When rearing animals, one of the strangest parts of it can be seeing how mothers relate to their offspring as they begin to get older.
Our own species has such a unique infancy and childhood that very common and typical child-rearing in animals can almost seem cruel and callous.
Our children stay with their parents for a very long time, compared with other animals.
Our goats recently gave birth, and my son has been wondering how long it will be before they could safely be separated from their mother.
I decided to look into it.
So, when can a goat leave its mother?
There isn’t a hard and fast rule on this, necessarily. There are a couple of benchmarks, though. Anything at or below 4 weeks is too early, no matter the goat. After 12 weeks, you might have left it too long. Somewhere between 6-8 weeks is the sweet spot.
It’s going to depend on the goat, then, and there’s no hard and fast rule.
Some will do better staying with their mother longer, others will be more comfortable being independent from a young age.
Whatever you do, do not separate them before four weeks.
Some would say after 12 weeks you can’t comfortably separate them, either.
So don’t leave it too long or too short.
When can you separate a goat from its mother?
As I said, there is no one date on which you are safe to separate a goat from its mother.
There’s no specific age at which they are suddenly able to be comfortably taken away from their mother—this will vary from goat to goat.
It will depend on a lot of things.
Firstly, if your goat is being directly suckled by its mother rather than bottle fed, it’s quite likely to form a deeper bond.
In any case, a goat needs to be with its mother for at the absolute minimum the first four weeks.
This is when it will learn essential behaviors, and form the social bonds necessary for its wellbeing.
5 weeks is probably still too soon for most goats.
The most independent may be ready to be separated by 6 weeks old, though this will depend.
For me, the best one-size-fits-all strategy is to get them to week 6, and monitor their behavior.
If they are still sticking close to their mother rather than being independent, they may need longer to adjust.
7-8 weeks is probably the ideal time for most goats to be separated.
They will be becoming independent, curious, and they should be comfortably eating solid foods by now.
Don’t leave it much longer than this.
Many would say 12 weeks is too long, and separating them would break a bond.
At what age can baby goats eat solid food?
The big factor in their early development is the transition from a pure milk diet to solid foods.
I’ll not discuss grass and other similar grazing food here, as I’ll get into that in a moment.
By solid food, I mean things like pellets and fresh fruit and vegetables.
These will certainly come much later than grass, and potentially a long while after they have been weaned off their mother’s milk or the bottle.
This should be the last step in the goat’s diet.
You can always give them the option, by having pellets available or giving them small bits of fruit.
But most won’t be ready to eat such foods until they’re at least 8 weeks old, probably older.
So, don’t force it—let them move at their own pace, it’s perfectly normal.
Grass is a different story.
At what age do baby goats start eating grass?
Generally, baby goats will start becoming interested in grass at about 2 weeks old.
Again, it’s going to be different depending on the goat.
I say they will become interested in grass at this age because they might still not be able to eat it, as such.
Most of the time, at this age, goats will chew on grass and spit it back out.
This will be the start of their grazing, and by 6-8 weeks they should be comfortably eating grass or hay.
Hay is actually easier for them to digest at a young age than grass, so giving them hay at the two-week mark is a great way to get them maturing quickly.
How do you wean a baby goat from its mother?
The process of weaning starts from day one.
The most important thing is that you start the process of getting it into solid food as soon as you can. The quicker the goat is nutritionally independent, the quicker you can wean it away from its mother.
So, be sure it is comfortably eating solid food. Then, create a specific weaning environment, ensuring plenty of fresh water. Give them a variety of solid foods like pellets and fresh plant food, and make sure they have some pellets as well.
Keep an eye out for any health issues, and your goat should be weaned in no time. Again, though, it all starts from day one. It will be much easier this way.
Mammals have uniquely deep relationships with their offspring, and this is just as true of goats as of any other similar animal.
They form close bonds with their offspring, and indeed in the wild, many would never really leave their mother’s side.
They would remain in the same herd their whole life.
This is why there is usually a sweet spot.
If you leave it too long, they are essentially bonded and won’t be comfortable separating.