Residue on the udder?

[BlessedWithGoats]

My doe Cookie, due in June, had some residue on her udder this morning... it looks like something you might find if a baby had been drinking and her udder never got cleaned off... like dried milk. It was not a whole lot, and it wasn't all over her udder, just on her teats. Is this normal?
Thanks!!

 

[babsbag]

I would say no, at least nothing I have seen in my herd. There are some does that are "self milking". Bad habit and hard to break. Does she have milk already? If she is a self milking doe you need to do something as she will be milking out the colostrum and the kids need that. Self milking is pretty rare but possible so keep and eye on her.

Is she a first freshener?

 

[BlessedWithGoats]

I would say no, at least nothing I have seen in my herd. There are some does that are "self milking". Bad habit and hard to break. Does she have milk already? If she is a self milking doe you need to do something as she will be milking out the colostrum and the kids need that. Self milking is pretty rare but possible so keep and eye on her.

Is she a first freshener?

She's starting to develop her udder more... it's only recently I noticed she first started forming it. Yes, she's a first freshener. What would I do if she was self milking? It looks like it had dried on, so maybe been there for a day or two?

 

[babsbag]

Hopefully she isn't as I understand it can be tough to break them. If she doesn't have much of an udder I find it strange that she would be able to even get any milk but IDK; no first hand experience. If this is the case get one of those cones they use on dogs to stop licking. I would definitely watch that udder closely. Are you letting her raise her kids or are you pulling them to bottle raise?

 

[Ridgetop]

If she is a first freshener with an immature udder, she won't be self nursing. There is nothing there to nurse. Having said that, goats have a mind of their own, but odds are she is not self nursing if there is no milk. If she in with the buck? Maybe he is still trying to breed her and that stuff is, you know. . . . Otherwise, just wash it off and keep an eye on the udder to see if it comes back.

I think most self nursers are dairy animals who probably start when trying to relieve an over full udder. The milk squirts out and they learn to relieve themselves by nursing. I had a 4-H project kid who had a doe who self milked. She was a dairy doe and would drink her own milk. She only did it when in milk. They put the bitter tasting stuff on her teats that people used to put on kids who sucked their thumbs or bit their nails. I don't know what it was, but you could probably find something at the pharmacy. They put the cone on her when they were at a show so she would udder up before her classes. The doe was a permanent grand champion and a showmanship doe. Otherwise I would have advised selling her. If you are producing milk for sale, cheese, to raise kids, or to raise calves, etc. milk is your money product and you can't afford the waste. If she is a pet or another breed, then you will probably want to try to break her of the habit. If she is going to nurse her kids she probably won't learn to self nurse.

The cone will work too, if she is already actually self milking. It will be a big pain for you though and she may not be able to eat from the feeder. Any chance another kid is trying to nurse her? It is a big pain in the neck to try to break them if they develop a taste for the milk. If they just nurse to relieve pressure then she will stop if her kids are drinking the milk.

Let us know what happens.

 

[BlessedWithGoats]

Hopefully she isn't as I understand it can be tough to break them. If she doesn't have much of an udder I find it strange that she would be able to even get any milk but IDK; no first hand experience. If this is the case get one of those cones they use on dogs to stop licking. I would definitely watch that udder closely. Are you letting her raise her kids or are you pulling them to bottle raise?

I'm hoping to let her raise her kids on her own, unless there is a serious problem, in which case I might have to bottle feed. Latte didn't have that milky residue on her udder, just Cookie did... I'll definitely be keeping an eye on her! It looked clear tonight, and I don't think there has been any fresh... it just looked like it had dried on, and today it finally pretty much fell off. (I tried to clean some of it off the other day.) I appreciate your help!!

 

[BlessedWithGoats]

If she is a first freshener with an immature udder, she won't be self nursing. There is nothing there to nurse. Having said that, goats have a mind of their own, but odds are she is not self nursing if there is no milk. If she in with the buck? Maybe he is still trying to breed her and that stuff is, you know. . . . Otherwise, just wash it off and keep an eye on the udder to see if it comes back.

I think most self nursers are dairy animals who probably start when trying to relieve an over full udder. The milk squirts out and they learn to relieve themselves by nursing. I had a 4-H project kid who had a doe who self milked. She was a dairy doe and would drink her own milk. She only did it when in milk. They put the bitter tasting stuff on her teats that people used to put on kids who sucked their thumbs or bit their nails. I don't know what it was, but you could probably find something at the pharmacy. They put the cone on her when they were at a show so she would udder up before her classes. The doe was a permanent grand champion and a showmanship doe. Otherwise I would have advised selling her. If you are producing milk for sale, cheese, to raise kids, or to raise calves, etc. milk is your money product and you can't afford the waste. If she is a pet or another breed, then you will probably want to try to break her of the habit. If she is going to nurse her kids she probably won't learn to self nurse.

The cone will work too, if she is already actually self milking. It will be a big pain for you though and she may not be able to eat from the feeder. Any chance another kid is trying to nurse her? It is a big pain in the neck to try to break them if they develop a taste for the milk. If they just nurse to relieve pressure then she will stop if her kids are drinking the milk.

Let us know what happens.

Cookie actually is in a pen by herself currently, as I rearranged goats recently when I got the new girl. (Some of them were picking on the newbie, and she kept jumping fences... ) Hopefully Cookie won't start that bad habit of self-nursing! Sounds tough! :} I'll keep you updated! Thanks so much for your help!!

 

[BlessedWithGoats]

So far so good I think... doesn't really look like much, if any, new residue. Thanks again for all your help everyone!