Help! Teats leaking at the top...

nappint · #1 05/16/08, 07:59 PM

We picked up our Dairy goats on Tuesday and tonight while milking I noticed that two of the does teats were leaking at the top near the udder. One was really bad and had what looked like little pooched out spots where the milk was coming from

I did not notice any leaking the last couple of days. I looked closely for any scrapes, punctures or other signs of wound and found nothing - what on earth could have caused this? Is there a risk of infection? What should I be doing?

Thanks in advance.

tmfinley · #2 05/16/08, 09:22 PM

Let me start by saying I am no Expert. I had a doe with a cut on her teat that was leaking milk though, and I was told to superglue it shut. There is a huge risk of infection with an opening into the udder. I would figure out what caused it and close it up if it were me.

Hope someone with more experience can help you too.

Tiffany

LomahAcres · #3 05/16/08, 10:37 PM

I'm curious, does she have a pink skinned udder?

We had a goat once who had very thin skin on her udder, so that when she was full of milk or at milking, the milk would 'leak' out through the pores in her skin. Looked like what you described. Probably not a trait you want to keep in your breeding program, but our goat was just a family milker and served her purpose.

She may have a greater chance of getting mastits from this, but ours never got it.

nappint · #4 05/16/08, 11:05 PM

Thanks for your replies

Tiffany - At first I thought it was an injury but I cannot find any sort of "hole" and I looked really close (stuck my face right up on her teat) if I could find a spot I would definitely try gluing it or using that paint on bandage stuff. I did spray FightBac all the way up her teat so hopefully that will help seal it until I figure out what to do.

LomahAcres - She has black skin but it's very soft - her half sister is the other one that had a very small spot of leaking also - so maybe it is genetic instead of an injury. I can't find anything on the internet so I'll just wait until the morning and if it gets any worse I'll take them to the vet on Monday

Thanks again!

jBlaze · #5 05/16/08, 11:06 PM

It is normal. I may have heard that it is genetic, but not sure. Some just leak a little most don't leak at all, or not enough to notice, and some evidently leak a lot. It is generally at the top. One of my lamancha does leaked quite a bit for the first three weeks after she freshened, and only seldom leaks now. She is black with a dark udder, kidded 2/21.