# Hot Udder



## rebelshope (Sep 21, 2008)

This morning I sat down to milk Dixie and her udder was hot. The milk looked fine though. She gave a normal amount and she didn't seem to be in pain. Could it just have been because she was really in need to being milked? Or just that it is warming up outside and I never noticed how warm an udder needed to be milked is?


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## kelebek (Oct 5, 2007)

I would keep a close eye on it, and maybe even do the laundry soap mastitis test just to be sure.

Make sure she is drinking.

It could be from the warmth and over fill - but could be the starts of mastitis also -


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## rebelshope (Sep 21, 2008)

THANK!! 

I was not sure if the milk I collected this morning would work because it had been in the refrigerator so I caught her and milked her again. She was not happy, a goat that is good on the milk stand may not stand to be milked in her pen. lol, so I brought her in and put her up on the stand and go some milk, she has her kids on her too so she did not have much. I use 1/3 c milk and 1/3 warm water and a few drops of detergent- does it matter what kind of detergent? Well nothing happened, so I added a little more detergent, nothing happened again so I guess she if fine.

When I milk her in the morning I put her clean her udder, then strip, but after I am done I don't dip her teats because she goes right in with her kids. I didn't think that teat dip would be very good for her kids. Should I wipe her teats of with the wipes again when I am done before I put her kids on her?


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

I agree with Allison watch her.....I don't know anything about the detergent... sorry, but someone else should...
Even if ...she has kids on her.. it is a good practice to at least... use the wipes on her teats after milking out.


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## sparks879 (Oct 17, 2007)

I keep a box of mastitis test strips in the first aid kit.....anytime somone seems the slightest bit off i test. I would definatly watch her.
beth


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## rebelshope (Sep 21, 2008)

Thanks again all, I will have to get some test strips today. Do they have them at TSC? if not I will order them. When I milked her out the second time, she did not seem hot. It was harder to milk her, but I think just because she is not used to being milked then, and like I said, she has her kids on her. I don't know the last time they had had a drink so she could just have been on low.


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

A tight udder needing to be milked will feel warm, especially if it's the morning milking and she's been laying as opposed to up and moving around. Feeling hot will at times indicate mastitis but NOT always, she may just need to be milked out later at night so that she doesn't have a 12 hour fill....try a 10 hour fill and see if you notice a difference. I don't do anything to udders after milking when the moms are with their kids..before hand though I do use either a soapy warm cloth or baby wipes to wipe udders before I start.


As was mentioned, just watch her, if it becomes difficult to get any milk out of her or her udder gets hard, you will need to treat for mastitis.


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## sweetgoats (Oct 18, 2007)

I agree with the others. I had a doe that one side was getting rather large. I finally was able to get her and feel it. It was very warm, but after I milked her out and the babies nursed on it and kept if from filling like that she was fine.

I would bet it was because she was rather full.


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## rebelshope (Sep 21, 2008)

liz said:


> she may just need to be milked out later at night so that she doesn't have a 12 hour fill....try a 10 hour fill and see if you notice a difference.


Okay. . . Maybe I should have mentioned that I had put her kids up earlier than I had been doing. She had be at about 10 hours, but she was closer to 11, or a little more, this morning. I think we have the winning answer :wink: I'll go back to the way I was doing it.

:hug: Thanks everyone


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