# Thick colostrum only on one side of udder...confused...



## GoatLady129 (Jan 2, 2014)

Hi, 
My doe freshened 4 days ago with twins, the buckling was stillborn and we lost the little doeling to what we think was floppy kid syndrome last evening. The doeling nursed on her own the first two days, then I began milking to bottle feed colostrum to her because she became so weak. Yesterday I noticed one side was more difficult to milk than the other. It seemed like the colostrum was thicker on that side. This morning when I milked her, again, one side was free flowing and yielded a good amount..I tried to milk her out completely. Then I moved to the other teat and it was much more difficult. This evening it was even thicker. The teat feels hard and I massaged it gently before I tried and tried until absolutely nothing came out. She doesn't have a fever, the teat is not warm, she is eating and behaving normally. Could this be the beginnings of mastitis? Should I get her on antibiotics? Or is this something that happens normally? This is my first freshening/milking experience and I want to make sure she is good. I know goats can go downhill quickly once any sort of infection sets in, but I prefer to do everything possible to avoid meds and antibiotics. 

Thank you!
Aly


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## AvyNatFarm (Oct 29, 2013)

I'm not an expert, but it does sound like something not right is going on with that side of her udder. So sorry you are having a tough go of it your first freshening. There are lots of really smart folks on here that can give you advice on what to do. I hope they get on soon. You may want to move your post to Health and Wellness forum because it gets more traffic.


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## Struyksrus (Dec 30, 2013)

What did you breed to get? Babies or milk? 
When I had goats I had them just for my own milk so I didn't need a lot. 
I bought a freshly kidded goat that only milked on one side because of problems with recurring mastitis on the other side. The bad sideboard been dry for years. After a few weeks if way to much milk I bought a baby goat. I rubbed it all over with a cloth soaked with the does milk.
Even though she had been separate from her own babies as soon as they were born and had been hand milked for a month she adopted the baby because it smelled like her. I milked her twice a day and any milk I didn't need myself I fed to the kid. 
After a little while I found her bad side full of milk! Turns out without being told about it I had stumbled across about old trick to cure mastitis. A hungry baby will strip and massage an udder better then any human can.


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## GoatLady129 (Jan 2, 2014)

This is a great idea. We had thought of it...her good side now seems to be following suit. I can hardly get any milk out of either. I'm not sure what's going on. We are trying to grow our herd and also trying to milk for our family of 4 and so far this is proving to be extremely difficult. We may try this method as a last resort...until then I'll continue to massage, warm compress, and milk. Part of me thinks she just may not be drinking enough fluids to keep up production...and I'm not sure what I can do about that besides have fresh water for her constantly, which I'm already doing.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Put a little molasses or ACV in the water. You could also try a Redmond or Himalayan salt block next to her water.

Massaging and milking multiple times per day. Rub peppermint oil or bag balm on udder.


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

is her udder tight or hard feeling?


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## GoatLady129 (Jan 2, 2014)

Her udder is hard in some spots, which I am able to soften up with warm compress and massage each time I milk, but her production is dropping. Someone suggested she may be in heat...could this cause a drop in production? Her kids were small. The doeling that survived the birth was only about 2lbs at 2 days old, so maybe I am over-estimating the amount she should be yielding at this point. However one ounce ALL DAY is low no matter how you slice it.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

How often are you milking? Have you done s mastitis test?


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