[liloasisranch]

I have two brand new kids on the ground and a momma who has done a good job so far but I noticed one of her kids was getting ignored while the other was trying to nurse and doing so successfully. When I put baby on and stood near by he went to work and there was no apparent issue but upon further examination I realize one of her teats was not releasing milk and I believe she was aware of this fact in one way or another so she was working with the kid who was the obvious superstar and the other would just have to go elsewhere. No problem milking one side but getting nothing out of the other side. Our farm hand kept putting the lil guy on her and standing by a couple times today and we dosed him with colostrum replacement and I don't mind putting him on a bottle full time but really what is up with her bag being enormous and very well situated and one side not releasing milk????

 

[goathiker]

She probably has a congested udder. First make sure that the wax plug in the canal has been released. Then see if she will milk out . If not she will need warm towels, massages, and peppermint cream rubs to get the milk to loosen up. This is very important as leaving it will result in a case of mastitis and/or a non producing side.

 

[toth boer goats]

I agree, some plugs you have to really work at it to get it out.

Does the udder feel hot on that side?

 

[liloasisranch]

Thank you all

The udder is not hot and she doesn't seem to be bothered by contact with the teat or her udder on that side. We tried milking her over and over and even tried opening the canal with a needle and got nothing but some blood. No milk or congested material of any kind. It is so strange because her udder looks amazing on both sides and every boer doe on the farm should envy her but it is failing her smallest kid. We finally pulled him tonight because he went from vigorously trying to nurse to not being able to stand. I had a friend of ours pull him off and drench him with a few ounces of colostrum because he refuses to take a bottle no matter what nipple we try, I am very afraid we will lose him. His brother is amazing and very healthy so it is so very sad.

 

[ksalvagno]

You need to get a vet to look at her udder. That is not ok.

 

[liz]

Is she a doe that has kidded before with no issues with her udder or is she a first freshener?

I ask because if she has kidded before and her udder is symmetrical it indicates that she had normal function because if the side that isn't releasing milk was not used previously, her udder would show it now with uneven development due to kids nursing one side.
If she is a FF it is entirely possible that she may have an incomplete orifice and teat canal, if there is no sign of infection present with how that half feels then you may need to have a vet check her and create a teat canal with a canula specific for this defect.
I hope the kid perks up and decides to take a bottle, you can try a little Karo on the teat to entice him as well as give a bit of energy.

 

[ThreeHavens]

I would also get a vet ... keep working on little one. Be sure he is up on selenium, that can impair sucking ability. Add something sweet to the nipple. Be persistent.

 

[Hollowdweller]

I had a doe freshened before normally but after freshening again, couldn't get any milk out one side.

I feel you need to do something quick or mastitis can set in.

With this goat I could feel some sort of growth or tumor in the teat end.

I ran a teat infusion cannula in there and I could milk her but by the next milking it was shut off. I started using the teat dialators you can buy to keep her open on that side but if you read about them they almost always lead to mastitis and they did.

She dried off on that side and I figured it was ruined even though I treated her. I dried her off for the year and was dreading fighting with that teat again but she was a great doe 19 lb milker. However because the orifice when open was super slow I considered shooting her because it was taking me 20 minutes to milk her and she was making me late for work.

However miracle of miracles when she freshened again no problem. No mastitis, the stream on that side was a little smaller but not bad.

I could still feel the obstruction but my theory is that it was some sort of a loose penducular tumor or something and it grew into the side of the teat and couldnt' swing loose and block the teat canal.

I'd go buy some teat dialator and see if you can get it open. If you can't she may be toast.