If you’re looking for the answer on when to ween Nigerian dwarf goats, you’re in the right place! No, we don’t claim to be the authority on this subject. In fact, we are just weening our first two doelings from their mother now. But, we’ve done all the research on the subject we could, talked with our own local experts, and we’re happy to bring you the news: there’s really no consensus on an absolute best time to ween your goats.
However, there is a reasonable time frame to consider. And, today we’re excited to talk about our thought process and how we’re weening our Nigerian dwarf goats.
Are Dam Raised Goats Better?
Before getting into the timeline for when to ween Nigerian dwarf goats, it seems logical to first talk about the pros and cons of a dam raised goat. For those who are new to raising goats, “dam raised” refers to a goat raised by its biological mother. Alternatively, some people choose to bottle feed their baby goats.
The perk of bottle feeding is that it offers an easy way to get them used to human handling and interaction. It can also make it easier to ween them off the milk as they aren’t used to getting it directly from their mother. But, as with any animal, instinct can still drive them to try the “natural” route should the bottle become unavailable.
Alternatively, having a dam-raised goat means that they form a closer bond with their biological mother. It also means that they can get access to food more easily throughout the day, which can help keep them regular in their eating. For people like us who are still working full-time jobs, it just makes sense to allow them to feed directly from their mother.
Passing the Twelve Week Mark
As of righting this, our two doelings have passed the twelve week mark. According to PennState’s Extension program (though focused on meat goats), goats should be weened from their mother’s milk at 60-90 days. And, if we look at this timeline logically, it makes sense that this 90-day window would be the optimal maximum for dairy goats too. After all, meat goats are in it to build strong and steady for meat production. If we want a steady doeling to breed later on, why not feed here that full 90 days.
Of course, we’ve done a fair bit of research on this subject beyond just that blurb from Penn State. There are some who start weening as early as 4 weeks, but 8-10 week seems to be the most popular option. For us, we’ve been slowly reducing access by milking Delilah more often. This way, from 10-12 weeks they got more accustomed to eating grain and hopefully ended up eating more hay. Now that they are at that upper recommended level, it’s time we start keeping more of their mother’s milk.
When to Ween Nigerian Dwarf Goats
While we aren’t going to fight about it, we’d ultimately recommend anyone raising dairy goats consider 8-12 weeks as a solid time to ween their goats from milk. In our case, this gave us time to adapt to the daily milking and start getting faster at milking. This way, we were able to milk each morning and leave the rest for the kids to milk throughout the day.
Going forward, this means we’ll be moving to milking twice a day. And, that means we’re now taping Delilah’s teets in the morning and the evening to keep the kids from feeding. The transition is sure to bring its own challenges, but we didn’t sign up for this lifestyle to take the easy path.
Until next time, we’ll see you around the homestead!