Weaning the crias

Victor and Matthias are now old enough to be weaned off milk. Victor is coming along great. A month older than Matthias, Victor has been eating pellets for the past week or two and is getting less milk supplement.

Matthias is still dependent on his mother although he and Victor both enjoy eating hay. Matthias has been introduced to pellets and will eat a little of them but will lose interest right away and go for the hay instead.

This weekend, we are separating the two boys and will keep them in their own pen for feeding and to wean Matthias away from his mom. This will be a tough adjustment for Matthias because he is very attached to his mother. We've learned over the years that crias will often try to escape their pens during weaning to get back to their moms. In the beginning, we'll only separate them for a few hours and give them breaks to get back with their moms. Of course this won't be an issue at all for Victor since he's been bottle fed and is a very independent cria.

Usually during weaning, I worry about the crias getting enough water. It's important to make sure the crias have fresh water available to them and that they are drinking it. I've seen both Victor and Matthias drink from the water bucket so I know they will be fine. We'll keep track of their weight and make sure they are both adjusting well to their new feeding schedule.