# Ju-Ju's udder.......



## Theykeepmebusy (Mar 24, 2011)

So....Ju-Ju has a huge udder, she's a Boer, her udder is huge, she kid 2 1/2 months ago and has been a great mom. Well her udder just keeps growing, it's to where when she's full, she walks very funny. I decided to milk her out today, she did wonderful, for a goat that doesn't like people, she was great on the milk stand, her udder was so full, I could not fit the pail under her and had to use an 8 oz measuring cup. I got well over 2 liters of milk from her.  I have questions and don't know where to start. 
I guess about her udder attachment, I think it's bad, but I'm not sure, so here's the pic of after I milked her. Everyone go right ahead and give all the good and bad of her udder, if I where to use her as a milker, maybe an explanation/opinions as to why it's so big and full of milk. It's been this way since the day she kid, but I let her be, I noticed she is trying to wean her kids and since, it's doubled in size and she walks funnier. So shoot away!!!! What would you do if she was your goat?


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## 20kidsonhill (Mar 24, 2011)

Yup, that is typical for a boer goat, poor udder attachment, and it will just get worse with age, until it is hanging on the ground, I talked to one women not that long ago that said she harnased her goats teats up off the ground with one of her bras, because the goat was stepping on the teats.   Had to laugh.   

Unless you want to milk her and need the milk, I would wean her and let her dry up, but only give her rough hay, no grain or good hay or alfalfa. 

At this point I would consider culling her from the herd, she will throw that trait to her daughters, but then again if she was producing me good quality show whethers I would just stop papering her offspring and sell the doelings as whether producing does and the bucklilngs as whethers.


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## St0rmyM00n (Mar 24, 2011)

MMM Goat cheese .. I saw some really easy to do goat cheese videos on youtube you might could check that out if you like cheese.


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## Theykeepmebusy (Mar 24, 2011)

Poor Boers  , it looked great until she kid. I don't think I could cull her, do like the whethers idea, she does give some nice looking kids and I was already planning to whether her boys,then sell as pet/meat. Thanks.   I will check out the youtube vids. Ty, I am interested in making cheese, I just got into dairy goats, didn't even think about looking on youtube.  Thanks!!!!!


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## poorboys (Mar 24, 2011)

I'D BE AFRAID THAT SHE WOULD BE PRONE TO MASTIS, WITH THEM HANGING SO LOW, POOR GIRL!!!!!


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## SDGsoap&dairy (Mar 24, 2011)

20kidsonhill said:
			
		

> Yup, that is typical for a boer goat


Why?!  I had no idea this was the case until someone posted a thread about it recently.  I don't understand why in an industry where dam raising is the norm and bottle feeding the exception folks would neglect breeding, at the very least, functional udders.

Shannoniganshens, with weak attachment like that I'd want to dry her off as quickly as possible after each kidding.  The longer her lactations the longer you'd be risking injury or mastitis.  Milking her would obviously prolong her lactation.  But, keep in mind this is coming from someone with dairy goats.  Folks who are used to udders like that might not be stressing every day about impending doom the way I would be!   But seriously, impending doom.


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## Theykeepmebusy (Mar 24, 2011)

I milked her because I was afraid of mastitis, I'm constantly watching it, this morning when I was watching her walk around, I told DH something has to be done or she's going to die from it.  I am now wondering if this really was her first kidding or not, while preggers, it looked ok. After talking it over with DH, we're going to keep her,dry her off and just let her live her life, no more kids. She was my rescue goat, her and a bull calf were in a small dog kennel together, she was already preggers, it wouldn't be fair to cull her or let her live in "misery" if this is what happens every time she kids. So she will just be apart of our herd and a pet.Thanks everyone for your info.


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## Theykeepmebusy (Mar 24, 2011)

How do I go about drying her off? When she is full, she can't walk right, I've got one of her boys to go next week after I have them cut. I would love some insight, would like to go about it with least problems possible. Thanks again.


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## Roll farms (Mar 24, 2011)

Oh my DANG....I've been raising boers for 10 years and I've never seen one do that.  
Poor girl...she's a 1st timer???


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## 20kidsonhill (Mar 24, 2011)

n.smithurmond said:
			
		

> 20kidsonhill said:
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I will have to say I have never seen one with that poor an udder attachment, My guess is that she is a red boer and everyone wants them, so people are over looking confirmation issues and obviously udder attachment issues, If you are going to buy a paint or red boer, be prepared to dish out a ton of money, and really check the bloodlines, because there is some really poor qualilty stuff out there right now. 

I have pretty much decided instead of having to weed through all the crappie paint boers out there I will just stick with the traditional boer.

I was also wondering how old she is?


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## 20kidsonhill (Mar 24, 2011)

Shannoniganshens said:
			
		

> How do I go about drying her off? When she is full, she can't walk right, I've got one of her boys to go next week after I have them cut. I would love some insight, would like to go about it with least problems possible. Thanks again.


You just have to do it. No milking, no baby, low calorie feeds, no grain, no alfalfa, water and poor quality hay, just to give her somehthing to chew on for a couple weeks.  she will get very on uncomfortable looking for a few days. Poor thing.


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## Roll farms (Mar 24, 2011)

I have a paint doe w/ 2 teats and really good attatchment (for a boer)...She's even trained to the stand.

She came from a Boer breeder who started in dairy goats and breeds for good udders.  Dairy people who get into boers later tend to be a lot more interested in udder / teat formation than people who start w/ boers.


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## 20kidsonhill (Mar 24, 2011)

Roll farms said:
			
		

> I have a paint doe w/ 2 teats and really good attatchment (for a boer)...She's even trained to the stand.
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> She came from a Boer breeder who started in dairy goats and breeds for good udders.  Dairy people who get into boers later tend to be a lot more interested in udder / teat formation than people who start w/ boers.


You know I do go to Indiana to buy goats, are you trying to sell me a red boer?


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## Roll farms (Mar 24, 2011)

Well did you know I come to VA to visit on occasion, 

What part are you from?  I go to the Pennington Gap area.

I am sure the guy I bought Bullitt from thinks I'm nuts, I turned down a bigger kid b/c I didn't like his dam's udder and then kept looking at all his other doe's udders....He's saying, "Udders don't matter much." and I'm saying,  "They do to me."  LOL.


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## 20kidsonhill (Mar 24, 2011)

Roll farms said:
			
		

> Well did you know I come to VA to visit on occasion,
> 
> What part are you from?  I go to the Pennington Gap area.
> 
> I am sure the guy I bought Bullitt from thinks I'm nuts, I turned down a bigger kid b/c I didn't like his dam's udder and then kept looking at all his other doe's udders....He's saying, "Udders don't matter much." and I'm saying,  "They do to me."  LOL.


I am not familiar with Pennington gap, but it sounds mountainous and we live in the valley, about 30 min. from West VA border.  I ask about teats and skin color, like to see them nice and dark skinned and it just doesn't seem like many people are taking it very seriously.  

Since I don't know a lot about blood-lines my husband and I always go to visit the farm and look at the dams and sires, I love a doe with a lot of spring of rib and a straight pin, my husband is really into legs and teats.  That really was no joke , good 
pasturns(sp) and proper teats are something he is always checking out, and I can tell it annoys the sellers for him to be trying to look under the sire to see how many teats.


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## Roll farms (Mar 24, 2011)

You're wayyyy over on the other side then, Pennington Gap is close to where TN, VA, and KY meet.


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## SDGsoap&dairy (Mar 24, 2011)

20kidsonhill said:
			
		

> Shannoniganshens said:
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Ooorrr... you could keep giving her good nutrition and dry her off a little more slowly.  I agree with taking her off grain and cutting back on alfalfa, but good quality grass hay is available to our does at all times- even when we're drying them off.


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## whetzelmomma (Mar 24, 2011)

yeah, I wouldn't personally dry a doe already at risk of mastitis cold turkey. IMO that would be asking for trouble... and I also agree nice hay is fine... just no grain or alfalfa.


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## Theykeepmebusy (Mar 24, 2011)

I am going with the good nutrition, most comfortable and least mastitis risk possible.  Thank you everyone.


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## 20kidsonhill (Mar 25, 2011)

whetzelmomma said:
			
		

> yeah, I wouldn't personally dry a doe already at risk of mastitis cold turkey. IMO that would be asking for trouble... and I also agree nice hay is fine... just no grain or alfalfa.


that's dairy people advice, if your doe isn't being milked, and babies are on mom nursing, there isn't anything slow about it, babies are weaned, and it is a done deal.  And that big boer doe isn't going to starve to death in a couple weeks of just roughage and low calories.


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## helmstead (Mar 25, 2011)

20kidsonhill said:
			
		

> that's dairy people advice, if your doe isn't being milked, and babies are on mom nursing, there isn't anything slow about it, babies are weaned, and it is a done deal.  And that big boer doe isn't going to starve to death in a couple weeks of just roughage and low calories.


A goat is a goat is a goat.  :/

Dairy or not, I would even milk her out halfway 2x a day for a week, then 1x a day for another week, then every other day for another week, then as needed.  Drying that particular doe off cold turkey will only cause her poor udder more problems, stressing an already weak attachment and possibly blowing her teats.


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## Roll farms (Mar 25, 2011)

I agree...take it slow.

Boer does *usually* slack off in production / dry themselves up when they wean kids....Obviously, that ain't happening here.

She must have some seriously producing (but not pretty) udders somewhere in her background.


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## Theykeepmebusy (Mar 25, 2011)

Poor Ju-Ju .  I'm taking it slow, both her boys are sold, pet homes, next week, so I've gone ahead and put them in a pen, doesn't seem to bother her much, she cried out to them for a few, then went to graze and be with the herd. Last night/evening, I brought her in to milk and she barely had any, wasn't swollen. This morning, I opened the door and she was standing there, walked in looked around and jumped on the milk stand, she caught on quick, I was surprised to see her there. She is not people friendly. Her udder was not as big as yesterday,but was swollen,I milked her half,didn't get near as much as I did yesterday, so I'm hoping she will dry up fast   .  Now I have another question, after she is dried up, will her udder, hopefully go back, I know not how it was, but to where it won't hang down like this? Or is it damaged so bad it's will hang like this the rest of her life?  Ya'll have scared me with no one seeing one this bad, I feel horrible for even letting her kids feed off of her. I should of bottle fed to help prevent this, or even posted it on here sooner for good info on what to do. I just thought she was a heavy producing Boer.


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## Roll farms (Mar 25, 2011)

Don't feel bad, pulling the kids may not have made a difference.  

A doe's gonna make as much udder / milk as she's gonna and there's nothing we can do about it once she's kidded to stop the process...

If you'd started drying her off immediately, while her system was in "milk making overdrive" she probably still would have gotten big because her body wouldn't know to stop right away.


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## Theykeepmebusy (Mar 29, 2011)

She's doing good now, there is a noticeable size difference in her udders now and they don't get as full!!!!! She's doing real good, little more winier than usual, she wants her alfalfa, but she is eating the grass hay and grazing more than she ever has. I can't wait till this is over.  thanks everyone!!!


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## aggieterpkatie (Mar 29, 2011)

I don't know about it being "dairy advice".  Dairy cows milking gallons per day still get dried off cold turkey.


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