When Can A Baby Goat Leave Its Mother [Safely And Stress-Free]

First 6 years with milk goats, I let the mothers nurse their babies and wean them when they thought they were ready. Interestingly, the only daughter she had still was not weaned completely at six months! Had to put a “goat bra” on Mom! Other litters were weaned around 4 months. Now, I have three babies whose mother died the day after they were delivered by C-section. They did get some colostrum with the Vet’s help and have been healthy. A blessing is I had their mother’s mother at my small country home because she was needing a little more “hands on” care for health. Her “home” is 50 acres where the goats almost exclusively graze and her teeth were worn down. So, Grandma is their constant companion, teaching what to eat, etc. Two of the three had health “issues” – little girl was born with a selenium deficiency which I gave her a dose and Vit.B a day for the first 2 months, and now once a week, and the smaller boy developed an umbilical hernia that we (Vet and me) are watching. The kids have just turned 3 months are are still getting 3 -1/2 bottles a day, early a.m (before I get out and feed “everybody”), mid-afternoon to counter the 2 month “heat wave” we’ve been experiencing, and before “bed”, with gradual decrease in volume and richness, as well as a full diet of good quality goat pellets, alfalfa hay, small apple bites, and small servings of sunflower seeds and alfalfa pellets for “extra vitamins, etc.” They are definitely fond of their bottles and come to my back door, with the little girl being the speaker for them, telling me it is “bottle time” and she is not off by 5 minutes of their schedule! Little boys like Yannis “John” and Mihail “Michael”, don’t “give milk” and the Dr. said Angeliki, named after her grandmother, “Angel”, probably should not be bred because of the selelnium “issue”, so I guess they will just be my “goat children”. (All of my goats have Greek names – long story)

The really sad part of this “story” is that their mother, Geselle, died. She came from the same pasture and had been with me for about a year and a half to keep my LaMancha doe, Penelope, “company” after her sister, Helen, died last year. She seemed healthy so I bred her to my LaMancha buck and was hoping for at least one little girl from each doe. (Penelope, my LaMancha doe who gave the BEST milk!, had to be euthanized after the birth of her babies was delayed. For whatever reason, she did not go into labor when I had figured, and about two weeks later she began labor, but no really good, strong contractions so by the time I could grab her feet, the little girl was born dead. Took Pene to a different Vet. and they tried to get the little boy out but he had been decomposing for some time, and she had a tear in her uterus we feared would not heal.)

I DO NOT consider myself any kind of “expert” with goats. (I have had various pets all my life, my “older sister” was a little Spitz my dad got when he was in the Army during WWII. We had dogs all my life, raised registered American Eskimos for about 20 years, many cats, three horses at different times, various parakeets, and other assorted smaller animals, so I am not unfamiliar with raising various animals.)

I do understand goats are “different” and have downloaded “tons of information”, I read and refer back to.) Penelope had three litters of healthy babies, and Helen had two litters, healthy, so I had not really had to deal with many “problems” until last year when Penelope’s first kid got his head bent backwards and friends who had raised goats and cows, could not get his head straightened to get him “out” alive and the little brother behind him was born alive but died three days later, from the long stressful labor, etc.

I am sharing this basically to “warn” anybody, like me and my friend who has had goats for about 25 years, and is a retired R.N. Neither of us had heard/read of the selenium issues with goats and where we live, central Texas, the land is quite deficient in selenium! I am sure the selenium issue was part of Geselle’s health and death!