Looking for tips on fostering kids

My other doe, Daphne, should be kidding in a few weeks. She's 6 years old and a third freshener, but even so, she's getting huge. Just in case she has 3 or more (please no!) in there, would it be possible to foster a kid or two on to my other doe, Juniper? She just has the one kid and she has a ton of milk. 

The thing I'm concerned about is that by the time Daphne kids, Juniper's kid will already be a few weeks old and her bonding hormones will have receded too much. Does anyone have any tips to get her to take another kid on if necessary? I really would prefer not to bottle feed if I don't absolutely have to. 

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  • Daphne came to me already having been bred. I'd never breed a doe who was in poor condition.  And at this point I'm not even sure she's pregnant since she's supposedly due in 2 weeks and hasn't made much of an udder. For Daphne's sake I hope she's not.
    Deborah Niemann-Boehle said:

    I don't know why I didn't see this sooner. I understand your concern. I've been there. Years ago I had a la mancha that looked terrible. She was only nursing a single, and I got the bright idea to wean him at two months so that she could recover, but I quickly realized that her body was determined to make milk regardless of what I did, and I'd just make her miserable trying to "help," so I gave up. 

    Now I don't breed a doe unless she is in optimum condition. Pregnancy is not the time to try to improve body condition as the doe's body needs to put a lot of energy into growing kids ... and then making milk.

    I don't know if you read my blog, but I recently had a doe start nursing her kids at 8 days fresh. She nearly died after kidding and spent four days at the vet hospital, then she still looked like death when I brought her home. But she seemed to still recognize her babies, and when she could finally stand for more than a few minutes, I stuck the kids under her and showed them the teats, and they took to it like pros. Sorry if my first post sounded discouraging. I'm always up for trying things, even if the odds are against it working. You never know when you'll find the exception. Keep us posted on what happens.

    Julieanne Cook said:

    My reason for asking about this is because in spite of all the effort I've put into her, Daphne still hasn't fully recovered from the poor condition she was in when I got her. I thought it might be easier on her in the event she does have more than two kids if I fostered one on to Juniper, who is in great condition and has an abundance of milk. 

    I would certainly bottle-feed if I had to, but if there was any way to avoid that and allow the kid to get milk from a dam I felt like that would be the best solution. But apparently the timing would be wrong since Juniper is not newly fresh. Oh well, I was just curious. I'll deal with what comes. 

  • I don't know why I didn't see this sooner. I understand your concern. I've been there. Years ago I had a la mancha that looked terrible. She was only nursing a single, and I got the bright idea to wean him at two months so that she could recover, but I quickly realized that her body was determined to make milk regardless of what I did, and I'd just make her miserable trying to "help," so I gave up. 

    Now I don't breed a doe unless she is in optimum condition. Pregnancy is not the time to try to improve body condition as the doe's body needs to put a lot of energy into growing kids ... and then making milk.

    I don't know if you read my blog, but I recently had a doe start nursing her kids at 8 days fresh. She nearly died after kidding and spent four days at the vet hospital, then she still looked like death when I brought her home. But she seemed to still recognize her babies, and when she could finally stand for more than a few minutes, I stuck the kids under her and showed them the teats, and they took to it like pros. Sorry if my first post sounded discouraging. I'm always up for trying things, even if the odds are against it working. You never know when you'll find the exception. Keep us posted on what happens.

    Julieanne Cook said:

    My reason for asking about this is because in spite of all the effort I've put into her, Daphne still hasn't fully recovered from the poor condition she was in when I got her. I thought it might be easier on her in the event she does have more than two kids if I fostered one on to Juniper, who is in great condition and has an abundance of milk. 

    I would certainly bottle-feed if I had to, but if there was any way to avoid that and allow the kid to get milk from a dam I felt like that would be the best solution. But apparently the timing would be wrong since Juniper is not newly fresh. Oh well, I was just curious. I'll deal with what comes. 

  • Thanks Charity. I have done some more research and have heard of some people who have had success with this. And you're right, it all had to do with getting the milk scent on to the kid. It's risky, and I'll have to play it by ear, but I was glad to know it's not impossible. One lady does it every year with bum lambs that she buys from a big sheep rancher. Apparently her mama goat doesn't care that her new kids are wooly instead of furry. LOL

    Old Haunt Farm said:

    For some reason I brain farted on coming back to this thread, when I meant to do so. I think it makes sense to be ready to support a doe that you've been trying to build back up from her condition before she got to you. I don't say this with any experience at all, but if you're going to put the herd all together anyway, I wonder if it would be worth it to at least try your idea. If Juniper is present for the birth, you're right there watching, and you do a lot of scent transfer, it seems like the worst case scenario would likely just be that Juniper rejects the new kid. The only thing I'd worry about on top of that (if it were me) would be the difference in the kid sizes to start if Juniper does accept a newborn along with her buckling. I wonder if the age difference would be a bit risky in terms of size & activity level? Keep us posted on how everything goes, regardless!!! :-)

    Julieanne Cook said:

    My reason for asking about this is because in spite of all the effort I've put into her, Daphne still hasn't fully recovered from the poor condition she was in when I got her. I thought it might be easier on her in the event she does have more than two kids if I fostered one on to Juniper, who is in great condition and has an abundance of milk. 

    I would certainly bottle-feed if I had to, but if there was any way to avoid that and allow the kid to get milk from a dam I felt like that would be the best solution. But apparently the timing would be wrong since Juniper is not newly fresh. Oh well, I was just curious. I'll deal with what comes. 

  • For some reason I brain farted on coming back to this thread, when I meant to do so. I think it makes sense to be ready to support a doe that you've been trying to build back up from her condition before she got to you. I don't say this with any experience at all, but if you're going to put the herd all together anyway, I wonder if it would be worth it to at least try your idea. If Juniper is present for the birth, you're right there watching, and you do a lot of scent transfer, it seems like the worst case scenario would likely just be that Juniper rejects the new kid. The only thing I'd worry about on top of that (if it were me) would be the difference in the kid sizes to start if Juniper does accept a newborn along with her buckling. I wonder if the age difference would be a bit risky in terms of size & activity level? Keep us posted on how everything goes, regardless!!! :-)

    Julieanne Cook said:

    My reason for asking about this is because in spite of all the effort I've put into her, Daphne still hasn't fully recovered from the poor condition she was in when I got her. I thought it might be easier on her in the event she does have more than two kids if I fostered one on to Juniper, who is in great condition and has an abundance of milk. 

    I would certainly bottle-feed if I had to, but if there was any way to avoid that and allow the kid to get milk from a dam I felt like that would be the best solution. But apparently the timing would be wrong since Juniper is not newly fresh. Oh well, I was just curious. I'll deal with what comes. 

  • My reason for asking about this is because in spite of all the effort I've put into her, Daphne still hasn't fully recovered from the poor condition she was in when I got her. I thought it might be easier on her in the event she does have more than two kids if I fostered one on to Juniper, who is in great condition and has an abundance of milk. 

    I would certainly bottle-feed if I had to, but if there was any way to avoid that and allow the kid to get milk from a dam I felt like that would be the best solution. But apparently the timing would be wrong since Juniper is not newly fresh. Oh well, I was just curious. I'll deal with what comes. 

  • I of course don't have any tips to offer, Julieanne, but I am curious about your thoughts and experiences with triplets + and needing to bottle feed. I'm still dealing with poor condition and middle-of-the-road color in Maple's lower eyelids, but her triplets are all thriving and growing on a nice curve from their individual birth weights. I was trying to milk and supplement with a bottle in the beginning when I thought 3 was too great a burden, but I saw at about week 2 that Maple was handling things just fine. 

    Just my 2 cents. :-) Hope Dephne's kidding goes well!

  • There are a few does who will let any kid nurse, but that's definitely the exception rather than the rule. Grafting a kid onto another doe is usually done within the first day after kidding for the foster mom. A 6-year-old should not have any trouble raising triplets. I only worry about first fresheners making enough for three. If one of the kids is a lot smaller than the others, you can supplement while leaving the kid with mom. What exactly is your concern? Why do you want to get another doe to nurse one? Or what concern do you have about bottle-feeding?

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