Hi, My best doe, who won best udder in show last year, has one teat with a small orifice this year. She was amazing to milk, the orifices were so great last year that I milked her in 3 minutes. This year, however, one of the teats has a very small stream that the kids avoid so I have to do it by hand and it takes 40 minutes. She kidded March 9th and it has been the same since. I have been testing for mastitis twice a day and no sign of infection. I am milking the same way this year. The only difference is that both teats became more bulbous than last year. I am wonder if new tissue grew in the orifice during the development. She is so beautiful, I am sad if she becomes impossible to milk on one side. Has anyone tried to enlarge the orifice before? Cris
It sounds like the keritin plug isn't clearing completely or she has a small calcium plug. In both cases you want to keep milking her with some force. If you hold some pressure and wipe it with an alcohol soaked pad that will sometimes help disolve a plug. It could also be congestion constricting the teat. This can feel like a little donut at the top of the teat. They rarely freshen with good orifices and change for no reason.
One time I had a doe with a very clogged teat. I ended up getting some warm water in a cup and holding her teat in it. The plug came out pretty easy and she didn't have any problems afterwards.
The vet came yesterday and explained that sometimes scar tissue forms around the street canal. Also little threads of tissue called spiders form across the canal, blocking it. He recommended re-opening the canal with a needle or inflator. We started with a 16 g needle. I get a better stream but not great. Then the canal closes again. The next step is inserting a cannula (inflator). I could not insert it, the orifice was too tight. I will try with a thicker needle. All of this needs to be done in an extremely sterilized condition. If the thicker needle does not work, he will bring a special tool to cut the scar off. This requires great experience so I will not be doing it myself.
I have a doe right now that kidded 14 hours ago and I cannot get the teat to give me a drop. She doesn't like to be touched and it is gonna be a chore for me to work on her at all. I am discouraged and pray when my mom gets here to help me that it is something small and not anything like you are experiencing. I hope everything works out for you! I am also getting my first nubian girls in a month and am so excited to breed them to get some milk
Yup! Happens in cattle too! The procedure is very quick. Be careful with inserting the steel teat cannulas (or plastic). Make sure they are sterile as well as the teat orifice. The cannulas have a tendency to introduce bacteria and cause a round of mastitis. I'm glad he taught you about spiders! Not many people know that blockages of tissue are called this! Lol people look at me so strange sometimes if I mention. Make sure to use a good teat dip, spray, or wash at the end also as the muscles don't tighten up right away either. Praise for this vet!!
