# Humble Dairy Goat Owner looking for Advice



## caprinelivin (Mar 6, 2014)

I am new to dairy goats and have a few questions. My Saanen is a first freshener. Her "milk" started filling in a couple of weeks before she kidded and I noticed the udder and the teats were pretty uneven but seemed to be ok. She kidded the other day and at the advice of the lady I got her from, whom I know fairly well, I decided to let her raise her kids. I let them nurse and milked some colostrum off of her in the stall with no problems. Teats and udder still very uneven. That night I decided to milk more off of the one bigger side but was afraid to take too much so I stopped at 1 quart. We breed and raise Boer's and with the ones that will let you, you have to be careful how much you take. Anyway, she faught me getting on that stand and the whole time she was up there. Her previous owner had already had her used to the stand and I continued that. I am guessing she is acting that way b/c she is raising her kids.(?) What do I do now. I have no problem raising those kids on my own but I fear it is too late now and I do not want upset her, nor "ruin" her. I am going to try attaching some various pics just so ya'll can see her and her kids!


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## sweetgoats (Oct 18, 2007)

What a sweet face that baby has, Congratulations.

Is the baby taking to the smaller teat to nurse? I would assume so because it is easier to get to. What I have done is hold off the baby from nursing a bit and when you decide to let them nurse MAKE them nurse from the side they are not wanting to nurse from. Hold you hand over the side you don't want nursed from. It might just be that the baby is only really nursing from the one side, or go ahead and milk that side to help get it down in size.


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

How does the milk look? any heat on that side? I would milk that side out all the way...you can actually milk both sides completly, she will make plenty for the kids ..moms always hold back for their babies..
Now that she has her babies, I would let her raise them..we let all our moms raise their babies with no problems...however if they are only nursing from the one side Iwould train one to accept the other teat...in the mean time..you will need to keep it milked... 

Beautiful goat family by the way!!


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## caprinelivin (Mar 6, 2014)

sweetgoats said:


> What a sweet face that baby has, Congratulations.
> 
> Is the baby taking to the smaller teat to nurse? I would assume so because it is easier to get to. What I have done is hold off the baby from nursing a bit and when you decide to let them nurse MAKE them nurse from the side they are not wanting to nurse from. Hold you hand over the side you don't want nursed from. It might just be that the baby is only really nursing from the one side, or go ahead and milk that side to help get it down in size.


Thanks! I forgot to mention that this is two babies--twin bucklings, and they both nurse off the same side because they are having a hard time on that one bulbous side. This pic of her teats is about an hour after milking a quart! When I can get out there I hold the one teat for them so that they will nurse on it some.


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## caprinelivin (Mar 6, 2014)

happybleats said:


> How does the milk look? any heat on that side? I would milk that side out all the way...you can actually milk both sides completly, she will make plenty for the kids ..moms always hold back for their babies..
> Now that she has her babies, I would let her raise them..we let all our moms raise their babies with no problems...however if they are only nursing from the one side I would train one to accept the other teat...in the mean time..you will need to keep it milked...
> 
> Beautiful goat family by the way!!


Thanks! And hello again! The milk looks good and no heat nor hardness. As in my just posted above response to sweetgoats, the pic was after milking a quart off that side. After a few hours I went ahead and milk it way down but that one teat is just very bulbous. 
About how much to milk, thanks! I just did not want to deprive them. I figured that have her milk and if there was not enough I could leave them with her and feed them myself. I have a friend who leaves her kids with mom and milks once a day so that was what I was aiming for. With Sarah being a first time mom I wanted to leave her kids with her. I am having such a hard time with her on the stand though. I am 5 "1" and she is much bigger than me. I wondered if she would do better if I placed the stanchion where she could see them?


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

Personally I love letting mom rasie her kids..I enjoy watching the love between them and the antics of the kids..we only pull and bottle if needed...
We often bring the babies in our milking room if mom is in a panic...she sees and hears them and we get the job done..with your girl being a FF she is being trained to the table...plus cant see her babies, and if they are crying for her..she is mega stressed lol..this does not make milking fun..and her milk wont drop well either..so bring the babies in..put them in a basket or old play pen...just so she sees they are fine..We milk new or jumpy moms in a small pale and transfer milk to a larger pale, so if we loose a small bucet due to her stepping in it or dumping it..we dont freak as much lol...be sure mom has grain on the table as well..some moms dont care babies are screaming for them as long as they are eating lol...


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## caprinelivin (Mar 6, 2014)

I will try placing the babies in her view. Maybe that is why she was more willing to let me milk in the kidding stall also  And train one of them to that one side!


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## NyGoatMom (Jan 26, 2013)

caprinelivin said:


> I am new to dairy goats and have a few questions. My Saanen is a first freshener. Her "milk" started filling in a couple of weeks before she kidded and I noticed the udder and the teats were pretty uneven but seemed to be ok. She kidded the other day and at the advice of the lady I got her from, whom I know fairly well, I decided to let her raise her kids. I let them nurse and milked some colostrum off of her in the stall with no problems. Teats and udder still very uneven. That night I decided to milk more off of the one bigger side but was afraid to take too much so I stopped at 1 quart. We breed and raise Boer's and with the ones that will let you, you have to be careful how much you take. Anyway, she faught me getting on that stand and the whole time she was up there. Her previous owner had already had her used to the stand and I continued that. I am guessing she is acting that way b/c she is raising her kids.(?) What do I do now. I have no problem raising those kids on my own but I fear it is too late now and I do not want upset her, nor "ruin" her. I am going to try attaching some various pics just so ya'll can see her and her kids!


That one teat looks edemitis...what do you experts think?


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## caprinelivin (Mar 6, 2014)

I am not sure what that (edemitis) means but I am going to guess something along the lines of edema?


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## NyGoatMom (Jan 26, 2013)

yes, swollen


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## caprinelivin (Mar 6, 2014)

NyGoatMom said:


> yes, swollen


lol...thanks! Would just pregnancy stuff cause that? and perhaps it will go down after a short while?


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## lottsagoats1 (Apr 12, 2014)

I would keep milking that teat out, try to get it back to normal size. Once it gets softer, the boys will be able to eat from it more easily. When it's engorged like that, they can't get it to work.


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## caprinelivin (Mar 6, 2014)

lottsagoats1 said:


> I would keep milking that teat out, try to get it back to normal size. Once it gets softer, the boys will be able to eat from it more easily. When it's engorged like that, they can't get it to work.


Ok, that gives me a little something to put up for future use! I will say that the teat is very soft but it is just so large. It was not like that before she started really filling up. I wonder if it will go back to normal?


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Looks like it might be a blown teat. Still usable but you will need to milk out that side so the kids can use it.


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## harleybarley (Sep 15, 2014)

Agreed - milk it. To me, it looks engorged and painful. If you milk the teat down to "mouth sized" the kids might use it. 

I had one like that (single kid) and it got worse because the kid wasn't using it. Turned congested and painful on that side. I milked it out for about a week. If it fits in the mouth when they try to nurse, they learn that it's milk. If it's too big, they stick with the easy side. 

So you want to put the kids on it within an hour of milking it down to size, to train them to drink from that side. Once they use it consistently, it should stay normal size (unless it's blown). You can tape the other teat when you milk, and pull the tape after a couple hours. Or you can guide the kid to the teat, and block the other one with your hand.


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## margaret (Aug 30, 2013)

Just want to say that that kid is pretty freakin' adorable


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## caprinelivin (Mar 6, 2014)

margaret said:


> Just want to say that that kid is pretty freakin' adorable


Thanks, Margret, and they are so sweet!


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## milk and honey (Oct 31, 2010)

Congrats on the new babies... They are beautiful!


Sent from my iPhone using Goat Forum


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## milk and honey (Oct 31, 2010)

Oh ya... I was going to say that I leave kids on mom 24/7 for 2-3 weeks and then separate at night, milk mom in the morning and leave kids with her all day. Everyone's happy!


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## caprinelivin (Mar 6, 2014)

harleybarley and ksalvagno: 
Agreed. 
I am home all day so I can go out there at least three times through out the day and keep it milked down to give that teat time to heal. The teat is soft and not as red as the pic--I think it was the lighting in the barn--but still, it is large and more red than it should be.
Does that sound like a good plan?


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## caprinelivin (Mar 6, 2014)

milk and honey said:


> Oh ya... I was going to say that I leave kids on mom 24/7 for 2-3 weeks and then separate at night, milk mom in the morning and leave kids with her all day. Everyone's happy!
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Goat Forum


Thank you for the congrats!
I have a good friend that gave me one of her Oberhasli's last year and she milks the way you mentioned so that was the plan I was going to follow. I spoke to the lady I got this Saanen--Sarah, from who says that she leaves her kids on 24/7 for the first week or so and still milks b/c they produce more than the kids can take at first, and has recommended I do the same unless I feel they are not getting enough?


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

Yes, we will milk our moms as the kids nurse...mom will hopefully produce more milk with the demand...then at 2 weeks old we will put babies up at night, milk mom in the morning the morning...then give babies back all day, we will still milk moms on the table at evening feeding...


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## caprinelivin (Mar 6, 2014)

I milked a friends Saanen while she went to give a lecture and I knew they put out a lot of milk but wow...to milk while the kids are on all day!


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

lol..most of mine are saanen...they do flll a bucket..but my lamancha can keep up with them pretty well too lol


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## caprinelivin (Mar 6, 2014)

I milked Sarah out completely on the one side with a swollen teat last night then this morning, and have been watching it through the day. One of the kids has started nursing on that side on its own! Last night i milked her in the stall and after a minute or two she stood still for me! This morning however, she did not  I guess I will just keep working with her on a schedule and she will fall in , unless someone has a better suggestion? I have been trying for ten minutes to upload pics with no success...ugh...so i will try again shortly.

And I just want to thank everyone for their help, comments, suggestions, and understanding


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## caprinelivin (Mar 6, 2014)

I finally got the pics to upload! One of them is just for the pure cuteness!


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Definite cutie! You just have to keep her on a schedule. She will learn it is going to happen.


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## caprinelivin (Mar 6, 2014)

The Oberhasli I got last year wouldbe standing at the gate watching for me to come out of the door when it was timer, and usually a little early!..lol I imagine Sarah will get to that point


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## Wild Hearts Ranch (Dec 26, 2011)

caprinelivin said:


> I milked a friends Saanen while she went to give a lecture and I knew they put out a lot of milk but wow...to milk while the kids are on all day!


Kids are small at first, and don't drink as much as they will when they get bigger - around 8 weeks is when they're drinking a ton but before they start eating much solids. So the doe should be able to produce that much milk sooner, if there's enough demand. Now if she had the kids full time at that age there might not be much left over, unless she's regulating them.


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

awe..they are adorable...and her teat looks less scary :grin: You are doing a fine job!! Keep working with mom...it can take time to get them used to their job..


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## caprinelivin (Mar 6, 2014)

For the time being we moved the stanchion in the kidding barn in a stall and she gets fed there. That seems to be helping A LOT!!!  Not ideal I know but hopefully before long I can move it back to the milking area! I spoiled her rotten on that stanchion throughout the summer and from time to time up to now and she looked forward to getting on it until she had the kids...lol


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

We do tend to bend over backwards for them dont we lol....she will get used to it. Whenwe first put babies away at night when they turn 2 weeks old...Oh my the cries from both mom and kids..I hate it. But ina few days if Imlate putting the kids away..moms are yelling at me ."Hey,isnt it time for you to come get these kids!!" lol...and kids beginto rush to the pen for thier ration...


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## Hollowdweller (May 5, 2011)

Sometimes if you completely milk out and keep milking out the side they are using you can sort of starve them into using the other side. Back when I used to let the kids nurse this would work about 50% of the time.

Usually though kids prefer to nurse one side and even if the you keep the other side milked out they will be uneven. Not a big deal unless you are showing or selling a lot of breeding stock.

Always keep your bedding and stuff nice and dry though because where the kids are continually nursing that one side the orifices will remain open most of the time and the doe will have more chance of getting mastitis on that side.


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