BattleBabies

[Dr StrangeLove]

Fellow patrons! Unfortunately over the past year my Female warrior dwarfs have been carrying their newborn infants into combat. Though i wish to train new recruits young but preferably not this early. The fortress has been under constant attack leading to the army on constant alert. many battles against cave dwellers has had four infants loose limbs or killed outright, since their mothers hold them chest level on the front lines. Any clever ways to ditch the damage sponge other than a nursery zone? Which the mothers don't leave their new meat shield inside when assigned. Any suggestions on this matter would be greatly appreciated..

(Assigned zone holds children but wont hold babies?)

[AlP]

I believe there was something about dwarves losing babies in water drains.

Maybe you can use a waterfall to wash the babies off of the warrior dwarves, and into a locked room.

[Fel]

It's easier to remove mothers from active military service while they have a baby on them really.
This is the main reason why some people only put male dwarves in their active military too.

Dfhack recently added a tool that allows you to sort and filter the dwarves when asigning them to a squad, holding a baby being one of the filters.
You can make a squad specifically for dwarves holding babies if you don't want them to get completely out of the military, that way they can continue to train.

[AlP]

You can also reduce the baby cap to prevent births.

[Perenti]

Do the mothers use the babies as weapons?

[Fel]

They don't, but since they are carried above the breastplate they end up receiving attacks every now and then.
Babies being small and unarmored, any attack they take will end up doing a lot of damage (death, cut limbs and such).

Even if they don't take attacks, witnessing death gives them potent negative long term memories that they will think about again and again, rapidly putting them in highly stressed territory.
Babies and children can't do much that gives potent positive thoughts (can't craft or be happy at work for example), so even with a mist generator it's not easy to keep them from getting into either deep depression (dying from thirst as a result) or getting in a fight from a tantrum and killed.

[AlP]

It's theoretically possible for a baby to be picked up and used as a weapon, like that fluffy wambler that was used to kill a bronze colossus.

[Dinoman]

Training up a new warrior isn't too terribly difficult. I think the best solution overall is just to remove the mothers from active duty. You wouldn't send a dwarf with only one leg into battle (I hope) so why send a mother with an infant?

[AlP]

Originally posted by Dinoman:

You wouldn't send a dwarf with only one leg into battle (I hope)

We would, just give him a crutch.

[Fel]

After a few months walking with a crutch the dwarf will be just as quick anyway.
Losing hands is more problematic.