# Uneven Udder and Tight Orifice



## wookiee (Oct 26, 2009)

As Liz pointed out on this board, my doe has an uneven fill. Now that she's kidded, i can see even after one day, the kids all prefer the "good teat". There is nothing blocking the other teat, I have milked it a few squirts many times today to make sure it is not blocked. It's just a tiny stream that comes out though and it is sometimes difficult to get started. The kids try it and give up and move to the other teat.

Since she had an uneven fill prior to freshening, I am assuming this is a perennial problem. Is there anything I can do to even her up and make the milk flow freely from the smaller/tighter orifice? Anything that wouldn't hurt the doe of course.

I'm going to milk that side out tonight and do a mastitis test on it because it is tight and seems hot from a day of little use. I would love to find a way to get her back into even production, especially since she will be feeding quite a crew (5 kids!) on one side unless I can "unplug" the problem.


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

definitely need to get the kids nursing off it or you will be bottle feeding more then one!

milk it out till its even with the other side and try and get some real good long hard squirts out of it. This will loosen things up and make the teat more appealing to the kids.


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## wookiee (Oct 26, 2009)

Stacey, you are a genius! That is exactly what I did. After about 2 cups out, things really started to flow nicely. Maybe she just had too much pressure, but I was getting a really nice stream.

We then put all five on the teat, one at a time, and they all drank from it. I might get some teat tape to use for a couple hours to reinforce drinking from that teat, but all the kids seemed to think it was just great after the first few pulls!

the milk looked good, no infection, and Jolene seemed very happy to get the pressure down. We're learning!!


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

awesome  now that the kids are nursing off it you jsut need to keep an eye to make sure they keep doing so. If they start to favor the other teat again just milk out the less liked side again like you did and encourage them to eat off both sides.

Once the kids are bigger and all want to nurse at once -- they will be keeping that udder down to almost nothing in just a day or two. It doesnt take long.


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## nancy d (Oct 5, 2007)

Way to go Wookiee! :thumb:


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

Good call wookie! That is likely the reason she was uneven to begin with, if the kids couldn't get the milk flowing then they would go for the easier tap.

As Stacey said, keep an eye on her, milk her out as needed and eventually the kids will keep her even and thrive while doing so. :thumbup:


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

:thumbup: :hi5:


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