Is this normal behavior

[Goatsandsheep]

I have an 18 month old La Mancha buck. I believe he must be self nursing? One of his teat looks like it's blown or close to it. Should I be worried? Do something? But I'm not sure what to do. He was a bottle baby so it seem a little weird being that he never nurse off mom. Anyone else have a buck do this? I've never caught him doing so maybe something else I should check out. Shelly

[HappyFarmer]

Have you SEEN him nursing himself? If so kinda strange, and not normal. Well, Okay, really strange.

Have you checked him for an infection? When you say blown, do you mean swollen? I believe it's possible for a buck to get mastitis, from foreign matter in his teat, but it's not a common thing as they are not milked & subject to opening of the orifice.

I've never had a buck swell in his teats.

Sounds like an antibiotic might be in order.

HF

[Alice In TX/MO]

Need to see if you can express any fluid from the affected side. He may very well have mastitis.

Be prepared for disturbing images:
http://dairygoatinfo.com/index.php?topic=9490.0

[Goatsandsheep]

Ok I didn't know buck's could get mastitis. This is not going to be fun. He's 200lbs easy and is full rut you can smell him in the house with the right wind condition. So add nose cover to equipment needed. Thank you Shelly

[Goatsandsheep]

Just looked at the picture thanks for the link. His teat is no where near that. He just finished breeding some does so now I need to keep a close eye on them. Shelly

[julieq]

That's a new one for me. I'd definitely call my vet in to check it out.

[andabigmac]

Originally Posted by Alice In TX/MO

Need to see if you can express any fluid from the affected side. He may very well have mastitis.

Be prepared for disturbing images:
http://dairygoatinfo.com/index.php?topic=9490.0

Is it just me or does anyone else ever want a look at Alice's computer? Does she have all of these websites cataloged alphabetically or does she catalog sites by type.
Seriously. Someone asks some obscure question and zing, she's there with a website.
Maybe she just has a website generator that gives a site if you type in certain key words?!?
Maybe Alice is really a robot?!?
Whatever it is- Alice, you rock!

[Alice In TX/MO]

Thank you.

I'm a former English and Speech Communication teacher, so research is second nature to me. Coaching debate helped, too.

My mom was the "word lady" of Austin, Texas, for decades and inspired vocabulary development. Having the right word is essential for communication!

All that to say that I perform Google searches when folks need info. The hours I've spent reading about goats and following links out of curiosity developed a mental catalog of what's available on the internet, and usually I can find information again with a search or two.

There are goat links in my "Favorites", but it's really quicker to google.

Thank you for the compliment!

[CarolT]

If it looks large, there is also the possibility of mammary tumor/s. Seems to be more likley than mastitis to me? Just a thought.

[Goatsandsheep]

Update - It was milk about a cup. No lumps or heat. He stood better to be milk then most new milker. His temp normal. Got his hooves trim. So now we just keep an eye on it. Thank you for help and information. Shelly

[saanengirl]

Some dairy bucks just spontaneously produce milk. In the past I have had several Saanen bucks develop milk.

[Goatsandsheep]

Some dairy bucks just spontaneously produce milk

After talking to the breeder and my vet that's what I learned today. Kind of wish someone would have told me about this before. Shelly