Hi, all!
I have been hand milking a FF Nigerian Dwarf (kidded in March) twice a day for a couple months. Her production started at about 1 1/2-2 cups cups per milking and has dropped to about 3/4 cup per milking (she had a parasite overload last month, which caused the decrease). I decided a couple days ago to go to once-a-day milkings. The second day I did this, I noticed her right teat was a little larger than usual and very flimsy or squishy . . . it wasn't firm and normal, and I could hardly squeeze any milk out. It's like the suction on it doesn't work anymore, if that makes sense. But what little milk did come out was normal--no discoloration. The teat is not warm, and she seems fine--no pain whatsoever when I touch and feel around.
She did used to have a lump or mass or something in the udder right above that teat ever since I started milking months ago, but since it didn't cause any problems, I didn't do anything about it. Now the lump doesn't seem to be there, and this teat issue has popped up since I stopped milking twice a day.
Is this a blown teat? And if so, is it safe to just leave it as is? Or do I need to figure out how to milk that side? If it's a blown teat, will this happen every time she kids??
Thanks!
Replies
Another thought ... it sounds like you're saying that you think one side of the udder has stopped producing. If so, what does that half of the udder look like and feel like? If it looks and feels like it has stopped producing, that would be a symptom of mastitis. A hot, hard udder is just one possible presentation of mastitis. A cold floppy udder is actually MUCH more dangerous and can kill a doe fairly quickly.
Yes, that's what is confusing because both udders look the same--same size, same feel. It's just the teats that look and feel different. Since she's a ff, her teats are quite small. The problem teat is just a little bigger now, but that's about it. I had thought of mastitis, but the udder is neither hot and hard, nor cold and clammy. So I'm just confused.
I will try milking that side again tonight and see what happens.
I'm not clear on what exactly is happening. Nothing you have said sounds like a blown teat, which is a teat that has blown up like a balloon from someone not milking often enough. Sometimes these teats look like the shape of a light bulb and sometimes like an upside down pyramid so that there is no more teat-udder delineation. The teat may also be leaking because it just can't hold the milk. You have not mentioned any physical changes that would indicate a blown teat, which actually takes a lot longer than a day to happen.
What you are saying sounds more like she has developed a milk stone or has some type of blockage, and yes, you definitely need to milk that side. This is the type of thing that can lead to mastitis.
What do you mean about "suction on it doesn't work anymore"? Are you using a machine? Or are you hand-milking? If you are using a machine, which one are you using?
Thanks for the reply.
I'm milking by hand. Sorry, my description was confusing...by the suction comment, I mean that the normal feeling of pinching and squeezing the milk out of the teat isn't there anymore on that side, even though I'm sure there is milk in there. When I pinch and squeeze, the teat is just squishy, but nothing happens (except the first couple squirts had some milk come out, but not in the same strong stream as usual).
So if it is a milk stone or something, what would be my best option? I just looked it up and read that some people stick a sterile pin or something up the teat to try to break it up... or should I try a hot compress and massage first?
Thanks so much. I'm still pretty new to milking goats, so I appreciate all the advice I can get!
You do not stick a pin in there. You can't break up a milk stone. Depending on the size, you can sometimes just get them to come out by trying harder.
There are multiple types of mastitis. Hot and hard is one. Cold and floppy is another. And yet another is subclinical, meaning you don't have any obvious symptoms, but it is there, and the only way to know is to test for it. That one can also shed intermittently, so you can wind up with false negative tests. I just helped someone with that a couple of days ago. The only reason she even tested is because the goat's milk suddenly tasted bad. It turned out her goat had staph aureus, which is highly contagious to other goats through the milking process, so if you are milking other goats, I'd be milking her last, just to be safe. I'd suggest getting a CMT (California Mastitis Test), which you can purchase at any farm supply store. It lasts forever, and you can do it every day for a few days to see what shows up.
If you are not able to get any milk out, and if that side of her udder is not big and hard, then THAT is a problem. Mastitis is just about the only reason I can think of that a goat would suddenly stop producing milk on one side.
If there was a milk stone in there blocking the exit, then that side of the udder would be big and hard because she'd still be producing milk.
Ok, thank you so much.
I'm going ahead and assuming it's mastitis, so I did some natural mastitis treatments last night and this morning (since I don't have any regular treatment on hand), and I was FINALLY able to get a good amount of milk out of both sides. Whatever is going on, at least milk is finally coming out! I'll keep an eye on it, and I'll look into getting a CMT as well.
I appreciate your time and advice!
Definitely get a CMT -- and believe the results if it's positive. A goat with mastitis can be asymptomatic or become asymptomatic but still have an infected udder. More than 10 years ago, I had a doe with mastitis and used essential oils on her udder, and the symptoms disappeared, but she was still testing positive. I naively thought the test was wrong. The next time she freshened, she got a cold floppy udder the day after kidding and was dead by evening. I had a necropsy done, and she had mastitis.