[OutdoorDreamer]

My yearling Alpine is a first freshener and has very small teats. Her udder seems to be full all the time and she is raising her twin kids. The kids are definatley getting enough to eat because their bellies are always full when I check on them. Her udder capacity seems great for a FF but those teats are so small and short.
She kidded Wednesday so it hasn't been that long. Will the babies nursing on her help her teats to get larger with time? I was planning on separating the kids at night once they reach two weeks old, and milking in the morning but I don't even know if its going to be possible with these teats. I guess I am spoiled because my Nubian 2nd freshener has nice large teats that are so easy to work with. I'll get a pic of the Alpine's udder tomorrow.

 

[happybleats]

they usually do increase in time...what helps is once you milk her out a bit to loosen the udder..grab up higher..catching some udder in the hand to milk...its kinder to the hands : )

 

[WarPony]

My Togg girls were so tiny as first fresheners that a lady with Nigerians said they seemed small even to her. And she was serious. I had to watch videos of people milking tiny Nigerians to figure out how to get any milk out of the one doe. I ended up using a Henry milker for most of the milking, just getting her stripped out by hand. Letting her kids nurse on her did help, but she still has micro-teats. I did like happybleats suggests, once some of the pressure it off i reposition my hands to get a bit of udder along with the teat. I make sure not to grab udder tissue but kind of pushing up with my hand and getting skin but pushing the fuller actual udder tissue out of my hand so i don't hurt her.

After milking a doe with huge massive sausage teats, though, I almost think I would rather have tiny micro-teats than huge mega-teats.

 

[fibromom]

Our ("Gator's" as well as mine) first time milking.
She has tiny teats but I seem to be able to work them (tho sometimes I'm squirting my hand down my the palm... grrrr)... IF THE MILK WILL LET DOWN. She's got a nice big bag but I'm only getting 2 oz or less and milking, even on the great "fibrofriendly" stand my dh made me (that she and her friends will FINALLY run to!!!) I need to hobble her, which I've tried with some soft rags and stuff... uh... what a joke. Will try to make something different with velcro for easy attachment. ($$ is an issue tho I've seen some nice ones online.)

How do I get the milk to let down and stay down? Used to have no problem but, since we started using the stand (about 4ft off the ground), she seems to panic once the grain is gone (in about 2 minutes) and then no more let down. She'll calm down if I pat her with one hand while trying to milk with my other hand (and continually re-position the pan so she can't kick it!!!) THIS COULD BE SO FUN... but so far, not much.

HELP!

 

[sandraH]

My Nigerian has small teats but to me a joy to milk. Like the other person said , push your hang up into the udder then squeeze off the teat with thumb and pointing finger then squeeze teat with next two. That should work. Took me a while to learn . Its fast now.

 

[lottsagoats]

I have a Lamancha doe like that. I do the udder skin and teat way of milking, I also grease my hands with skin lotion that helps make the milking easier.

I kept the kids on this doe for 2 kiddings, her teats never grew. I even kept pulling on them trying to stretch them. Nope, tiny titties for life.

 

[TeriA]

I feel your pain and was so upset about my newest doe. A FF Saanen with super tiny teats. I have decided to just let her dry up and even with that pressure they are not stretching.

To keep her still I had to feed her lots of grain and between the milk spraying hitting my palm and my hands/ fingers cramping I was not getting much milk at all. She was a mercy buy that has already cost me a lot, so I am ready to cut my losses. I do not want to purchase the kind of milker that would work. I could not get the EZ one to work and then it's lots of grain eaten and little milk. Sad. She's a sweet bottle baby, but not a good milker!

ON a positive note: the grabbing the teat higher up on the utter worked and working with her when she was not engorged did help. Did not try lotion, but that probably would help! Good luck!!!

 

[OutdoorDreamer]

Update: over a week fresh and her teats do look like they are getting wider. Lets see if they get longer. Hopefully with more time.
I tried to milk her a little to relieve some pressure on her udder, and tried the trick mentioned here and it worked but then she seemed to hold her milk back. I think once the kids get a little more feisty with their nursing she won't be so full all the time. That's how it was with my Nubian at least. Now that the kids are a month old she is never full - lol! When they "attack" my boyfriend and I call them the udder monsters!

 

[AmyBoogie]

We have a FF (Alpine/Togg) that has teeny teets. I don't they'll be unworkable though. They look to me to be very similar to Nigerians. She's been feeding her hungry HUNGRY babe who I will be surprised if she doesn't outgrow her mom. They're new and have she's never been milked so I'm letting them settle in a few days before starting in milking.