Stupid Goat, Emergency?

[Birdsong 82]

I remember being amazed at how much water Minewood drink after giving birth. But then I thought about when I gave birth and well it is exhausting! she is darling and don't give up on her. I understand letting nature take it's course but a lot of these breeds of goats have become partially to fully domesticated. So in a way I feel like it's only right for us to step in when I absolutely needed. I ended up in a kind of similar situation ended up having to bottlefeed or she would've been done but she holds a special place in my heart now and I think that's why. It creates a bond I'm keeping my fingers crossed that everything is getting at least somewhat better. I've always heard when there's three it can be a tough situation. When had doe had three one was a stillborn

 

[DellaMyDarling]

Little Mittens is doing just fne in the house.
Doesn't acclimate if bought out to barn though, nevermind interact with the dam.

My doe is a very gentle goat, is nice to all the goats even new ones. She will lick Mittens a few times but then emphatically licks and talks to her boys while leaving Mittens to stand there, so I'm not concerned about her hurting Mittens like some does would.
I'm wondering about slowly acclimating Mittens to outdoor temps and letting her live with the dam and kids. Of course, I have to feed her, but would this avoid later problems of having a human dependant goat that doesn't know how to be a goat? I would like to retain Mittens and see if my buck passed better genetics to her, but I think mom and bucklings are a cull even though she's my favorite

 

[SillyChicken]

Why cull the mom? It's why goats can be so prolific, they over produce and can pick the strongest kids to support to grow up to breed. It's selective breeding, nature style.

I had a doe that had 5 kids, rejected 2. The bottle babies survived but were very small and fragile. The following year she had 4 and kept them all strong and healthy.

Could the little one have white muscle disease? Lethargy isn't normal for a kid.

 

[Birdsong 82]

The goat I bottle-fed stayed outside with the other goats because that's how it's meant to be. And she is now just like the others. They're all very human friendly she is definitely friendlier than most but is happy as the others and doesn't seem dependent on me now that we've gotten past bottlefeeding. It did make her extra sweet but like I said I'm very personable with them anyway so they are all sweet
Why would you cull the mom or the bucklings?

 

[cassie]

Why would you cull the doe and the bucklings? The maternal instinct is hereditary to an extent, but it sounds like the doe's maternal instinct is working just fine. She is taking care of the other kids, isn't she? For whatever reason she isn't bonded to that one kid. It happens. Mothers may reject a baby because it isn't strong and sometimes they reject a kid because for whatever reason they just don't like it. Goats have their opinions just like you and I do. You can certainly acclimate the kid to being outside and letting it run with the others, but use some sense. This is February after all. I agree with others that if you haven't done so, a shot of BoSe is in order. Treat all the kids.

 

[cassie]

Little Mittens is doing just fne in the house.
Doesn't acclimate if bought out to barn though, nevermind interact with the dam.

My doe is a very gentle goat, is nice to all the goats even new ones. She will lick Mittens a few times but then emphatically licks and talks to her boys while leaving Mittens to stand there, so I'm not concerned about her hurting Mittens like some does would.
I'm wondering about slowly acclimating Mittens to outdoor temps and letting her live with the dam and kids. Of course, I have to feed her, but would this avoid later problems of having a human dependant goat that doesn't know how to be a goat? I would like to retain Mittens and see if my buck passed better genetics to her, but I think mom and bucklings are a cull even though she's my favorite

Just a comment. I had a commercial dairy for years and most of the time my kids were bottle raised. None of them were people dependent when the grew up and every one of them knew they were a goat. Every single one of them. As long as they grow up with other goats it is not an issue. It just isn't.

 

[DellaMyDarling]

Why cull?
Because she's actually 100% incapable of being a dairy goat. Conditions didn't improve from last freshening, my personal feelings on kid rejection aside. Something went awry with her genetics, because she actually has some very sought after lines. My best doe is even related to her.
I do believe her rejection has to do with her milk capability. She simply cannot produce for 3 and so she chose the 2 already strongest babies.
Since we aren't keeping pets, anything that cannot produce here without intervention needs to go. She eats 6x what she can make

 

[chickens really]

Why cull?
Because she's actually 100% incapable of being a dairy goat. Conditions didn't improve from last freshening, my personal feelings on kid rejection aside. Something went awry with her genetics, because she actually has some very sought after lines. My best doe is even related to her.
I do believe her rejection has to do with her milk capability. She simply cannot produce for 3 and so she chose the 2 already strongest babies.
Since we aren't keeping pets, anything that cannot produce here without intervention needs to go. She eats 6x what she can make

I understand. Culling doesn't always mean killing and she will be best sold off to a pet home..

 

[cassie]

Why cull?
Because she's actually 100% incapable of being a dairy goat. Conditions didn't improve from last freshening, my personal feelings on kid rejection aside. Something went awry with her genetics, because she actually has some very sought after lines. My best doe is even related to her.
I do believe her rejection has to do with her milk capability. She simply cannot produce for 3 and so she chose the 2 already strongest babies.
Since we aren't keeping pets, anything that cannot produce here without intervention needs to go. She eats 6x what she can make

Makes sense to me. It costs the same to feed a good productive animal as it does to feed one that isn't.

 

[Birdsong 82]

Oh. I can understand if you mean new home. She's not working out for what you have going. At least her boys will go with her maybe