pregnant doe-im a first timer-i need help!!

[nadams4]

The past owner got her at the end of the summer as a pet. She deals mainly in horses. She bought her bred & this doe is the only goat she has.

I was told she was pregnant and thats all i know

I am wondering the same thing too- i don't want her kids to suffer b/c she cant nurse them.

I tried milking a little bit out of the teat and yes she was uncomfortable and seemed to be in pain so i stopped.

Otherwise it doesn't seem to be causing any pain.

 

[nadams4]

Any tips for bottle feeding kids?

 

[Pinenot]

I would have a vet check her teat and tell you if she is preg. or not. I wish I could give you more info. Maybe someone else will see this post and tell you more. Until then I would try to have her checked out.

 

[ksacres]

She looks like she was allowed to nurse a single. Having a single baby is very bad for a dairy goat as they can create the lopsided udder you are seeing. Leave the teat alone, if she is pregnant, she will bag up on both sides before during or shortly after she kids, though the lopsidedness will remain. She should be able to nurse her kids, if you decide to let her. Do not try to milk out that teat, if you do, you can create a whole world of problems. Dry udders and teats are very sensitive to handling.

 

[nadams4]

Thank you so much! Should I have some store bought colostom on hand just in case?

 

[ksacres]

If it makes you feel better to have it on hand, by all means. Better to be safe than sorry, though, generally speaking, commercially prepared is never as good as what mommy can make. Also, if you have never milked a goat before and think you may want to, have someone who knows what they are doing show you how or you will have a very uncomfortable and probably dancing goat. At this time, the only reason you might want to go to a vet is to find out is she is really pregnant. Goat gestation period is 5 months, so if your friend got her at the end of summer (Aug or Sep) she's either not pregnant or due very very soon. It would be a good thing to know. If these are recent pics, and she was bred when you think she was, I would say she's not pregnant, though sometimes they can hide kids in there pretty well.

 

[helmstead]

That looks like two things to me - a blown teat & udder with mastitis. KS is right, they probably let her nurse a single without caring for the side the kid didn't nurse. Not all singles prefer one side, but a lot do.

She needs some Pen G, IMO. I'm really concerned because colostrum is thick and white, never brown. It may sometimes be a little cream colored. Sounds like something is very amiss.

If she IS bred, you are best off to bottle feed her kids when they come and hand milk her until she dries up. I personally wouldn't breed her again.

 

[kstaven]

We breed and raise dairy goats here and I agree with helmstead on this one. Just the color you describe without the pics set off lots of warning bells. Hate to say it but some one passed on a problem to you.

 

[Chatychick]

I agree with helmsted and ksacres. I would think a vet trip is due just to be safe. To me it looks like she raised 1 single and it only nursed off 1 side and also if she was bred in Aug the kids should be here and if it was middle or late Sept they will be here in the middle of Feb. I would definatly have a vet check her. The large teat worries me cause it could be alot of things. Blown teat or a bad case of mastitis. This is what I would do or you will be raising babies on a bottle if its mastitis. Also if she is due soon the other side should be getting ready for a impending birth of babies. It sure is a small side.I have babies due in March and the girls are already starting their udders. Good luck and let us know what happens.

 

[mlheran]

I second (third?) helmstead and kstaven -it sounds suspiciously like mastitis (clotted old blood would look brown) or a severely congested teat and that lady definitely dumped a problem on you (shame on her!). A vet is likely your best option at this point, GOOD LUCK!

From Storey's Guide to Raising Dairy Goats:

Mastitis
Mastitis is inflammation of the mammary gland, usually caused by an infection. Symptoms are a hot, hard, tender udder; milk may be stringy or bloody. (Routine use of a strip cup before milking will alert you to abnormal milk; see chapter 13 for details.) Mastitis may be subclinical, acute, or chronic. It's usually a relatively minor problem, but some forms, such as gangrenous, can be deadly.

Not all udder problems indicate Mastitis. Hard udders (typically just after kidding) that test negative for mastitis are referred to as congested, and usually disappear. Congested udders are best cleared up by letting the kids nurse, and massaging the teats and udder for 3 to 4 days after parturition. In mastitis, the alveola or milk ducts are actually destroyed. Since it's necessary to identify the bacteria involved, the services of a vet are required.

Mastitis can be caused by injury to the udder, poor milking practices, or by transference by the milker from one animal to another. Hand milkers should wash their hands between each animal, and udders and teats should be washed and dried before milking. Teat dips have proved of great value in controlling the disease among cattle, although the solutions must be diluted for goats.

Somatic cell counts, used to detect mastitis in cows, are not considered reliable with goats. (See page 254)

Home tests for mastitis are available from veterinary supply houses. The best-known is the California mastitis test, or CMT. However, Smith and Sherman in Goat Medicine say, "The CMT is more useful in ruling out than for diagnosing mastitis in goats. In a well-managed herd, the predictive value of a positive test is unacceptably low."

Prevention
As you might expect, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Dry, clean bedding, especially at freshening, is important. Wash and dry udders with individual towels for each animal. Use a spray bottle for the sanitizer solution, rather than a communal bucket. Milk with clean, dry hands. Milk gently, in peaceful surroundings. Avoid vigorous stripping.

More:

The first squirt from each teat should be directed into a strip cup, a cup with a sieve or a black plate for a cover. That first stream is high in bacteria that have collected in the teat orifice and it shouldn't go into your pail. In addition, the use of a strip cup will enable you to see any abnormalities in the milk, such as lumps, clots, or stringiness. This is an indication of mastitis, which demands your attention (see chapter 8.) Never use the milk from any animal that's not in perfect health.​