chapped teat

[duckidaho]

Hi there, We have a Saanan doe, with two kids who are milking off of her. We are also milking (although not getting a ton of milk). I wash her teats with soapy water and a drop of bleach. Dry them. Milk them. Then dip in teat dip. (iodine and glycerine-I think.) I let the teats dry as best I can before the kids go crazy and dig in.

There is a chapped mark on one of her teats. Is there anything I'm doing wrong? Are the kids chapping her or am I? Is there anything I can do? Is there anything I can rub on it to make it heal? It looks like it doesn't feel very comfortable.

Thanks, Russ

[Alice In TX/MO]

There are some who don't teat dip if the kids are still on the doe. Kid spit works as well as the dip.

[duckidaho]

I was thinking that. It just seemed so logical. Duh.

[KimM]

Don't use soap to wash her teats unless there's caked-on dirt. There are oils in the skin and the soap will dry them out terrribly. Fiasco Farm has a good udder wash recipe or just a few drops of bleach in some water would be enough. I milk a doe that has kids on her and I still dip but after 30 seconds to 1 minutes, I wipe some of it off. The chapped marks are probably teeth marks. Kids are rough.

[mygoat]

The fiasco farm recipe calls for a drop of blue dawn. Not a lot, but enough to thoroughly clean.

It sounds like kid chapping - especially if it's on the back of the teat, where their sharp teeth hit it.

[duckidaho]

Yup, that's where it is. I have been using the fiasco farm wash. Thanks for all the help.

[Eunice]

And forget the bleach. You know what it does to your hands, don't you?

[shiandpete.1]

Also if you are using one of those teat dip cups make fire it doesn't have a sharp edge on it. Before we switched to the fight bac we used one of those cups and they caused a chapped spot on the big teated girls teat.

[ozark_jewels]

Anytime I have a wound on the teat(chap spot too), I spray the spot with chlorhexdine after each milking. Really helps it heal.