Does With Kids

thailand

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Hi,

A quick question please if I may........is there a trick to getting does with kids mixing well together? I only have 2 does, both having just recently had kids, and I'm having a lot of trouble getting them to mix together nicely. One doe tries to head butt the other's doelings (2 weeks old), and the two adult does head butt each other!

What's the trick please???
 

norseofcourse

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If it's the same as with sheep, it just takes some time. When Brosa had her first lamb, she would not let anyone else's lambs within ten feet of her little one - and her lamb really wanted to play with the others! She did eventually ease up a bit, and was not nearly as defensive with her twins last year.
 

Latestarter

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Herd dynamics have changed and a new pecking order must be established sounds like... Time and patience. Best of luck!
 

thailand

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Thanks. I'm hoping to get this sorted quickly. Hopefully they will oblige me. Being goats maybe not. I'm going away on holiday back to New Zealand in two weeks time. I need to make things ready for the kids to look after the goats while I'm away. At the moment we are all taking turns to supervise sitting with the goats to prevent fighting. The teens are getting tired of this "job" rather quickly.
 

NH homesteader

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If I were you I would set up an area where the kids fit and the moms don't, so the kids can get away if they need to. I wouldn't sit out there and babysit, that'll drive you all insane! If they're seriously hurting the kids I would separate them but some head butting is normal. The fact that all the babies have a mom to defend them makes it not as huge of a concern. That being said, I don't know how hard they're hitting. If it's really bad, maybe they need to be separated?
 

thailand

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Thanks.....I don't think it's really serious (just seems that way to me I guess). Good idea about setting up a separate area where kids can escape. I'll see what I can rig up today :)
 

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