Hey all- in the past few weeks, my doe's left side of her udder has started producing almost three times the amount of her right side. Overall, milk production has gone up slightly so it seems that as the right side has become slightly less productive, the left side has become more so.
I made a point this summer to always start milking with her left side because it was her "problem" side; could this extra attention have caused the production difference?
There's no sign of abnormal heat or swelling, she isn't sensitive to contact, and both sides milk out to a regular sort of udder flabbiness. I always start with the strip cup and finish with anti-bac and haven't seen any red flags.
Should I be concerned?
Replies
Well, best wishes for next season.
Willow and I are both committing to get better at two-handed milking. We both started out one-handed, since we were paranoid about the doe kicking our container over (so we held the container in the non-milking hand). The doe has turned out so docile that her feet never move, at least while her grain lasts. Also I'm going to take the extra step to cut a hole in the milking stand so that a pail will rest securely.
Thanks for sharing!
Naomi- interesting insight with the one-handed technique! I was also milking using only one hand (before and after my hand-pump milker) and I don't doubt that could be part of the reason. I've since trained my lazy hand to milk as well so it will be interesting to see if next year is different.
My doe is starting to dry off a bit but she remained very lopsided through the season. Currently we get about up to 3/4 cup from her more active side and barely a quarter from her other side. There never was -and still never is- any heat or sign of discomfort. Interestingly, I recently had a goat friend tell me that one is his NDG doe's udder did the same thing and one side just dried up entirely.
I decided to stop worrying about it a while back but, like I said, it'll be interesting to see if next year is different with my improved ambidextrous milking:)
Kali,
Have you seen any changes since your observation in September?
My daughter's doe is also becoming lopsided in production. Willow milks her one teat at a time, using only her right hand (she faces her doe's side and goes for the teats from behind, reaching between the back legs). I suspect hand positioning has something to do with how efficiently one can empty the udder.
When I was a new nursing mom, I remember my midwife advised: if I ever got a sore lump (mastitis), I should position the nursing baby's chin in the direction of the lump, as that would more efficiently empty that problem area. Now as I sometimes take a turn milking for my daughter, I'm trying to observe if there's a similar effect with my hand's position.
Anyway, I'd love to hear if anything's changed for you.
My doe had only one kid, and he favored one side. She was pretty uneven when I sold her kid at 11 weeks, but now, five weeks later, she has evened out pretty well. I had to make sure I stripped her out very well at each milking, and that seemed to help a lot.
It's all about supply and demand, so yes, extra attention on one side would cause it to produce more. Other than possibly causing a permanently uneven udder, which would be a problem in the show ring, it shouldn't cause any problems. However, as you saw the one side starting to produce more, it would have been a good idea to give extra attention to the other side. You can still try doing that now to hopefully even things out a little more. That's a crazy huge difference between the two sides.