# Milk Leaking around Teat--Not from Teat Orifice!!



## duffontap (Apr 30, 2011)

Hi, Our Oberhasli kidded 6 weeks ago (first freshener) and this is our first experience with milking a goat.  We've been letting her nurse her two kids around the clock so we're not doing a lot of milking but I've just noticed recently that when I'm milking her, milk jets out of the teat orifice normally _and_ oozes out of tiny little openings all over her teats.  Two squeezes and her teats are all wet and slippery.  CMT is a clear negative and there is no sign of injury or discomfort.  

Has anyone else heard of this happening?  Is this a major flaw?  If I sell either of her doelings I'll want to be honest about any milking issues with mom.  Thanks for any help.  JD


----------



## SDGsoap&dairy (Apr 30, 2011)

I've never experienced this and am curious to hear an explanation...


----------



## Roll farms (Apr 30, 2011)

n.smithurmond said:
			
		

> I've never experienced this and am curious to hear an explanation...


X 2  - wow.


----------



## Livinwright Farm (Apr 30, 2011)

Roll farms said:
			
		

> n.smithurmond said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


X 3  -- how odd.


----------



## duffontap (Apr 30, 2011)

Livinwright Farm said:
			
		

> Roll farms said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Oh GREAT! :/

   JD


----------



## Livinwright Farm (Apr 30, 2011)

I am wondering if by chance this is some form of birth defect... like the teat duct multuplied and made several points of exit instead of the normal straight path to the end of her teat..? If you haven't already, I would definitely show this to your vet. Seeing it in person would be very helpful, and the vet should have a better idea.


----------



## duffontap (Apr 30, 2011)

Livinwright Farm said:
			
		

> I am wondering if by chance this is some form of birth defect... like the teat duct multuplied and made several points of exit instead of the normal straight path to the end of her teat..? If you haven't already, I would definitely show this to your vet. Seeing it in person would be very helpful, and the vet should have a better idea.


That's an interesting thought.  I've sent emails to a few Ober breeders I know to see if they've experienced this.  Thanks, JD


----------



## Roll farms (May 1, 2011)

None of my 3 Obs were like that...

If you get a response, *please* let us know, I like to keep learning.


----------



## ksalvagno (May 1, 2011)

Wow, very interesting. Are there long time goat breeders in your area? Like someone who has been in it for 20 years plus? Maybe they would have an idea. I would also have to wonder about some type of old injury too. Good luck.


----------



## aggieterpkatie (May 1, 2011)

My Ob did this last year as a FF, just one little teeny pin hole.  It's a weak teat wall.  I asked on a dairy goat forum and they said it sometimes happens, and it should go away.  They said if it doesn't, it would be a good reason to cull.  Luckily my Ob's leak went away and she's totally fine this year.

ETA: And I don't think it's an Oberhasli thing, I think it's just a coincidence that we both happen to have them.


----------



## duffontap (May 1, 2011)

OK, get ready for the definitive work on oozing teats:  

Here's the info I got from Penny's breeder (a long-time Ober breeder and a former president of Oberhasli Breeders of America):

'Hi Josh,
I don't think it is a problem.  I have had multiple teats on goats, or an extra partial teat, and I have had some that seem to ooze milk, your hands are always wet when milking.  Luna is this way, no matter how many times I dry her teats, one always seems to be wet.  If it isn't causing a problem or there is no injury, I would guess she has an area that may me thinner than the rest of her teat.  Have you felt around on her bag to see if there is any indication of a soft spot or bump? There are a number of mammals that ooze milk to feed their young, to my knowledge it isn't the case with a goat.  You might pose the question to one of the goat groups you are on, maybe someone else has a better idea.'

2nd email:

'Hi Josh
Thought I would let you know I paid a little more attention while milking and experimented while milking Luna.  She has a lot of areas on both teets that form droplets.  It explains why my hands always become damp while milking her.  I have had a few others that did this as well, never paid much attention, but this certainly explains it.  I don't see it as a problem, just something with certain blood lines.'

Here's an email response from Marcia of St. John Creamery--a dairy that milks about 100 Oberhasli does (where I also bought a fine young pack wether).  I asked if she's ever experienced this and she said:

'Never on the teats.  I have had a pore leak milk on the front about 1 " about the teat.  Usually only one drop.  No oozing.  Strange.
I would worry about getting mastits from laying on the ground with so many openings.  But, the body has amazing abilities
to fight off bacteria.  Just annoying to milk, huh?'

Here are two email responses from Donna of Edelweiss Acres (a highly respected Oberhasli breeder who breeds huge, healthy pack goats and great milkers):

'Re the leaking nipples.  This comes from the skin in the nipples not being thick/strong enough to keep the milk in and it seeps out of whole as you have seen.  Is this a first time kidder?  Is she up on her selenium/vitamin E and D? You can try some vitamin E to make the skin stronger....'

2nd email (after I responded that Penny just got a Bo-Se shot last week, and always has access to good mineral blocks):

'How is her hair coat? Even with minerals available with selenium that is many times not enough for certain goats, especially does who are pregnant/have kidded.  I use the oral human form of selenium with vitamin E and D - the Bo-Se injection does not give the vitamin D and I have found over many years that if the goat does not have enough vitamin D then the selenium and vitamin E will not work well.  I usually give a selenium/vitamin E and D oral supplement three to four times a year at least.   

Being a first time kidder their teat skin is not thickened enough sometimes to take on milking/suckling by the kids - the extra selenium will help as well as extra vitamin E.  I use the human vitamin E capsules - 1000 IU capsule per 100 pounds of body weight of the goat - I usually just pop the capsule and pour the oil inside into a little water or juice and then give as an oral drench.  She could have one now and then another every other day for 4 more doses.  This will not hurt the kids either.'

Well, it sounds like (as aggieterpkatie said) it's a weakness that some goats can be more prone to than others, but worsened by vitamin deficiencies and the stress of stretching out an udder and nursing kids for the first time.  Hopefully Penny will grow out of this right away and I won't have to worry about this anymore.  I took a picture for posterity's sake, just before she was completely milked out; it shows two of the leaking pores, but there are more:







Thanks for the help everyone--much appreciated!  JD


----------



## aggieterpkatie (May 1, 2011)

One thing I was really careful of was to make sure I wasn't being too rough while milking.  I was sure to be gentle and not cause too much pressure on the teat by squeezing too hard/too fast.


----------



## duffontap (May 1, 2011)

aggieterpkatie said:
			
		

> One thing I was really careful of was to make sure I wasn't being too rough while milking.  I was sure to be gentle and not cause too much pressure on the teat by squeezing too hard/too fast.


Thank you.  I will be gentle.  JD


----------



## PattySh (May 1, 2011)

Did you raise her or buy her? If you didn't raise her from birth I'll bet that someone snipped off extra nipples. I have first hand experience with this. Ginny had an extra tiny teat as a doeling. We didn't snip it tight enough and she has a small amount of milk in that gland. Only a few drops and it milks out by machine with the teat or I strip it when hand milking her. It is high up on her teat and doesn't leak. I just give her a good squirt of fightback in that area. Doesn't seem to cause any problems and doesn't squirt out on it's own. If I wasn't machine milking I wouldn't bother with it, but the machine milks it out.


----------



## aggieterpkatie (May 1, 2011)

Patty, I bought my doe from a family that owned her dam and I know she didn't have any extra teats snipped off.  His could be from that, but it might not be.


----------



## Ariel301 (May 1, 2011)

PattySh said:
			
		

> Did you raise her or buy her? If you didn't raise her from birth I'll bet that someone snipped off extra nipples. I have first hand experience with this. Ginny had an extra tiny teat as a doeling. We didn't snip it tight enough and she has a small amount of milk in that gland. Only a few drops and it milks out by machine with the teat or I strip it when hand milking her. It is high up on her teat and doesn't leak. I just give her a good squirt of fightback in that area. Doesn't seem to cause any problems and doesn't squirt out on it's own. If I wasn't machine milking I wouldn't bother with it, but the machine milks it out.


I've seen this happen before too...an animal with valuable bloodlines has a teat spur or extra teat, so the breeder cuts it off or puts a castration band around it to remove it, then shuts up and doesn't say anything about it, and someone buys it and gets milk leaking out of a weird place. I don't imagine that would be causing many leaky spots on each teat though, that's a weird one.


----------



## duffontap (May 1, 2011)

We bought her when she was about a year old.  We got her from a good friend so there is no way she wouldn't tell us about an issue like a 3rd teat that had to be removed.  

We're going to follow the Edelweiss Acres advice to the letter and see if her skin toughens up and the oozing stops.  I'll post an update if anything changes.  JD


----------

