Here are a few questions for anyone who has experienced any of these scenrios:
1. An adult doe from a farm that takes babies at birth- has kidded many times but never raised or nursed her kids, if she were then allowed to keep some would she figure out how to be a mother?
2. When bottle baby does grow up, can they be good mothers even though they didn't have one?
I dam raise everything but want to add to my herd and almost everyone else bottle raises everyone, so hence my questions.
Thanks!
Replies
Juliana, I have been so worried about you the last couple of days,and wondering what the weather has put you through. Plez, plezzzz, when you can let us know how you and your babies have faired this weather thru Issac.
Hey guys-
Well the good news is that my farm of choice has stopped bottle raising and has dam raised for the past 3 years. So I am trying to buy an adult doe & hopefully will be able to get one with some info on her m othering skills. Mothering skills is really high up on my list of important traits, right along wit parasite resistance and general hardiness
I am buying a Nubian for Mr. Miyagi the super-stud who has now taught his little protege Chuck Norris to wade in the swamp for food as well. Good boy!
As far as the broodiness in chickens, it is my understanding that it has been bred out of the production breeds on purpose by humans who dont want a layer to quit laying to brood. I love my broody hens, and have a clutch that just pipped this evening. They do such a fine job raising their little fluffy peeps and the chickens have so much more common sense when they grow up with a mother to teach them. we have all heritage breeds, and my buff Orpingtons are not good layers but they sure pull their weight hatching the babies.
In all my psychology classes, those terrible monkey experiments where they orphan the babies, when they grow up, they are clueless how to mother. That's why I wondered about the bottle babies. Among other things, the idea of making that much work for myself (milk the goat then bottle feed back to the kid) when the kid could have just nursed it themselves, seems like total nonsense.
Most of all I echo other people's sentiments about taking a baby from its mother. If my does had come back CAE + I would have done it to get a negative replacement out of them without losing my investment, but i would have hated it and thank God they are negative.
At any rate it looks like I will be able to get a doe who has a history of successful parenting. My only bottle baby is little Chuck Norris who actually blubbered at me and humped my leg this morning LOL which I would have been horrified if I weren't so anxious for him to grow up and breed these does already!!
Oh, thank you, Deborah. It does get old people telling me she shouldn't still be nursing that she is too big. I figure mom and baby know more than the talkers.<g>
I, too, wonder about the turkey when the babies went swimming.
Oh, Patty - that is soooo funny about the imaginary brood. Did you ever give her chicks? She so deserved them.
It's highly unlikely to happen, but wouldn't it be great if my girls have only does and I never need to make the decision about dinner?!!
I was thinking about this discussion while making supper, and I remembered something so funny! This summer we had a hen who mothered imaginary chicks. She would walk around being very careful not to step on them, feathers fluffed out and wings slightly spread, clucking contented mother clucks to her "brood". It was the silliest thing, as though she was saying, "See! I'd make a great mother if only you'd give me a chance!" LOL!
I agree about the weaning. Mom will put a stop to that if and when she needs to.
And the poultry, you are so right. I have always found that so amazing myself. It is just SOOOO FUNNY! In fact you know it is not always necessary that they have feathers. A few hens have been known to have something like a kitten curled up under them. Even that has happened.
I bet that turkey tripped when she saw her babies go swimming!
The poultry discussion is so fun. Chickens, turkeys, etc, are the most unprejudiced mothers in the world. They don't really care how many or what color or even what species of babies they have. If they're feeling motherly, they will mother just about anything with feathers. In fact, I've seen two hens setting together than hatched babies and co-mothered them. I've also seen two of them setting near each other, and one's eggs hatched a few days before the others were due, and the second hen left her nest to help with the ones that have hatched. And this year, I had a turkey that found a nest of duck eggs and sat on them and hatched them!
Glenna, I wouldn't worry about weaning your doeling. I have some Jan/Feb doelings out here that still nurse. It's my goat health insurance. I've never heard of any logical reason to wean a doeling at any particular age. One woman told me, "It just looks ridiculous." Oh, well, don't look! :)
I agree Glenna, that a chicken can be a great mother without having hatched the eggs. This year, we incubated eggs and put them under two of our broody hens when they hatched. One of the hens didn't want them, but the other was happy as could be. She's been a great mother to her 5 little dears for a month now, and going strong. It's so sweet! Here she is:
I have to say though, that as my boys grow I feel better about using future boys as food. My Shamrock seems to be into shocking our guests with his goaty behaviors. He's only 4 months old and already he's busy dousing himself with urine, tasting it...yucky! I thought I'd have more time than this before he got really stinky.
Glenna Rose said:
The hen info was interesting though I'm not sure it has been my experience. I get baby chicks after a hen has been broody for three weeks or so, give the chicks to her and she raises them. I've not had any reject them; though they were incubator hatched, they started their independent life with a mom. Sadly, this year was tragic; a week after I got the chicks, some time during the night something killed the hen (decapitated her) and took the chicks (presumably ate them). She was in a cage that I thought was safe, no evidence of how something got to her. The crate I usually keep them in at night the first couple of weeks is the one Ginger spends the night in though I'm not sure whatever it was would not have gotten in there as well. It was the first time I've lost baby chicks.
I cannot imagine ever taking baby away from mom; mom knows so much better than humans what baby needs. I remember when we were younger, we would never take a puppy or kitten before at least eight weeks; the longer they are with mom, the more secure they are as adults - sort of like human children who get love and caring from their parents. To me, it just doesn't seem natural to take a baby from mom though I know some very nice and kind people who bottle feed their kids saying it's the only way to keep milk production up in the doe. People keep telling me Ginger should have been weaned already; she will be five months old Sunday. She is a happy, healthy little (not so little) doe and even now, it would be distressing to her to be separated from mom. Next kidding, I might do differently, but for this time around I am comfortable with this way even though it may mean less milk now milking only once a day. To separate them would be cruel in my mind given the way they interact so I'll likely wait another month. It's all learning for this new goat momma. :-)
Respect for our meat animals is important. I'm still not sure I'll be able to give my little boys to my son even though I know he will butcher kindly. That sounds odd, butcher kindly, but you know what I mean. My grandfather always held the rooster and petted him and talked to him before he chopped off his head; there was no fear or terror on the part of the little animal about to meet his/her end. It was decades ago but I swear I sometimes saw tears in my grandfather's eyes when it was time.
Well said! :)
Margaret Langley said:
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