Goat won't give me her milk & hunchy kid...

RedTartan · #1 03/15/10, 11:45 AM

One of my goats kidded last night. All looked well and I leave the kids on their mother, so I let them be. This morning the doe is engorged and the kids are hungry. She won't feed them. I put her on the stand to milk her out and nothing comes out!!! I'm getting little spits of milk or nothing at all. She's throwing a fit about it too. She doesn't want to be milked and won't take care of the kids.

I've brought the kids into the house and fed them colostrum from another goat. One of them looks hunchy.

I'm open to all advice. I've already called my vet, but it'll probably be a couple of hours before he can get back to me. In the meantime.... ???

jil101ca · #2 03/15/10, 11:51 AM

I'm not an expert but first thing that comes to me is her teats have wax plugs, squeeze harder.... Unless her udder is hot and hard, then she could have mastitis, someone else will have to help with that one....

RedTartan · #3 03/15/10, 11:54 AM

Her udder isn't plugged. I got a couple of good squirts out before she changed her position and the let down stopped. I think she's willfully keeping her milk from me. She's, like, clenching, or something.

Her udder is hard and shiny, but she won't let me have the milk. I've never seen anything like it.

**mygoat** · #4 03/15/10, 11:54 AM

Sometimes goats won't let down their milk easily. Try bumping the udder, like a kid would do. Feed her grain in the milkstand to distract her (and when she runs out of that, alfalfa pellets) and have someone hold or hobble her.

ozark_jewels · #5 03/15/10, 11:55 AM

Take a warm wet cloth and gently wash the ends of her teats, rubbing on the very ends to loosen any plug that might be there. After you do this, try milking her again, don't be afraid to squeeze very firmly(just don't pinch or tug).
Hopefully she just has very firm plugs.....
How does her udder feel?? Lumpy, hot, too firm, Etc??
The milk that comes out, what does it look like??
The kids may need a good butt massage with a warm wet cloth to stimulate their bowels. Mama would normally do that with her tongue while they nursed.

ozark_jewels · #6 03/15/10, 11:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RedTartan

Her udder isn't plugged. I got a couple of good squirts out before she changed her position and the let down stopped. I think she's willfully keeping her milk from me. She's, like, clenching, or something.

Her udder is hard and shiny, but she won't let me have the milk. I've never seen anything like it.

How hard?? Like firm, or hard??

Try massaging her udder and gently bumping it like kids will. The best thing would be to hold her still and see if the kids will suck while she is on the stand.

RedTartan · #7 03/15/10, 11:57 AM

Ozark,

Her milk looks normal. Her udder is hard and shiny. It doesn't feel hot, just really hard.

RedTartan · #8 03/15/10, 11:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ozark_jewels

How hard?? Like firm, or hard??

Try massaging her udder and gently bumping it like kids will. The best thing would be to hold her still and see if the kids will suck while she is on the stand.

We're posting on top of each other.

Her udder is HARD. I tried to massage it, but I'm essentially moving the skin around on top of the milk compartments.

ozark_jewels · #9 03/15/10, 12:01 PM

Normal milk....so it *shouldn't* be mastitis.......Hm. Could be a lot of edema and she is holding her milk back because her udder is too full and tender?
I have had does who hold their milk back at the start, but I could always get them to let down with massaging and lots of patience.
If she has a hard udder and very little milk it *can* be a sign of CAE.

Helena · #10 03/15/10, 12:09 PM

I have actually had to milk a goat at times while they have decided to lay down on the milk stand..hard for sure..but need to get that milk started. The warm cloth is a good idea too but if she is anything like some of my goats they can wear you down..just like children. then bottle fee the kids until she accepts you milking her or motherhood. Good Luck and let us know how you make out...

RedTartan · #11 03/15/10, 12:15 PM

My vet called back. He said I could give her a couple cc's of oxytocin to make her let down, but I don't have any of that. He's going to come out tomorrow and give me that and a few other things I need. He's also going to look at my hunchy kid if it's still hunchy. He thinks it might just have needed milk.

For today I think I'm going to take the kids out there and try to get them to nurse while she's on the stand. My instincts tell me that that's my best bet for today.

RedTartan · #12 03/15/10, 02:15 PM

Took the kids out and she gave them nothing on the milkstand. No luck. I'm going to keep going out and trying every couple of hours, but I don't know what to do apart from that.

**mygoat** · #13 03/15/10, 02:15 PM

To get the milk flowing the kids would likely be your best bet. You might end up having to hold her a few times per day.

The hard udder worries me too... is she tested for CAE?

ozark_jewels · #14 03/15/10, 03:44 PM

Has this doe kidded before or are these her first kids?
Years ago when I bought my first goats, I had a young doe who freshened for her first time with a hard udder and only a few squirts of milk. I mean, the udder was very hard and after the initial couple squirts, there was NO milk, just drips. This doe was butchered.
This was before I had even heard of CAE, but now I am sure that is what it was.