Drying off

marusempai · #1 01/15/15, 08:25 AM

So I was all worried about Emerald because her udder didn't seem to be going down. Now I'm all worried because half has gone down, and half hasn't. Am I crazy or is this normal? I stopped milking a little over a week ago, and for about a month before that I was only milking once a day. I gave her a dry infusion after her last milking, however her doe kid from this year is still in with her (nowhere else to put her, I only have three goats) so her teats are taped. I have been watching VERY carefully to make sure the tape stays clean and dry. Sundae I stopped milking on the same schedule, but her udder went down almost right away - on the other hand her pregnancy is three weeks more advanced, and she was kinda drying herself off anyway.

On a side note, I am never dam raising keeper doelings again, because getting that baby to wean is a pain in the butt. It wouldn't be so hard if I had more goats though, to think of it another way.

Clovers_Clan · #2 01/15/15, 09:59 AM

A very little lopsidedness is normal, a lot is not. How soon will she be due? Six weeks is about average for fresh mammary development. And there again some lopsidedness is normal. But if there is a big difference I would suspect mastitis. Is it lumpy, tender or hot?

Are you absolutely sure the doeling is not nursing. Teat sucking, even if she's not getting anything, can still stimulate let down and production. If the doeling is used to nursing from that side exclusively that may be the culprit.

marusempai · #3 01/15/15, 10:16 AM

She's not due until early April... I dried her off a little early because Sundae is due sooner, and I didn't want to be milking one and not the other, it would be a rodeo! The difference is not dramatic visually, but it is very obvious to the touch, so maybe she is just doing her thing. No heat or lumpiness. She clearly doesn't like me touching it, but that could be because of pregnancy or fullness... it is not dramatic, she doesn't try to run me off or run away, just pulls back a little.

I'm as close to sure as is possible with goats, that she is not nursing. She still sniffs Emerald's udder occasionally, but she does not suck. She always nursed both sides from the beginning as well. I'm pretty sure if I took the tape off she would figure it out pretty fast though. Since it's early enough, do you think it would be worthwhile to untape and see what happens? I could always retape if Zelda starts nursing again, but it might not be super obvious if she does so...

marusempai · #4 01/16/15, 08:23 AM

I worry for nothing. She's still a bit uneven, but not the full side is like the empty side was yesterday, and the empty side is emptier still. She is fine.

On the other hand here's a question: she is clearly reabsorbing her milk. So do you think it would be ok to take the tape off? Because even if Zelda tries to start nursing again (which is very likely) she is dry, and her milk won't start up again until she kids, right? Or should I play it safe?

Frosted Mini's · #5 01/16/15, 02:59 PM

I would probably wait. A determined kid would probably bring her back into milk. LOL!

marusempai · #6 01/16/15, 03:03 PM

And goats are nothing if not determined, right?

How long do you think is long enough? Zelda is due first, and once she kids I can separate them, but it sure would be nice if poor Emerald could be tape free before then. Maybe I'm anthropomorphizing but it sure does look uncomfortable.

Frosted Mini's · #7 01/17/15, 06:20 PM

I'm not sure..some mom's are better about keeping kids weaned than others. Have you seen the kid try to nurse lately? You could change the tape..probably not a bad thing to do now and then. Try searching for posts by squeakymcmurdo on here that have a "bra" thing that she made for her goat to wean the kid...maybe that would work.

marusempai · #8 01/17/15, 07:14 PM

I tried making her a goat bra, and she got out of it in ten seconds flat. The baby didn't even have to help!

I'll take the tape off tomorrow and watch them for a bit maybe, we'll see what happens. Zelda was sniffing a bit today and Emerald ran her off, so that's promising. Then again, before we started this whole drying off mess there were times I could leave Emerald untaped for a couple of days and she'd keep Zelda off, but then she'd give up and I didn't get any milk from her the next day (I had been taping at night and milking in the morning).