank Williams Jr. So I opted to go through lists of songs, and many of these came from his song titles! The names truly fit these babies which makes me laugh.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

:inlove::great:


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## Moers kiko boars (Apr 23, 2018)

Great choices for names!


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

Thanks! It was fun naming them this year!

My phone takes terrible pics, but here are some from this evening when we were hanging out. We locked them out of the barn so my husband could cut some wood that we've been removing from the barn - with a chainsaw lol!

The 4 girls - Lizzie, Tandy, Duchess and front is Amelia. Tandy and Duchess really are buddies lol









Skeeter says brush me my human!









Duchess and Tandy 'OMG what is that noise?'









Axel and Bandit attacking lol









Amelia, George and Duchess









Axel was trying to make me feel guilty for leaving the stall


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## CountyLineAcres (Jan 22, 2014)

Look at all those reds! They’re all beautiful!


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

Thank You! All the reds are does, traditionals & paint are bucks lol! Well except George = wether. We did have 1 traditional doe, she was Lizzie/Skeeter's triplet sister but opted to sell as a bottle baby since we didn't have a buddy or place to put her. 
We have 2 more does due, first one next Sunday and will be fun to see if she follows the trend. She is the full sister to Duchess dam. Duchess dam is a pretty paint (who looks like her sire), but her sister is a traditional.

I found a couple of short videos from the other day when kids were starting to teach babies to walk on the halter. Lizzie is going to be a handful much like her big sister Aspen. Lizzie seriously has springs in her feet, she is something else! Marissa had a hard time working with her because she couldn't stop laughing lol!


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## CountyLineAcres (Jan 22, 2014)

Lol that is so cute!!


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

Oh look a bunny. :haha:


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## Moers kiko boars (Apr 23, 2018)

She is definately going to stay in good shape jumping that way! Lol lol can we call her Tigger?


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

Thanks! She is a riot! She is TROUBLE lol! She definitely gives her yearling sister a run for the 'gives goats a bad name' rep! 
This is her sister last summer... My daughter is wanting to show her this summer if there are shows, and she is NAUGHTY and hasn't been worked with since August - just starting to prep her and hoping to work her tomorrow, that should be real interesting!


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## Angel A (Apr 4, 2020)

Absolutely Beautiful Boers!!! 

What kind of scale do you have? I’d love to get one. I currently take our bathroom scale out to the pens and my crocs. Slide off my boots, weigh myself twice to make sure I get same weight. Slip on my crocs, grab a goat slip off the crocs and weigh twice holding the goat to make sure I get same weight and then I do the math. I’m ready to be done with that method hahahahaha.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

:haha:


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

Angel A said:


> Absolutely Beautiful Boers!!!
> 
> What kind of scale do you have? I'd love to get one. I currently take our bathroom scale out to the pens and my crocs. Slide off my boots, weigh myself twice to make sure I get same weight. Slip on my crocs, grab a goat slip off the crocs and weigh twice holding the goat to make sure I get same weight and then I do the math. I'm ready to be done with that method hahahahaha.


Oh I know that frustration! We use a bathroom scale for babies until they get to big to pick up. Instead of taking shoes off/on we put a plastic bag over it so we can read numbers but don't get the scale dirty.
For bigger kids and adults we use a large dog scale, I think it goes up to 350-400lbs. It was given to us by a feed store we shopped at for years. I honestly can't remember the brand but it is fairly expensive. I know there are companies out there with affordable scales, I'll have to ask my friend where she bought hers and post when I find out.

After a lousy, rainy = yucky day that had the babies stuck inside all day, I spent extra time just hanging out in the barn after evening chores. I was with the doe kids and pregnant girls, and happened to check on the buck kids before heading out and they were all passed out! OMG it was so funny... these guys are super silly...










What Mom?









Bandit is the most innocent of the 3


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## Angel A (Apr 4, 2020)

No rush, I just think that it would be nice to have a scale for them. Appreciate any info I can get, thank you.

Hahahaha, they are so cute! 
I got our triplets out today and their mom in an attempt to get some good photos and let them wander around the yard and cleaned the pen out. I'm not sure who enjoyed it more, Momma or the triplets.



















We just had a bull calf on Wednesday night. My first experience with calves. Love them to pieces, but momma is very protective!


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