weaning

[treeclimber233]

I was wondering if a pregnant doe will wean babies earlier herself or if it makes any difference? I have 3 does that had babies at the same time last year. I was ...um a bit late banding one baby. He may have been as old as4 months old by the time I did it. Now 2 of my does look pregnant. They have already weaned their babies while the third has not weaned her baby yet. All the babies are now 8 months old (one doe and 3 wethers). The third one was in heat 2 weeks ago and bred then. Can you feel babies kicking inside the mother like you can a human? I have tried to "bounce" the baby but cant tell if I am doing it right. How can I tell if they are bred so I can dry them up? And how soon before kidding should I dry them up?

 

[Ariel301]

You will be able to feel the babies kicking, but usually not until 3-4 months in. You will want the does to have 2 months dry before kidding. A doe may or may not wean her kids, it depends on the personality of the doe. If she's still nursing 8 month old kids, I'd take them from her and put them in another pen, she is ready for a break, and she should have weaned them herself by now if she was going to. The only 100% sure way to tell is to do a blood test, you can also tell on a lot of does by the changes in the look of their vulva area after two months of pregnancy, but that isn't a guaranteed method.