Swollen udder?

[cleo]

We have two female goats, one of which has had an enlarged udder for months. It doesn't seem to bother her 99% of the time, but sometimes she will be more vocal when it looks more swollen. Her friend's udder is not as large, and she doesn't seem to have a problem with it. We don't really know much about goat ailments; can anyone help? Thanks!

 

[dkluzier]

Has she been bred?

 

[ksalvagno]

Are they milking or nursing kids? Is the udder hot to the touch? Have you taken a temp on the doe? Is she overweight? Do you have a vet or a very experienced goat farmer that could actually look at it? Sometimes it is hard to diagnose things over the computer.

 

[cleo]

No, she has not been bred. From what we can tell, she is not overweight. Currently, there's no one that we could ask to look at her. She is (and always has been) very touchy about her stomach and udder. She doesn't really like us touching her in general unless she wants to be pet, or we have treats. Her udder is not hot to the touch. I'll try to get some pictures up soon.

 

[aggieterpkatie]

It's been this way for months? :/

 

[cleo]

Here are the pictures.

Could it be that she's a milking breed? My mom did some reading, and she said that she saw a breed that was a "milking breed" that had a larger udder.
It really doesn't seem to bother her most of the time. Is it possible that, at those times when she's vocal, she is just in heat?

 

[ksalvagno]

Do you know what breed of goat she is? It is hard to tell from the pictures. The udder doesn't look bad but without actually touching it, really can't tell. If she is a dairy breed than that would probably be normal. Many goats don't necessarily like their udders touched so it may not be a pain problem when you are touching it. Is there a cycle to when she is louder? She may be cycling and louder during her heat times.

Since this has been going on for a long time, I'm thinking that there may not be a problem and may just be how her udder is but I'm no expert with goat udders.

As long as the udder isn't hot to the touch and the goat doesn't have a temp, she is probably alright.

 

[cmjust0]

Put her in a stanchion or nose-tie her to a tree, get up under there, and feel around.. If the udder's hard to the touch or hot, that's not a good sign. If the udder's pliable and not hot, she's probably fine.

Bear in mind that when you say swollen, goat people would pretty much automatically think edema.. Edema is that 'hard/hot' condition, and indicates infection.

Also...when you say "she's not been bred," do you mean she's never been bred, or just that she's not pregnant right now?

 

[Roll farms]

You're sure she's not bred...?

(Just asking, she could be uddering up to kid...) You say it's been months, and I have some that udder up a good 2 mos. before their babies arrive.

Otherwise, I'd say she's just 'precocious'...when they come into milk w/out being bred. As long as she doesn't develop mastitis, it shouldn't be a problem.

 

[cleo]

No, she has never been bred. Thanks for all the help! She doesn't have any heat or hardness in it. We may try to check her again just to be sure. Thanks again!