# Blown out udder ligament or congestion?



## RedLotusNigerians (Dec 13, 2011)

Okay, so I have been running into this same problem for the second year in a row now and it is driving. me. CRAZY. I never used to have it before, but for some reason, the past few kidding seasons on more than a few does, I've had kids decide to nurse off of just one side of the udder. Usually I'd milk out the other side and encourage them to nurse off the ignored side and they'd get the hang of it and that would be that, but not these past two years. I don't know why it happens, but so far that's just how it has been. 

I had a FF doe freshen 7 days ago with twins. She had a GORGEOUS udder, I was so proud of how it came out because she's one of my home-bred girls. Beautiful capacity, the largest on any of my FF does, lovely medial, nicely attached. For the first four days, the kids seemed to nurse off both sides. Then one morning I came out and was changing out her water when I noticed that suddenly one side had been nursed completely down and the other was engorged. So I tied her and milked it out as much as I could, then got to looking at it; it's like that one large side has taken over most of the other, I can't see the medial very much anymore and when I try to massage it, there's a large semi-soft (NOT hard, NOT hot) mass inside where her medial was. Kind of like a doe that holds back milk. Her udder looks so uneven now, it makes me want to cry. 

I keep milking it out each day and the kids keep on nursing on that ONE side. I am incredibly tempted to pull them to a bottle this weekend. In fact, I'm pretty sure I will. I want to try and fix her udder before it gets any worse, I was hoping to show her in May. 

My question becomes, could this be a blown ligament, or is it just congestion in the udder that I am feeling? I had always heard from others that you shouldn't let a doe over-fill her udder or else she'll blow a ligament, kind of like a tire blowing, only you can't repair it. 

Advice would be awesome  I'll try and get pics later to demonstrate what I mean.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

I would hope with just that short of a time, she wouldn't blow a ligament. Have you milked out that side and tasted the milk? I would start with warm compresses and massaging the udder.


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

yeah pull kids and bottle - sounds like you have an interesting problem on your hands with the constant one side issue.


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## RedLotusNigerians (Dec 13, 2011)

The milk from that side tastes fine, doesn't have an off color or anything. 

I pulled the kids and let her fill up overnight to see what I'll be dealing with. The right side is DEFINITELY larger than the left and I still feel a semi-soft mass when palpating it, it really doesn't feel any different from other does (I think it's the glands). I just wish I knew why that side was staying so large, I know she's holding back for the kids so I hope she really lets it down soon. I'll start milking the smaller side 4-5x a day to see if the demand increases it to level it out. This all just makes me so sad  

For warm compresses, what do you all use? I was thinking really hot water and a washcloth to press to the udder and then massaging it gently. I also think it could be congestion on that large side that I'm feeling, but I'm not sure because well, I haven't dealt with this before. I've always heard that mastitis is HARD and hot but it is neither of those things, plus the kids were on her. 

I'm thinking about getting some of that peppermint udder lotion from Hoegger's that supposedly helps with the let-down reflex. Anyone ever try it?


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

yes..very warm water and rags work well..place the towel over the udder and let it sit a minute then message through the towel...keep re wetting the towel and work that udder like bread dough...up and deep but gentle...I use coconut oil whipped creamy and add Vit E and peppermint Essencial oil as a balm..it works great...I add some to the udder and teats and continue to message..this is great for chapped teats as well...I have had too many cases of Congested udders this year..a sign I believe that Selenium is lacking...we began using Selenium Vit e gel...


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## RedLotusNigerians (Dec 13, 2011)

Alright, here's the pics. This is her udder when it's full, I tried to capture the best angles to show off what I'm talking about. You can see the side that's obviously the dominant one  It was NOT like this at ALL when she first freshened. It was GORGEOUS and symmetric and her medial was beautifully defined. 

So... Do y'all think it's salvageable? I'm going to milk out the smaller side 4x a day and leave the larger at just 2. I've never dealt with one side of the udder dominating the other, I've had my share of lopsided girls in the past but they were easy peasy to fix. Not so sure about this one. Legacy IS starting to let down more of her milk though, and her udder looks alright when it's empty.

On the selenium and E -- I didn't manage to get Legacy her BoSe before she kidded this time... Do you think a shot of it would help if this is congestion?


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

looks just like one side is producing more then the other especially if it looks even when fully milked out


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## ThreeHavens (Oct 20, 2011)

I think you can save it  I feel for you ... so sorry


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

Those kids are nursing that right side more... which is why you are feeling the glandular tissues inside that half more so than the smaller side 

My does raise their kids and the milking I do on a daily basis keeps me "in tune" to what a frequently nursed udder feels like, when kids eat they do it for short periods of time and very often so there is really never much milk within the udder to keep those producing mammary glands at a not so engorged level... once a doe is separated for 8-10 hours and milked every day, the glands decrease in size to make room for the capacity of milk she'll hold.
Keep milking her... the smaller side should be stimulated more to produce as much as the larger side.


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## RedLotusNigerians (Dec 13, 2011)

Thanks so much for the encouragement ladies! I am happy to say that I think her udder looked a little better today. Still not even, but now I have hope that it will get there in a bit more time. PHEW!! 

Also, all the kids transitioned to a bottle easy-peasy. Took them all 2 days to really get the hang of it and everyone is cool now. I think the future, if I'm going to pull kids, I'll aim to do it no later than 2 weeks. They were all about 10 days old... Last time I tried pulling 3 week olds and that just did not work, everyone chewed the bottle nipple and went on hunger strike and I ended up just sticking them on a doe on the milk stand.


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## lottsagoats (Dec 10, 2012)

Vitamin C is good for helping edema and such. Maybe is you give her some of that in addition to your other treatments it might help? I've had it help in the past.

Last year one of my FF Nubians freshened with a nice udder. She had twins. They did great feeding form both sides and the suddenly they switched to one side only and stayed that way for a month or so. Her udder did the same thing your girls is doing. I tried to milk her out, but she wouldn't let down for me-accused me of stealing her kids milk. 

I started giving her oxytocin before I milked each time. She let down and I got that full side milked out. Since it already had a head start on me, she was lop sided for most of her lactation, but freshened this year with an even udder. Her twins this year are sharing the udder, so it is even still. She still refuses to let me milk her out, but as long as the twins keep her even, I'm happy.


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