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Post by fliffkins on Jul 27, 2016 15:58:09 GMT
Hi,
Apologies in advance if this is a little long.
I have purchased a new baby who is now 7 weeks old. The breeder usually weans between 4 and 6 months depending on how well baby is doing. The mares all live naturally in a herd along with the stallion. Initially I wanted to leave him there till he was 6 months old as I believe that is best and I am also away for a couple of weeks in November so thought it would save someone else being responsible for him. Sadly the breeder has suffered a few losses this year - some complications with foaling or losses a couple of days just after foaling, and also some losses up to 2 months after foaling - I know 2 was due to some horses from another yard escaping into the field and baby got caught up in the crossfire, the other losses i'm not sure of the cause as I haven't spoken direct to the breeder yet. I am now considering asking for my baby to be weaned at 4 months as I am worrying incase anything happens to him whilst living in the herd.
Will weaning him at 4 months have any adverse effects or any recommendations?
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Post by marcosieponies on Sept 3, 2016 17:30:19 GMT
Four months is just about OK.
Try to make sure that the foal has been introduced to hard feed and get it some creep feed to the first 4-6 weeks.
We always separate at 16-18 weeks to give the mare a chance of going into the winter fit, especially if she is in foal again.
Good luck.
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