[Onion-Creek-Oberhaslis]

Last spring we purchased a dry doe and were told that she was not becoming pregnant. Come to find out she was already pregnant. Things were going well until about six weeks before she kidded. Her udder started to fill at an alarming rate and she had the appearance of blown teats (one teat in particular was really bad). When she kidded, we watched her closely to make sure she was always nursed out so there would be no problems. We decided to give her the year off and not breed her this fall and do intensive udder therapy for the next year. When the time came for her be separated from her boys (they had been nursing for three and a half months), I was shocked and amazed to see the udder transformation. It seems that they fixed her udder for me. The question is this: Do I breed her and see how things go, or do I wait and breed her next year and do therapy this coming year? She is going on six or seven this spring and I don't know how much time I have left with her. She is a fantastic producer and super huge (I would love some doelings out of her...also some bucklings for pack wethers). Let me know your thoughts.

Sorry the pictures aren't very nice. They are just the down and dirty farm girl pics. The first three pictures are the before bucklings and the last two are the after bucklings. Both pictures are at her 12 hour fill. The before pictures were taken about four weeks prior to kidding. The after pictures were taken at her sixth month in milk with no grain.
Note on rear udder current picture: The appearance of slight unevenness is due to the angle of the leg and camera. In person they are quite even.

 

[Wild Hearts Ranch]

I would not keep any breeding stock from her, that udder will be passed on. If you like her enough I would wether any boys and put the doelings in the freezer.

 

[janeen128]

I would give her a year off then hopefully you will have 2-3 more years of breeding left on her.

 

[goathiker]

That doe looks very familiar...Does she have ear tattoos?

 

[ptgoats45]

I think her udder looked worse before because it wasn't truly full. With the kids off her udder has filled with milk and just looks nicer. Before she must have had some fluid/milk filling in the lower portion first before filling in the upper area of the udder.

Not sure what you mean by therapy... once the teats are blown there is nothing you can do and if her teats/udder is like that due to genetics you can't fix it. Udders typically get worse with age and more freshenings if they have poor attachments. I think I would go ahead and breed her, make sure you pick a buck with better foreudder attachments, higher rear udder, teat placement and smaller teat diameter.