Goat's udder growing, not pregnant

[AltonaAcres]

My Nigerian Dwarf Doe (2 years old) was unable to get pregnant last fall. 3 days ago, I noticed the area which would be her udder if it was full was looking a little baggy. Today, it is even bigger, and her teats look big too. I asked someone I know who is a goat expert, and she said my goat has percosious udder. I don't know how to spell it, but it's pronounced per-CO-shus. LOL. Anyways, she said it is just the hormones telling the body to produce milk, even when the animal is not pregnant. She also said I can either just let it be, or start milking her. I'm not sure what to do. Should I milk, should I not? Thanks in advance!!

 

[CaliFarmsAR]

I would milk her.

 

[ButtonquailGirl14]

Milk her!

 

[AltonaAcres]

Ok! do I need to wait until her udder is more full? It's not that big currently

 

[ButtonquailGirl14]

Ok! do I need to wait until her udder is more full? It's not that big currently

I don't believe so, but I'm not really sure honestly.

 

[CaliFarmsAR]

Just what till she needs to be milked.

 

[Mybackyardpeepers]

If you plan on using the milk then you can milk her. My daughter's doe did this and she had to get a vet involved, he advised her NOT to milk her so she would dry up. She didn't and he had to give her a shot to dry her up. Just my daughter's experience with a false pregnancy.

 

[cassie]

A precocious milker is not a precocious milker because of a false pregnancy. I have seen several bucks that produced milk and in fact I owned one. I knew of a Saanan doe that gave a gallon of milk each day for years and she had never been bred. She had never even been exposed to a buck. If you want the milk, go ahead and milk the doe. If you don't, don't. If the udder gets full you will have to milk her out to prevent infection. I had to periodically milk my buck for that reason.

 

[AltonaAcres]

My goat is not having a false pregnancy. She was due over 3 months ago. I can't believe bucks can produce milk!! Does it taste normal? My main question is, do I have to wait until her udder is full (normal sized), or can I start now when it's not full yet?

 

[cassie]

My goat is not having a false pregnancy. She was due over 3 months ago. I can't believe bucks can produce milk!! Does it taste normal? My main question is, do I have to wait until her udder is full (normal sized), or can I start now when it's not full yet?

You can start milking your doe whenever you want. Regular milking will bring her into production. I have had does that aborted and managed to bring them into full production. I just started milking them. The first day I got a squirt or two, the next day I got a few more squirts, and the amount increased every day until they were milking normally.

Milking bucks are not very common but they are not exactly rare either. As a matter of fact I have personally seen more milking bucks than I have seen precocious milking does. I am not saying milking bucks are more common than precocious does. I am just saying that personally I have seen more of them. You will see them most often in high milk producing lines. The condition can cause a couple issues for the buck. If the buck's udder is not milked when full, the udder can become infected. I have known of cases where the buck contracted mastitis and died. The other issue is that the udder, being right in front of the scrotum, can keep the scrotum too warm and impair fertility.

On a whim I sent milk from my buck off to the lab with the rest of the milk samples. It came back 3.1% butterfat and CMT negative. I tasted it and it had normal flavor, not bucky or off at all. By now I have probably told you more about the subject than you ever wanted to know. Bad habit of mine.