one side works just fine!

silvergirl · #1 08/18/06, 09:45 PM

I have only ever had one little milking goat, so I don't know if this is unusual or not - Sadie has one teat that has a strong steady stream and milks out easily, the other teat seems thicker and has a thinner stream, but sometimes, the milk will flow more easily and other times it is really hard to milk her on that side... for some strange reason, that side is also (rather perversely) the side that produces more milk - okay, so that is another question - is it normal for one side to produce more milk than the other? Is there anything I can do to help the milk flow through that teat? The udder is not hot to the touch on that side, and the milk is not lumpy or anything - so I don't think it is a case of mastitis (as I understand the symptoms, anyway)... any advice or input?

ChickenMom · #2 08/18/06, 10:20 PM

I have a doe that one side is like that. I actually have to hold and massage the udder to get a good stream to milk her. She doesn't have any problems, it's just different. The other side is like turning on a faucet with a strong steady stream and little effort.
I guess it's normal but I'm no expert, this is my first milker.

**mygoat** · #3 08/18/06, 10:30 PM

It may be a past mastitis infection. My doe, a pygmy, can only raise one kid because one teat doesn't allow milkflow from a bad mastitis infection in one of her teats. The other works fine, but the other side of the udder just bags up. So right now she's walking around with half an udder which works fine, the other side is bagged up and back to normal size, lol. I heard something like vitamin c helps with scar tissue. I can feel the scar tissue in her teat; If I had a good livestock vet ( I don't totally trust mine) I would ask him to open the teat, and put one of those openy-thingies in the canal... but I think those only come in cow size... Can't remember.

ozark_jewels · #4 08/18/06, 10:34 PM

And sometimes for some reason, one side just has a bigger orafice than the other. Causes the milking out on that side to be slower and you need to be sure and not bruise the teat in a hurry to get the milk out. I had a two year old first freshener who freshened with one orafice bigger than the other. Don't know why.

Alice In TX/MO · #5 08/19/06, 08:12 AM

When I was breastfeeding my human children, one side produced more and nursed out more easily. Variation is normal.

mpillow · #6 08/19/06, 08:24 AM

I have Cleo who only milks on one side....the other side balloons and dries off on its own...she had trouble since first freshening...so we just live with it...I make sure to have milk in the freezer and not have her be the first to kid(lol she caught us by surprise this year). She wont let them nurse but she is very adamant about teaching them and cleaning them

We nearly killed her on advice from vet (too many meds) and we stopped all meds and kept milking on good side and she recovered on her own quite nicely.
She produces around 56oz on one side as a Nubian/alpine-toggy cross.

susanne · #7 08/19/06, 09:48 AM

i have one doe that, for some reason needs a little bit longer on one side to let the milk down. so i milk one side first and than the other side.

Idahoe · #8 08/19/06, 11:57 AM

I have a 4 yr old doe with one udder that is slightly pendulous, and rather small teats. In a big dairy operation she'd be a cull, she takes twice as long to milk. The pendulous side does have more milk, and the orifice is smaller.

In a month and a half, I've learned to milk her more quickly, and just today as I was stripping I started getting huge gushes of milk by slightly turning my hand and probably emptying an area I don't usually get. I was pleasantly surprised to note she gave a half quart more than she ever did, putting her up with the FF at over a half gallon, almost 3/4 gallon.

I wondered about a past mastitis as well, but both udders are soft without lumps or hard places. Must just be the way she's made. I too breastfed and had a "prefered" side easier for my kids to nurse from.