# Doe "Holding" Milk in Top of Bag



## simeo (Aug 3, 2013)

OK, we have a Min-Nubian girl who's about 6 years old. We purchased her last year. Now it's time to start milking her and very oddly (to us) it's like her teats will empty out but the rest of her bag won't "drop". 

While milking it takes a very long time for a minor drop after milking out her teats (teats will flatten and the rest of her will be engorged). After letting her off the milking stand about 15 minutes later her teats are always full enough to get an easy 10-16 more ounces from her. 

Any ideas or suggestions? Thank you.


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## canyontrailgoats (Jan 4, 2014)

Do you give her a deep udder massage right before milking? If you just started milking she may be nervous, and holding the milk up. Give her time to relax and enjoy the situation.


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## simeo (Aug 3, 2013)

canyontrailgoats said:


> Do you give her a deep udder massage right before milking? If you just started milking she may be nervous, and holding the milk up. Give her time to relax and enjoy the situation.


Well that caught me off guard... huh. :chin:

No, we don't give our girls a deep udder massage. We wipe them down with a damp washcloth, squirt a little to the side to clear the teats/mastitis check, then start milking while they eat their pellets. Near the end we bounce the udders a little for more let down and they're done.

What would a deep udder massage entail? She usually just PLOWS her head into the food and eats it before we could fill the first quart jar. With an udder massage I'd imagine she'd be long finished before we even started.


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## ciwheeles (Apr 5, 2013)

You can put a round movable rock in her bowl to see if that helps slow her down.

An udder massage typically involves taking a warm cloth and pressing it around the udder for a minute or so and then just gently rubbing and massaging all around the udder. It helps sometimes as you rub it to gently push or nudge the udder up like a kid would. As the previous post mentioned, the massage can help stimulate her to release the milk. 


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## simeo (Aug 3, 2013)

Well overnight her doeling got to her through the fence so we weren't able to milk her usual 2 quarts this morning. I did milk a little out for bottle milk for her buckling wether and I milked out as much as I could. 

What's interesting is she seems to have some hard lumps forming in the top of her udder. Possibly a clogged duct from holding milk?

I took out her doeling this morning after I had milked as much out of her as I could and placed the little one on her. Immediately everything dropped and her teats were full again. I held her so the doeling could finish her until she was super loose then I separated them again. 

This afternoon I took the wether a bottle and the doeling again didn't want anything to do with the bottle. So I then went back to Alexandria (the doe) and milked as much as I could. I spent a long time with her massaging her udders and petting her but she never dropped. So eventually I reached over the fence to grab Stormy (the doeling) and again immediately everything DROPPED. I was able to milk out easily an additional 8 ounces from her and let Stormy finish the rest. I'll guess it was about 14-16 ounces which dropped again this afternoon. Her bag became even looser. The hard lumps from this morning in the top of her bag seemed to be a little less this afternoon. 

I'm not sure if I could deal with this on a daily basis always relying on her kid for her milk to drop. I'm wondering how this evening goes. :wallbang:


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## nannysrus (Jun 21, 2014)

Put her doeling close to her when you milk her. If she's not completely relaxing her milk won't drop down. Having a kid close to her will naturally let her body release oxytocin to drop her milk down. Milk let down comes easy for some while others body's need persuasion. Warm compress also helps.


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## simeo (Aug 3, 2013)

nannysrus said:


> Put her doeling close to her when you milk her. If she's not completely relaxing her milk won't drop down. Having a kid close to her will naturally let her body release oxytocin to drop her milk down. Milk let down comes easy for some while others body's need persuasion. Warm compress also helps.


That seems to be exactly what the doctor ordered. She needed to have one of her kids 'next' to her to let down. Now it's just a battle of making sure the kid doesn't make it to the teat. I appreciate the help y'all.


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## nannysrus (Jun 21, 2014)

Your welcome. I have 3 kids that I have breastfed and I will tell you mother nature can do some crazy things! LoL the sight/touch of a baby to a mother or kid to a goat releases large amount of oxytocin and really calms and relaxes. It's really neat.


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## simeo (Aug 3, 2013)

nannysrus said:


> Your welcome. I have 3 kids that I have breastfed and I will tell you mother nature can do some crazy things! LoL the sight/touch of a baby to a mother or kid to a goat releases large amount of oxytocin and really calms and relaxes. It's really neat.


I know my wife says the same thing.


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## lottsagoats1 (Apr 12, 2014)

I cheat. If I have a doe who refuses to let down, I give her a small dose of oxytocin IM. Within minutes the milk has dropped and she can't stop it. After doing that a couple of times, my does give up and will "drop" once they get on the milk stand.


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## simeo (Aug 3, 2013)

lottsagoats1 said:


> I cheat. If I have a doe who refuses to let down, I give her a small dose of oxytocin IM. Within minutes the milk has dropped and she can't stop it. After doing that a couple of times, my does give up and will "drop" once they get on the milk stand.


Details please. CC's and how many times until you don't need to do it anymore? We tried milking her this morning and it was a lesson in futility...


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## Barnes19 (Sep 8, 2013)

For the battle with the kids over milking rights ... I have the milking stand facing a rail fence, about a metre away, and I tether the kids there while milking. 

I give them enough lead to get to smelling distance of mum, make sure they cannot be tangled (including together), and that way I can give them their preliminary lead training at the same time as milking and I can keep an eye on their safety.

Thats only once they're at least 2 weeks old though, more likely 3-4 ... I'd be concerned about them hurting themselves earlier. I also give a couple of sessions on a lead in hand first, just to give them the idea of not resisting. I don't like them pulling on their little necks, it can't be good for them.

When they're very young, I just ignore them. they clamber all over the stand, I don't let them jump in the bucket lol ... but if they want to climb my back and hang over my shoulder thats fine by me! Makes for friendly kids ...


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