Weaning orphans?

[DancinWithDiamonds]

Im getting mixed messages from articles, vets, etc. There is not much targeted towards minis which contributes.

Filly is almost 2 months old. Shes doing very well with her buddy (shared stall, turnout, etc). She will stay with this buddy until Spring regardless of weaning time...its the best situation for her IMO.

She gets goats milk in 5 feedings. She will not take the recommended amount of 25% of her body weight. She should be getting 4 litres/day...she drinks maybe 2.5. She drinks water well, eats her grain (1/2 cup 3x day) and loves hay and grass. Creep feeding will not work...she eats it like its going out of style.

She's chubby. She's gained almost 10lbs in 2 weeks. One vet said milk until 6months and another (same practice) said 3 months then taper down. She will not eat any milk replacer/pellets on her grain so thats not an option.

When are mini orphans typically weaned? Finances do come into play as she has to board put with her buddy due to my work/show/children schedule. However she is a 'keeper' and I want to do things right....we've turned down 3 offers to buy her already. I would have brought her into the house if I could have. We just love her.

 

[Reignmaker Miniatures]

LOL, I did bring my orphan into the house for the first 3 weeks. It was April when she was born and I just had no inclination to go out in the cold and dark repeatedly at night to feed her. As for weaning, mine was on milk replacer until about 4 months and as she ate more solids and drank more water she wanted less and less of the MR. I never did the pellets either, we went from liquid to nothing. I started about 2 or 2.5 months to dilute it a bit more each week until it was basically water anyway and then just fed her a good quality feed and all she wanted of hay/grass. She's 6 this year and looks and acts like the rest of the herd, no behaviour problems ( I put her in with the mare herd as soon as I felt she could move when they told her too - at about a month or so old) and no health problems. She too has become a favourite and we don't intend to ever sell her.

 

[Miniv]

Our orphan (orphaned at 2 weeks old) pretty much weaned himself. Like yours he was getting grain and hay...plus calf manna...and gradually began taking less and less milk replacer. By about 4 months he stopped wanting any milk replacer, so we listened to him.

As I recall it was during his 3rd month that he whittled down to only wanting a bottle twice a day....then once a day... We never diluted, just slowly stretched out bottle feeding times. He never lived full time in the house...just came inside for visits. He lived in the barn and the barn pasture area with the other foals and their dams.

It's been several years now, but we still own him. He's a plump gelding and his name is Jeffie. We have some fun photos of him on our website with my husband feeding him and when he would visit in the house with his diaper on.

 

[DancinWithDiamonds]

Thanks!

She is starting to decrease how much she drinks at one of her mid day feeds. Maybe 200mls before she goes back to grazing....ill listen to her for weaning signs

 

[DancinWithDiamonds]

Thanks!

She is starting to decrease how much she drinks at one of her mid day feeds. Maybe 200mls before she goes back to grazing....ill listen to her for weaning signs

 

[rabbitsfizz]

The orphans I have raised have all been fully weaned by a month old. They had grain ad lib and hay adlib abd milk replacer pellets in the feed but no bottles (actually no bottles ever, only ever a bowl!) The Vets are not the experts here unless they are working at a place that specialises in orphan foals, no foal should be left on milk until it is six months old- if it is nursing naturally off Mama, all the goodness will be long gone by six months and the foal will only be nursing occasionally, so you have to let the foal dictate what she drinks form now on, and I would be putting milk replacer in her feed and starting to cut down on the goats milk. You have done a fantastic job, well done, now continue to follow you heart, not the "experts" (and that includes me!!) You do what YOU think is best, it has worked so far.....

 

[Miniv]

So, yes...Listen to your foal. Skip that mid day feeding.