my first baby is an only kid, and she does not seem to be able to completely empty mom's udder on both sides. she prefers one side to the other. the result is a lopsided udder, and i wonder if it is ok to milk out the other side to keep her even and productive. she will let me do this, and the kid is a week and a half old. i have tried to get her to allow one of our newer born kids to nurse, but she finds that prospect to be very disturbing. any hints about how to persuade her to give that a try? of course as a goat, she will not want to do anything that we want her to do, but i know they can be bribed.....

thanks for all of your well wishes...john

-- john (farmrjon@juno.com), August 24, 2000

Answers

YES milk her out, maybe of an evening, and use the milk anyway you see fit; the colostrum should be gone now. Mama goats usually make more than enough for one kid, and I have seen too many lop-sided udders; a kid having a preference for one side over another is quite common. As for fostering other kids on mama....I don't have a clue. I do know that it is hard for little ones to suck on too big teats, and if one side is engorged with milk, it would be hard for them to get any good out of it....and they would choose the smaller side, too. Too much milk on the too-full side is also an invitation to mastitis. And maybe milking it out will make it smaller and easier to grab ahold of for a quick snack, and encourage more even nursing.

-- Leann Banta (thelionandlamb@hotmail.com), August 24, 2000.

Milk her out, twice a day, just as you would if she didn't have a kid. Don't worry, she will make plenty of milk for the kid between milkings, the kid will not starve or go hungry. If you don't want the milk, or you have another kid that needs it, you can graft it onto her. give her grain in the milking stand, and put the kid onto her to nurse. You can put both kids on so she will know one of them is her own. At first, she will kick at the new kid. Just hold her back leg so she can't kick at the kid. After several days of this, she will probably let the kid nurse while she is on the stand, but not any other time. You should milk her out thoroughly as soon as you can, and start grafting the kid onto her the next milking, if you are going to do that.

-- Rebekah (daniel1@transport.com), August 24, 2000.

We had a doe who had two kids that died soon after birth and a neighbor who had one that had 4 kids the same day! We took two of these kids~ dusted them with baby powder, dusted her under the chin with the same powder and held her for them to nurse. From that moment on She was the greatest "mom"! No one could tell that they weren't hers. I am sure it will not work for every goat but it might be worth a try!

My father-in-law also did this trick with his pigs. If one had too many and another only had a few. Over his 40+ years raising pigs~he only had 1 hog that would not take someone elses pigs. Some were easier than others but it did work.

-- Debbie T in N.C. (rdtyner@mindspring.com), August 24, 2000.

I have a doe with twins, both perfer one side...the doe looks kind of funny, anyway, I have been milking her twice a day since the kids were a week old. Enjoy the milk, and when you have more then you need, make cheese!

-- Ima Gardener (ima@goatworld.zzn.com), August 25, 2000.