We have been down with the stomach flu for nearly a week so my goats kidded and have been taking care of their own babies for us (thank God). Normally, I would bottle feed them to take some of the milk for family use so I took the babies and seperated them at night so I could take some milk this morning. I have 2 does milking -one is doing just fine but the other I couldn't get much milk out of this morning. I would say I did not even get a quart (maybe half?) and she has 3 bucks she's been caring for. I figured I would get at least a half gallon since she was seperated from them all night. She was very upset and nervous on the milk stand and fussing about her babies so I wondered if this could effect her let down? Could she have CAE udder? Her udder still looked big after milking her but was not exceptionally hard or anything. Wouldn't those 3 little bucks be pretty scrawny after a week of nursing off a CAE udder? The little guys seem to be growing and thriving just fine.

-- Tiffani (cappello@alltel.net), April 08, 2002

Answers

From your description, not exceptionally hard, I don't think its CAE. With CAE you get a hard udder, rock hard almost with very little milk. If she wasn't producing enough milk the kids would ahve been dead I'd think by now. Its possible she didn't let her milk down, to encourage her to do so massage her udder and then hmmmmm got to think how to describe this, gently butt the udder with your hand as you hold her teat milking, like the kids do, that sometimes helps get the milk down.

Hope this helps.

-- Bernice (geminigoats@yahoo.com), April 08, 2002.

Tiffani, we had the same thing happen when our first doe kidded. I was coming in the house, cleaning up the sick kids and washing up and going back out to deliver the triplets....it was....ummm....memorable. Anyway, our second doe kidded yesterday and already has twice as much output, though it's colostrom. The first doe's udder goes much more lax than the one with lots of milk, which I think is opposite of yours. If I can ask a question of my own, would it be alright for me to feed the triplets the "in between" milk (not quite colostom not quite milk) to the triplets? The really good thing about the single being born second and to the good producer, is I have some beautiful colostrom cubes in the freezer for next year. Anyway, I'll stop rambling, and thanks in advance all you goat people who help us new ones so much! And congrats Tiffani!

-- Cara Dailey (daileyd@agalis.net), April 08, 2002.

No I really don't think the udder is very hard not any harder than I have seen on others who are just freshening. But then agian, I had never seen a CAE udder so I wasn't sure.

My little bucks are doing really well as well. And Joelle is a particularily fiesty goat. VERY difficult to milk. When she is tired of eating she simply won't tolerate being milked and I have to milk her with one hand into a small container. If my hubby wasn't so attached to her she would be going to auction. My other goats are all so compliant. This one beats all! Last year it was a real exercize in patience to milk her twice a day.

-- Tiffani (cappello@alltel.net), April 08, 2002.

ok tiffani, on the milk stand , do you have a kind of wall or siderail bar??? if yes then , get in really close to her, push your head between her hip and ribs, rather firmly against the wall/bar basicly pinning her in place, then milk, quickly, it should only take about 10 minutes or so.... when it slows down to a trickle, gently butt her udder, this is best easiest done just by pushing upward 4-5 times firmly and quickly (watch the babies to get the idea) then milk 5-6 more squirts to keep her supply up, and then poof youre done ....

-- Beth Van Stiphout (willosnake@hotmail.com), April 08, 2002.

Tiffani, both in the udder I saw in my friends and the udders folks who have emailed me on the internet have showed and talked to me about (mostly on goatworld.com 911 site) the reason they find out the doe has CAE is because their is no colostrum, the kids are dieing and the doe has what looks like a full udder. In reality it is like a rock, with NO colostrum and NO milk.

Sounds like your doe doesn't want you to have her milk! Is her udder softer looking after the kids have been nursing her? If so that is your answer.

You are correct you woulnd't have thriving kids if this doe wasn't producing!

The only thing that will happen if you feed older kids, milk that has some colostrum in it is that it will cause loose stools, the laxative effect of colostrum works! :) Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh TX (Nubians) (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), April 08, 2002.

The kids are just a week old? I would not seperate them at night yet. The doe is very bonded with them, and it sounds to me like she was too distraught over being seperated from them, to let her milk down. That's why it was still big- she could not relax, it is not that she won't give it to you, it's that she can't when she is so upset. With the kids being so young, if she is a decent milker, there should be enough milk for both you and the kids even when they are left on overnight- even though there are three of them, they are little and don't eat much. The other thing, is that if you do not milk her 2X a day, even when kids are nursing, her production will go down to just what the kids need and no more.

-- Rebekah (daniel1@itss.net), April 09, 2002.