# One teat bigger than the other



## shtoopie (Aug 4, 2013)

We have a 5 year old 1/4 Boer, 3/4 Nubian doe. One of her teats seem to be smaller than the other side and has less milk. I have not seen her 3 month old nursing wondering if she is starting to dry up or maybe it prefers one side?(baby is one of twins). Or is this something that needs to be looked at? She does not like to be milked. Kicks when her teats are touched. We are new to this and she has only been with us two days. The previous owner said she had not been milking her due to the fact that she was nursing two large kids. Not sure if something is wrong or she just does not like to be milked.


----------



## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Unfortunately, you really need to milk her a little and really feel her teats and udder to see if anything is wrong. You may even check the larger side in case that one is the problem side.


----------



## shtoopie (Aug 4, 2013)

We have milked her a few times. She doesn't like it but we are getting some milk, just less than I thought we would. The bigger side fills up quite quickly but the other side does not. They don't feel hot to touch, so I don't think it's mastitis. It just seems odd that one side has more milk.

She may also be kicking because she does not know us very well and we are inexperienced hands.


----------



## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Do you plan to milk her? How long has she only had one kid on her? What breed is she?


----------



## shtoopie (Aug 4, 2013)

Yes we plan on milking her that was our plan. We've had her for 2 days. We've milked her twice but not very well, we did not get much. Starting tomorrow morning we will be milking her twice a day to see if that makes a difference. She is 3/4 Nubian 1/4 Boer. She had twins but we bought only one of the doe kids as they were keeping the other for their daughters 4H. So she only has one right now and it is 3 months old.

Edit: only had 1 kid on her for 2 days now


----------



## Brink4 (Apr 29, 2013)

I too have a boer/Nubian cross that has one kid. Her udder has been lopsided since a week after birth. We have tried milking and fight with her to do it bc she hates us doing it. We only milk her now if it gets real lopsided bc baby nurses both sides. We check daily to see if it warm, hard, producing milk on both sides. Not sure if it helps but this is what we do.


----------



## shtoopie (Aug 4, 2013)

This is a picture of her udder and teats.


----------



## lottsagoats (Dec 10, 2012)

Milk production is a supply and demand thing. The kid, or human, milks the udder dry and th emilk is replaced to equal how much is removed.

If the kids were not emptying one side of the udder as much as the other, that side would reduce its production. 

By milking her twice a day, you might be able to bring her production up, or you might have to wait until her next lactation. Once she kids again, make sure you milk her twice a day, even with the kids on her, and even if you only get a small amount at first. At that point, you might even be surprised by her behavior. After she kids again, make sure you get the smell of her birth fluids on your hands and let her "clean" them up. Most does will then decide that you are ok to milk, since you are now her kid. By demanding more milk, her body will provide as much as she is genetically and nutirtionally able.


----------

