# New doe in milk - yellow, thick milk



## little-red-goat-farm (Dec 15, 2014)

We bought two does yesterday from our local livestock auction. I was able to speak with the owner of one of them, but don't know who the other was. Of course, the doe in question is the one I don't have owner info for! She had a full bag when we brought her home yesterday evening, so I milked her some to relieve some pressure, but just fed the milk to the chickens. This morning when I milked her I noticed that it was very thick and yellowish looking. Not at all like the creamy white I'm used to seeing from my nigerian doe. It looks like colostrum to me, but she doesn't have a belly at all and she doesn't look like she is pg from the rear either. Confused :whatgoat:


----------



## kccjer (Jan 27, 2012)

Is that udder a filled udder? She doesn't have much there. She is either pregnant and just very skinny. Or she just had one and lost it.


----------



## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

It could be colostrum. The seller may have pulled the kids. I would milk her out daily for a while. Poor thing also needs some groceries. I bet you can get her healthy in no time.


----------



## ThreeHavens (Oct 20, 2011)

She could be pregnant, or have just kidded or miscarried. Poor babe.


----------



## lottsagoats1 (Apr 12, 2014)

That sure looks like colostrum to me. Sometimes a skinny goat can be pregnant and you don't see it because the kid is small. 

Or she is at the end of her lactation and they were drying her off. Sometimes the left over milk gets thick and yellowish as the body starts to absorb it.


----------



## little-red-goat-farm (Dec 15, 2014)

Kccjer - No, she isn't full. I had just milked her out before I took the pic. (Not that she was overflowing, but was def larger than in the pic) And yes, good groceries are definitely in order! She's eaten well today. She started out a bit skittish, but warmed up to us a bit already and doesn't have any problems standing in the milk stand, so I hope she'll turn out to be a good milker. I told dh this morning that I'll milk her on the same schedule I have our other Nigerian on in case her milk really does come in. When I milked her tonight I only got a couple of tablespoons. I'll see if she produces more tomorrow and if not I think I'll just focus on getting some weight on her.

Lotsagoats1 - I haven't milked a goat through a whole cycle, so that is interesting to know!

ThreeHavens - I had thought of those possibilities - we'll find out soon enough!

Thanks for all of the responses! I'll post an update when I know more


----------



## little-red-goat-farm (Dec 15, 2014)

OK - no milk this morning, so I think she's drying up. I'm going to get some weight on her and get her ready to breed later in the year. Looking forward to seeing her a bit plumper! I'm really loving this girl - she's a sweetheart!


----------



## Barnes19 (Sep 8, 2013)

From the photo, it looks to me like her ligaments are hollowing out ... not 'gone' of course, just like the area is hollowish which happens when they're pregnant? Can be anytime in the last 2 months.

If she was just starting to make a little milk, or was naturally drying off due to pregnancy, it would look like that either way ...

She really doesn't look pregnant, she's so narrow, but you never can say 100% from belly alone. Seeing that ligament area I'd keep an eye on her for further signs ... its probably nothing but just in case.


----------



## Goats Rock (Jun 20, 2011)

Looking at her horns, she isn't that old. (I have no horned goats, so not real familiar with horn growth). Yearling? What do her teeth say? Maybe she did kid as a too young mom. 
She is lucky to have you as an owner!


----------



## Dayna (Aug 16, 2012)

Id send off a pregnancy test now and again in 30 days along with disease testing just be be sure.


----------



## little-red-goat-farm (Dec 15, 2014)

Grand River - We have some horned and some not. We had an older goat that had horns similar in size to Maggie's, so I don't know if this is how they will stay or if they will continue to grow. She still has baby teeth, so she is pretty young still. I'm thinking she may not have been old enough to kid yet.

Dayna, that would be a good idea on both counts.


----------

