My pet NDG has always had a large udder since adulthood, but now it's very large. She has never been bred. What causes this, do I need to see a vet? Is there something I can do myself?
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The first thing you have to understand is that this should not be happening, which means that no one can tell you what will happen next. Maybe it will just shrink up, maybe it won't. Just keep an eye on it to make sure she doesn't get mastitis, which could happen and would probably need to be treated with antibiotics, which are available at farm supply stores and online.
You could see if she is willing to eat some sage (the herb), which is supposed to suppress lactation.
Although goats must have plenty of water to produce milk, this goat is not really producing much milk. She has only produced enough to fill up her udder, so removing water won't affect the milk she has already produced. Normally the feeling of fullness in the udder is the body's signal to stop production. If a doe kids and is not milked, she will dry up within about a week in most cases. Goats from really good milking lines are harder to dry up.
Will it just go away eventally if it's hormonal? How long do I let it go before I call a vet? Would a vet be able to do anything to help anyway? It is tight but not hard or hot. I feed orchard grass hay only, no grain. Sometimes tomatoes, carrots, etc for treats. I have a wether, they were raised together and they are 4 years old. I have cut down on the hay because they both could lose a little weight and plan on just getting grass hay after this. I only take the water out when it's cool at night, but I will leave it in now that I've heard from you.
Ditto on everything Julia said. Do NOT even think about taking away her water, especially if it is 100 degrees. Yikes! She only needs hay and pasture, so if you are giving her grain, then you should eliminate that, but otherwise starving her won't stop this process. It's hormonal. As Julia said, if her udder is soft, you don't have anything to worry about, and she isn't really uncomfortable, although I'm sure it feels weird to her to have something between her legs.
Do you have any other goats? Like maybe a wether (castrated male)? Maybe she's pregnant and the boy is not wethered after all? Just throwing out ideas...
You say her udder is warm and "soft". If she was uncomfortably full, her udder would be very tight like a balloon. I definitely would NOT take away her water-- any of it if it is that hot there! I don't know what her diet is, but all she should be getting is grass hay or browse, water, and minerals. She shouldn't be getting any grain unless she is feeding kids (or you, if you are milking her).
I have had them since they were tiny. She has never been bred or milked. Someone here with goats said to cut down on her food and water and she would dry up. Is this true? It's been about 4 days now and she's still really big. The udder is warm and soft still. I can't cut down too much on the water because it's 100 degrees here so I take it out of the stall at night.
Some say milk her, others say no because I'll have to keep it up. I don't have any idea how to milk a goat. I need help soon if the food and water thing don't work because she's really uncomfortable.
I sent 2 photos today to discussion. Thanks.
Don't milk her unless you want to keep milking her. There is a plug in the end of the teat and if you get that out, you are opening up the udder to possible infection. Granted it is possible for a dry doe (never been bred) to get mastitis, but the odds are slim as long as the teat is sealed.
Can you post a picture?
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