# Extremely small udder?



## EmmaDipstik (Sep 22, 2011)

*Extremely small udder? UPDATE!*

I have a nubian doe who kidded with triplets three weeks ago. I had to take the girl off because she was extremely week and was deprived of oxygen and had to be treated intensively for two weeks. So she only has two kids on her right now.

The thing is I don't know if they are getting enough milk. Their belly is sunken in, but they are growing like weeds.

Her udder is about the size of half a pomegranate. I've tried milking her to get her production up, but it just went down. She gets about a pound of grain mixed with 1/4 cup of BOSS per day, but only eats half of it. She is a good weight, 155 pounds, and is a good momma, but she just DOESN'T have an udder.

I don't know wether to take the kids off and bottle feed them, or just supplement them every once in a while.

Any ideas? I'm out of ideas. :shrug:


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

Try Taking the babies off at night and milk her in the Am..see how much she produces...you could also weigh the babies to be sure growth is good...how sunken are their tummies...I like to see a firm tummy that is neither sunken deep or pooching out...kind of straight looking..flat...I wouldnt supplement until you know for sure they need it..then if you do only a few oz a couple of times a day to start with...its important not to over feed them
Her udder does sound very small...but sometimes they hold more than you think : ) 
I would increase her grain ration slowly, try to get her up to at least 2 pounds twice a day....she is feeding twins so she needs it but the quality of her hay/alfalfa is important too..she should have full access..also loose minerals and baking soda free choice..


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## EmmaDipstik (Sep 22, 2011)

Okay I will try that tonight. Do I bottle feed them while their off for the night or do I let them nurse and then take them off? Their bellies are definitely sunken in.

And I milked her out completely to see what I could get and I only got about 2 oz.

Also yes she has good quality alfalfa hay and loose minerals with baking soda.


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

We pull our kids at 2 week and put them in a safe kid pen for the night...then we milk mom in the AM and she gets her kiddos the rest of the day..we introduce hay and feed to babies at this time..also making sure they have water..: ) 
we let babies have a good meal then put them up.... at three weeks I think they should be fine with hay and a tiny bit of feed..( not the sweet feed,, pellets only)
They will fuss..just make sure they are safe and out of drafts..they will be fine..our moms begin to look for us..like " hey isnt it time to get these kids put up" lol..i think they like the break..but she too will fuss the first few times...
Good luck..we will hope for a hidden treasure of milk : )


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

I would start weighing your kids daily. You need a scale that weighs in pounds and ounces or pounds and tenths of pounds. If you don't have a scale, then buy a hanging fish scale. Then you get a bag that the kids will stay in and weigh it. Then weigh the kids in the bag and subtract the bag weight.


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

How did it go this morning??


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## EmmaDipstik (Sep 22, 2011)

So I took the kids off last night and had them stay in a separate stall and then I milked Nellie this morning and still only got about 2 oz. She did eat all her grain this morning, and I ramped it up a little so I can get her to two pounds twice a day.  I don't know what else to do.

And I'll look for a hanging fish scale when I'm out today buying hay.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Where ever fishing supplies are sold, you should be able to find the scale. I paid like $20 for mine. It is digital and shows tenths of pounds.


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## EmmaDipstik (Sep 22, 2011)

Ah perfect! I will look for one when I go out in a while


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

WOW...some thing is not right...2 oz?? from a Nubian..??How does her udder feel? is it soft or hard?? A hard udder is congestion which means the milk is stuck...and some works needs to be done for her...


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## EmmaDipstik (Sep 22, 2011)

Her udder is nice and soft. I'm really confused. I'm heading out to the feed store so i'll look and see if they have anything. She also rejected one of the kids this morning. I think she did because she knows she does not have enough milk. So I've started bottle feeding him.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

You could try herbs. Dr Pollards lactating herbs may help. If a pomegranate is only the size of an orange and her udder is about half that size, than she is really drying up. If the kids are nursing on her, then that is really strange that she would dry up. Something is going on but not sure what.

Is this girl an FF?


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

it could be she just has bad genetics....I have two lamanchas who do poorly in milk production..one is a 2nd freshener..I have them up for sale as pet goats. both have small udders and both are super soft...they both have single kids on them who are doing well on what mom provided..

For the one you are bottle feeding...if you donthave goats milk, you can use whole cows milk...replacer's can cause illness in some and can be hard to digest..switch slowly so his tummy adjusts...


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## EmmaDipstik (Sep 22, 2011)

Yes she is an FF, but her dam and grandam produced over a gallon a day, and her sire was also from good milking lines. I will try massaging her udder to see if i can get her to let more milk drop, but she doesnt seem like she will.

I'm extremely confused by her. She should be producing more than she is. She's healthy, her temp is fine and her udder isn't hard. I'm debating take the other boy off her because he is really skinny too. :GAAH:


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Sometimes FF's don't have a good production year that first year and then do great afterwards. I would give her another year and see if she does better the second time around. I would also probably go ahead and pull the kids and bottle feed. Even with the best milking lines, you are going to get a goat here and there that just doesn't produce either. But like I said, I would give her another year and see if she does better.


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## EmmaDipstik (Sep 22, 2011)

Yes I love her to death so she will get another year to prove herself, and if she doesn't then she will stay and not be bred or be bred and have the babies pulled. She is a good doe and mama, and carried the triplets really well, we barely had to help.

I will pull the last kid when I get home.


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

One of my Lamanchas who has low production is on her second try...she has enough for her one kid but none to share...2 cups is all we got after 12 hours with no kid on her..her mom was top notch..we own her mom sister who does real well..as Karen said.sometimes even with the best genetics they just dont do well...Hopefully next season will be better for her...makes it hard when they also have your heart lol..I have too many of those..lol..


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## EmmaDipstik (Sep 22, 2011)

Yes it is hard, but she has to stay because she was my second goat and she's awesome. I took the kids away from her about three hours ago and she didn't even care. She isn't crying or looking for them. She just is like "Oh well my babies are gone."

Isn't that odd? She would scream at me if I even picked one up, and then suddenly I take them away and she doesn't care. I don't see how that happens. :GAAH:


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

Maybe she knows she cant feed them. Nature has a way of helping them deal with situations like this...


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## EmmaDipstik (Sep 22, 2011)

Yes thats what I thought. I feel like this.. :crazy:


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## Di (Jan 29, 2008)

Wow, that is disappointing. I'm not sure I'd breed her again until you find out how her daughter milks. No point breeding lots of goats that don't milk well. Are you sure you want to "love" a goat that doesn't produce for say....20 years?


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## EmmaDipstik (Sep 22, 2011)

GOOD NEWS!! She gave a 1/2 a quart this morning! I'm so excited! Her udder is much bigger now, and I put the kids on her and she took them back right away. I just milked her and she gave another 1/2 quart and it's only been 4 hours! I'm super excited! I think she just needed a little time with out those little monsters on her to catch up. :laugh: She is picking up production and eating all her grain!

Thank you guys for all the advice, it really helped me stay calm and figure this out!! I will post what she produces tomorrow morning. Hopefully it will be more than today!!


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

Good news...keep upping her grain a little bit at a time until she is getting enough...if you put the babies away at night and milk in the Am you want a good 12 hours between...: )


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## EmmaDipstik (Sep 22, 2011)

Yep I am still upping the grain, she's at a pound and a half 2 times a day, but I am hoping to get to 2 pounds twice a day. 

I will continue to put the babies away at night still and then milk her in the morning! Thank you for all the help!!


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