I've noticed in the past 2 days that my goat's teats are very rough, and and wonder if I need to put lanolin or something else on them? They were much smoother when I first milked her 10 days ago or so. Thanks,elizabeth

-- Elizabeth in e tx (kimprice@peoplescom.net), February 21, 2001

Answers

Bag balm is wonderful stuff. You should be using a teat dip(unless you are letting the kids nurse) to help seal the teat as an aid to prevent mastitis. Most teat dips have a conditioner in them to help keep the udder and teats nice and soft/smooth. Not all teat dips are created equal though....ask!

-- Amanda in Mo (aseley@townsqr.com), February 21, 2001.

Before using Bag Balm you might try a light application of olive oil for a few days.Sounds like your doe has chapped teats.While I realize that Bag Balm and other preperations have their place,in my opinion they cause a large amount of dirt,manure,straw etc to cling to the udder.Whatever you decide to use,massage it in,then wipe off as much as you can.

-- JT (gone2seed@hotmail.com), February 21, 2001.

Bag balm is what I would use also, but I would wonder why her teats are rough. Does she have buck kids that are being very hard on her udder? Is her pen clean and dry, or is it damp or wet, which would make her teats sore and rough? If you have been washing the udder before milking, do you dry the udder thoroghly afterward? It's not normal for them to be rough, and the cause should be found and remedied.

-- Rebekah (daniel1@itss.net), February 22, 2001.

I am also not a fan of bag balm the only use here is for does with way to much rear udder, who pee on it causing urine scald, and also for putting on rear udders so the lochia that comes out after kidding doesn't stick. My does who have bucks nursing have much rougher teats than my does who are hand milked. If you are hand milking her, make sure if you are washing her udder before you milk that you dry it good, and don't milk with wet hands. I simply use wetones. If you are using a post teat dip (I simply use a horse spray bottle, about a quart, filled with water and about 2 tablespoons of bleach in it, during the winter I add a small amount of Avon Skin so soft to it, during the summer I don't need anything) I spray each teat throughly, my 4H kids counted 8 to 10 squirts per teat :) but once again make sure your teat dip isn't really strong, and if you let the girls stay up on the milk stand to finish their meal, and you don't milk to slowly, a post teat dip isn't all that important. Though I do use them.

Imagine nursing your own children, just twice a day, and after nursing gobbing something like Vaseline on your nipples, then going about the woods and pasture a-natural, yick! What ever you do choose to use should be just of the smallest amount, and I really like the olive oil idea, for what it's worth :) Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh TX (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), February 22, 2001.

Dont know if this would work for goats but when I was nursing my son one of my books said for chapped nipples use a drop of milk, only had a problem once and It worked for me.

-- kathy h (ckhart55@earthlink.net), February 22, 2001.