# When do I separate mom and babies??



## andiplus5 (Feb 14, 2008)

Now that we have kids running around mom's are coming into milk!! How old should the kids be before I separate them at night? I want to leave the kids on until they're sold, but I want milk too. So when is a good time to start? I DO NOT want to bottle all these kids either. I already have a bottle baby and I barely find time for him. I can't do the rest. I'm just talking about separating out at night. 
Thanks,
Andi in OK


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## Patty13637 (Oct 26, 2007)

I leave them with Mom during the night if I am going to do it . For safety and for them to have nice full bellies in the coldest part of the day.

You can do this early and just give baby an afternoon bottle. That way they are tame but not nuts.

Patty


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## Leo (Mar 10, 2008)

If I dam raise, I separate at night at one week and bring them inside the house. 

They really get the routine, right now my doelings after milking in the evening, they line up at the gate to be let out, evening and early morn is our cuddle time.
Megan


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## Sondra (Oct 25, 2007)

When I dam raised and milked I separated after 2 wks old at night and milked in the morning. Did this because that is their slack time of nursing anyway.


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## Agape Oaks (Oct 30, 2007)

I seperate during the day because I work full time & it's easiest for me to milk the extra ones at night & give a bottle to the babies. I don't seperate every day either....just those days when the schedule aloows it  Makes it easier for milk test day & shows as well.


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## Janelle (Feb 26, 2008)

I have only dam raised twice, but I separated them overnight between 10 & 14 days. I can't stand how wild dam raised kids are though.


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## Agape Oaks (Oct 30, 2007)

Janelle said:


> I have only dam raised twice, but I separated them overnight between 10 & 14 days. I can't stand how wild dam raised kids are though.


I think it depends on the goat. I have several that you'd have a hard time knowing they were dam raised. I most prefer the personality of those raised using a combination of 1/2 dam raised & 1/2 bottle- sweet but not obnoxious


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## andiplus5 (Feb 14, 2008)

I have other dam raised babies out there that come to me everytime I go to the pen. One of them (a little doe that I've got sold) comes up to me and tries to climb my leg so I will pick her up. I don't want them to get wild so I give them a lot of attention. I hold them and love on them everytime I go to the barn. I'm not worried about them getting wild. I don't milk the other two goats, but I will be milking this one and another one that's getting ready to kid. I may just separate all the kids out at night so they are not alone. Now I have a good idea of when. I wanted them to have mom for at least two weeks. Thanks guys for the advice. That's why I love this group! :biggrin

:thankyou

Andi in OK


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## Guest (Mar 14, 2008)

"""""" I can't stand how wild dam raised kids are though."""'""

:biggrin I wish you could visit my place. All my kids are dam raised. 
When you go out there, you better be prepaired to be attacked by them.......sit down , and they will all want in my lap...bend over and they will try to jump on my back. I most times don't have enough hands to pet all of them that want some attention at any one time. Mine act like puppy's for the most part.....it's kinda hard to leave the barn most of the time, because somebody out there is still wanting to play and put on a dancing show for me.
....but let me tell you....I spend a lot of time with my goats.....always, even when in a hurry, pick up all my baby's at every feeding (twice a day), and I pet them, scratch their little heads, and always talk to them.
Sondra is saying under her lips right about now....spoiled spoiled spoiled. Yea, I know...but I wouldn't have it any other way. 

Whim


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## Janelle (Feb 26, 2008)

whimmididdle said:


> """""" I can't stand how wild dam raised kids are though."""'""
> ....but let me tell you....I spend a lot of time with my goats.....always, even when in a hurry, pick up all my baby's at every feeding (twice a day), and I pet them, scratch their little heads, and always talk to them.


I am sure this is part of the problem...I just had a baby of my own, and have a 2 yr old & 4 yr old. My hubby isn't here to help w/ chores, so I am on my own. I don't have time to sit out w/ goats, b/c I have my own children who need me. I do get a few minutes to sit w/ them in the morning when hubby can watch my baby, but it isn't enough, they are wild. I just prefer bottle babies, seems strange, b/c I am a militant breastfeeding mama 
But for my goats, I prefer to bottle feed.


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## Feral Nature (Oct 26, 2007)

My dam-raised milk does are exactly the same as my bottle-fed milkers. no one could ever tell the difference.

I bottle-fed for two years and it was exhausting for me. I had problems with my back and other problems as well. My kid goats were horribly obnoxious and hollered all the time, every time they saw me. It seems all I did was prepare bottles and pasteurize milk.

My herd tested negative for CAE and I have not bought new does. New bucks neg herd and/or tested.

So this year, dam-raising for my convenience. 

The kids are growing MUCH faster however, they are getting most of the milk. But with just the two of us in the house, that is no problem. I have 3 does kidded out so far and 7 to go, so before i know it, the kids will be weaned and we will have tons of milk. 

The bucklings will be wethered and butchered or sold quickly, not leaving them on the does for too long.


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## pettigrewfarms (Nov 14, 2007)

Whim, my DH will do the same as you I think that my DH is more spoiled than the goats. :biggrin


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## Guest (Mar 16, 2008)

:rofl That's easy to do around here also.

.......but being more serious about this, a goat that I can't catch or handle well when it gets grown (and before then), is of very little use to me. There is too much worming, foot trimming, hand milking.....geez, and you name it, that goes on here on a regular basis. ........A buck that is hard to handle in the rutting season can be a pain....very fortunate here that I was able to get an old herd sire this year that had been showed and handled a lot.....he leads on a rope better than most well trained dogs do.

To tell a quick story, I used to judge hunting dogs in field trials around the southeast......I was frowned upon more than once for placing dogs of high performance in the field, in a lower place than was expected. ...and this was sometimes due to the fact that the owner/handler had no control at all of the dog in question....they couldn't call it in, or even catch it if it did come. So what good is a hunting dog that you take to where ever, turn it loose on several hundred acres, and are lucky if you see it again the same day,...very little.
So my point here is this; It really doesn't matter if a goat can milk extremes amount of milk, or win every show that it is put in here. If I have to do battle every day to get her on the milk stand, or to trim feet, etc. , or Heaven forbid that she is mean and tries to kill all the other goats all the time.....she/it will not stay at my house or eat my feed.
.....Oh yea..........it don't hurt a thing if when selling a goat, if they not only look flashy, but also come up and are easy to handle with a buyer. When buying goats, I never buy the one that runs to the back of the fence, and stands out there looking at me like I'm a wolf or something. 

Whim


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## Chaty (Oct 25, 2007)

Nope my dam raised babies are as friendly as the bottle but dont yell at me as much...they come up to me also. If I got to run them down and catch them they are sold soon...I'm too old and cant do it anymore either...makes my bones hurt to do that now...If I cant catch ya you dont stay...simple as that...


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## SherrieC (Oct 26, 2007)

Janelle , I have the Same situation here. No time to spend friendlying them up, and while I breast fed all my babies, for the goats its CAE prevention. on the lambar. I think the only people (aside from the Cae prevention thing) that dam raising works for are those with More free time to stop and pet the goaties!!


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