Hello! Thank you for taking the time to read. We have a LaMancha cross bred doe who is is 1 1/2 years old and her kid (doe), given to us by our neighbor for milking purposes. She had her kid at the end of January and we began milking somewhere between the kid's 6 & 8 week mark. Our doe is what we call a "pissy" goat, she's very stubborn and very particular. It took about a month to get here comfortable with milking once a day, then we added an evening milking. At times she would still fight us and refuse to let down.
She eats grain during milking, and sometimes branches from our land or carrots. She is not a quick milker. On a good session it takes about 20-30 minutes and we could get 4-6 cups. On average we were getting about 3-4 cups.
About a week ago we started having severe problems with her flow. The kids were milking due to my health problems and they kept saying she was acting up. At times she does act up horribly and we're lucky to get any milk. Anyway, towards the end of last week I started going down to milk her and discovered its not her acting up, something is wrong with her. Her udder is hard as a brick and her milk is just not flowing.
I get about 1/4 cup from her already full teats then nothing. Nothing flows, no matter how long I sit. I've been reading all weekend and have found nothing to help except the possibilities of Mastits or Congestion. I honestly don't believe its Mastitis. Her udder is not fever hot and she is acting totally normal except for not being able to walk correctly. We've had a heat wave here in Southern California the last couple of weeks.
She willing gets on the stand and eats and I try to milk. I've used hot compresses as I've read and I've done a lot of massaging of her udder the last few days. I'm at a total loss. None of the area feed & seeds sell the Mastitis test kit, I'm going to have to order one.
I just don't know what to do. We stopped drinking the milk in case she is sick. The milk looks normal, no blood, no stringing. None of the symptoms I've read about I am seeing. When I've massaged her I have felt lumps and there is one in her small teat that moves, I have to hold it up as I milk, if that makes sense. I've also decided to stop milking twice a day. Today will be the first day we go back to just milking in the mornings. Other than her personality and one time of switching her grain to fast we've not had any problems with her production. Any suggestions? Thank you for your time! Blessings, Amy
She eats grain during milking, and sometimes branches from our land or carrots. She is not a quick milker. On a good session it takes about 20-30 minutes and we could get 4-6 cups. On average we were getting about 3-4 cups.
About a week ago we started having severe problems with her flow. The kids were milking due to my health problems and they kept saying she was acting up. At times she does act up horribly and we're lucky to get any milk. Anyway, towards the end of last week I started going down to milk her and discovered its not her acting up, something is wrong with her. Her udder is hard as a brick and her milk is just not flowing.
I get about 1/4 cup from her already full teats then nothing. Nothing flows, no matter how long I sit. I've been reading all weekend and have found nothing to help except the possibilities of Mastits or Congestion. I honestly don't believe its Mastitis. Her udder is not fever hot and she is acting totally normal except for not being able to walk correctly. We've had a heat wave here in Southern California the last couple of weeks.
She willing gets on the stand and eats and I try to milk. I've used hot compresses as I've read and I've done a lot of massaging of her udder the last few days. I'm at a total loss. None of the area feed & seeds sell the Mastitis test kit, I'm going to have to order one.
I just don't know what to do. We stopped drinking the milk in case she is sick. The milk looks normal, no blood, no stringing. None of the symptoms I've read about I am seeing. When I've massaged her I have felt lumps and there is one in her small teat that moves, I have to hold it up as I milk, if that makes sense. I've also decided to stop milking twice a day. Today will be the first day we go back to just milking in the mornings. Other than her personality and one time of switching her grain to fast we've not had any problems with her production. Any suggestions? Thank you for your time! Blessings, Amy
