Okay, I totally believe in leaving babies with moms all the time, until two months when we separate at night for morning milk. However, I have one little piggie that is growing leaps and bounds ahead of her sisters. She has always been the biggest (starting out a pound heavier), but at ten days old she was two pounds heavier than her siblings (6 lbs 9 oz. versus 4 lbs 8 oz.). They are 17 days old now and, though I haven't weighed them for a week, she is significantly heavier and huskier than her sisters who stay close to the same weight as each other. They all seem to be nursing equally as much as I can tell but I am wondering if maybe I should separate her for an hour or so in the morning and again in the afternoon so maybe the other two can play catchup. I know some kids are always bigger than others but this is way out of proportion. Maybe I notice it more because Summer's triplets (2 boys, 1 girl) last year were pretty much the same size as each other. The difference here is like Capri's single buckling last year compared to the triplets.
When they are out playing, the other two are much more busy exploring and playing while she seems to be checking out mom (and eating) much more than they do. If it were you, would you separate a couple of times during the day when they are up and about?
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Oh, if there is a favorite side issue, you need to keep a close eye on that. You don't usually see that with triplets, but I never say never when it comes to goat behavior. They really need to be nursing both sides evenly. Glad you caught that, Glenna!
I may have identified the problem, other than just the firstborn taking all she can when the others get mom on her feet. I've noticed today that mom seems to not let the two smaller ones nurse on the left side. That was her smaller side last year when I started milking her. I decided to perhaps milk that side and feed it to the two smaller ones if they will take a bottle hoping it will be more even this year. However, tonight, I held mom while they ate; it was a struggle, but one got quite a full tummy. Before I put baby to the teat, I milked out a little - the milk was very thick on that side. After baby started eating, she kept at it and had lots of froth at the sides of her mouth so I am presuming she was getting ample milk. It was quite a job to hold mom as she really didn't want to let *anyone* eat on that side. I've been watching closely when I can; she seems to have a preference to the biggest girl and stands longer for her.
When one of the smaller ones was eating, the biggest one came over to push her away. Of course, with my "extra" hand, I held her back and scratched her back and sides which made her happy. It seemed to be a case of someone else getting something and she wanted it too. It was good when mom stopped fighting me and finally stood still. Her udder was definitely softer when I finally let her go but baby kept trying to get more though her tummy seemed full. Perhaps she will be more persistent in the future and not give up so easily. Perhaps also with me watching more carefully and doing some extra "work" two or three times a day, they will start looking like they are all from the same litter with the two smaller ones catching up.<g> Last year, her triplets were all the same size, no noticeable difference, two bucklings and one doeling.
On the good side, even with the difference in size, all three seem very healthy and highly active. The two smaller ones seem more active than the bigger one. They are scheduled for disbudding on Thursday so I will have a second in-person opinion. Mom seems very thin in spite of grain but she has always been a slim goat. The other does are all chunkies compared to her, or, as Deborah said about Ginger, well loved.<g> It seems so odd to have her so very slim after being so big while pregnant.
I do have a bale of Chaffhaye I've not yet opened, been waiting to get it divided into smaller portions in vacu-bags. Would it be a good idea to give some of that each day to mom? She does have free-choice alfalfa pellets much of the day (though I keep them away from the other does except at feeding time) in addition to grass hay and light browse.
This is a question separate from the above - do all newborns have white hooves? These did, white and soft. By Day 3, they were "normal" but I really noticed how white they were when they were born. I do not remember white hooves before.
I don't see any reason to not separate the bigger one as you suggested in your original post. I would not consider those sizes to be premature at all. Kids born at 150 days can be that size. The only time we ever had premies survive, they were born at 135 days, and the smaller one weighted 1 pound 3 ounces. When we've had kids born at day 141 or later, they've always been totally fine.
Oh sorry Glenna, I didn't know they were preemies. I'm sure that makes a difference. Honestly I wouldn't separate the little piggie from the rest because of the stress it would cause her and the mom, but I suppose you could try it if you think that would help. My little piggie doeling definitely gets more than the rest too, but they are all growing at the same speed. I hope someone else chimes in.
"at ten days old she was two pounds heavier than her siblings (6 lbs 9 oz. versus 4 lbs 8 oz.). " So considering that they were premies, it sounds like the same weight for my two smaller ones as yours. They seem to be doing beautifully except the weight difference. The two smaller ones are very lively and adventurous. The day after birth they were 2 lb 11.6 oz, 2 lb 8.9 oz. and 3 lb 9 oz so she was a pound heavier at birth. The two smaller ones are within 3 oz. of each other all the time. I weighed them twice daily and then once daily until they were ten days old and all have gained consistently except for Day 3 when all lost a little weight with the biggest one losing the most with everyone gaining back by the end of Day 4 when the biggest one starting gaining much more percentage wise than the rest. She was also the first one to eat after birth, before her newest/littlest sister was even completely born. She also tends to sleep more by herself while the other two cuddle together.
My biggest concern is not that mom is producing enough milk but that she is taking more than her sisters who are not as aggressive and more interesting is leaving to play. She seems to run for dinner as soon as she sees either of the others head there even if they don't go ahead and start to eat. By separating her for an hour twice a day, she wouldn't get less (because she will get it anyway) but the others may take more without the distraction of "let's see what she was doing" instead of going on to eat which seems to be what is happening when they are out of the pen. She is also first-born so I don't know if that makes a difference. The middle one was very weak at birth but after ten minutes was as active as the other two; at first I wondered if she were dead - once I was sure she was breathing, I put her in front of mom to finish cleaning her, and mom's licking and nuzzling here did more for her than my rubbing her, etc.
I'm watching on the monitor as I type. The two littlest just got on their feet and worked very hard to get mom up so they could nurse; their big sister just watched and then went running over and "grabbed" the milk as soon as mom was on her feet.
Julia @Woody Glen Farm said:
How much did they weigh when they were born? With triplets I think it's a good idea to weigh frequently to see how they each are gaining. My smallest doeling was 4.8 at one week (born 2.1) and she has consistently weighed a pound less than the other two. I would be concerned the others are not getting enough, not that the one is getting too much. She sounds about right. Weighing every few days would help you see what's happening. I hope Deborah chimes in here... I'd like to hear what she has to say. Also, did you read this article she recently posted?:
http://www.homegrownandhandmadethebook.com/2014/04/how-many-kids-ca...
One of my Leela's triplets hangs out with mom all the time while the others are much more adventurous. She gets milk pretty much any time she wants and the others sometimes get butted away when they decide they want some too. Leela is playing favorites with this doeling and she is big and healthy (9.5 lbs at 3 weeks). While this does stress me out a bit when I see it happening, the thing is, the others are also gaining nicely so she is feeding them just fine. I wouldn't separate your little piggy because it would stress her out and your dam too. I think this is just a natural thing and you shouldn't interfere (IMO).