Blown teat on doe in need of rescue?--UPDATE--

[allanimals21]

Long story short I was at a garage sale today and they had a sign that said 3 goats for sale $350. Well after talking to the people they said that it was the neighbors who had the goats not them. They apparently moved to the country and thought goats would be a good idea. Well they didnt and still don't know what they got themselves into and are tryin to sell them. Which for the goats sake is the best. Anyways this doe is supposedly a 3 year old boer X nubian. I see that. My question is about her teat. I took a picture of it. Its not warm to the touch nothing comes out of either side and she isn't milking.

Some more about this situation. When asked about their hooves he said that wasn't something he would have thought to do. Obviously. This does toes are curling. He also thought she was pregnant. Apparently the "breeder" he bought them from said that she could be. She should be 4 months along and I don't see it at all. The other 2 are 2 nubian doelings I'm guessing are from earlier this year. He doesn't know. They look alright aside from hooves. Although I couldn't get my hands on them. He is asking $350 for them but apparently has someone else interested in them. They don't have goats but used to apparently. I DO NOT think they are worth $350 in the shape they are in. But for their sake I hope I can get them. Clean them up and fix them up and get them new homes.

Big question here is does the older doe have a blown teat? If so what causes this and what does this mean for her? What needs to be done? Here is a pic

 

[ksalvagno]

It looks more like mastitis to me. Hopefully you can get them or the other people will be really good for them. Good luck.

 

[allanimals21]

It looks more like mastitis to me. Hopefully you can get them or the other people will be really good for them. Good luck.

With mastitis would it feel warm? Or anything come out? I assume she has looked like this for awhile. I don't know. She doesn't have kids with her and didn't have kids when they bought her so I don't know how long its been since she was in milk.

 

[BlondeSquirrel04]

One of my does had sub-clinical mastitis last year in just one side of the udder. It looks like the right teat on that doe a bit. It's non-productive and very small. The other side, however, is perfect and she raised 2 kids on it. It sucks, but it's not the worst thing that can happen. You just may need to supplement or pull one kid or two when she freshens.

If you want them, point out all their issues and negotiate. Ask them if their shots/worming are up to date. Tell them all the things you'll need to do to these goats before they are healthy. Over $100/goat for goats in bad shape is crazy.

 

[boykin2010]

I have a ewe that has a blown teat. She is almost 9 years old and I think had a little mastitis a while back. One side got really smaller and is unproductive but the other side grew larger and produces twice the milk. So, she can still raise twins on one side but if she has triplets I would pull one of them. Your doe looks to have one small teat and one regular which would mean she could probably only take care of one maybe two kids.

 

[ksalvagno]

You would probably need to really work at getting stuff out. You would want to milk that side out and then put Tomorrow mastitis treatment in the teat.

 

[WhiteMountainsRanch]

I have a rescue doe that looks just like that. She had mastitis quite a few months ago, but was treated and now is perfectly healthy, but her udder and teats still look like that. From my experience a blown teat isn't the end of the world, it may just be harder for babies to nurse off of, but they still "work" just fine. If you do end up getting her I would do a round of penicillin and "Today"... make sure she is very healthy and then when you eventually rebred her they *may* even out somewhat but she'll probably be like my girl and always be a little lopsided.

 

[ksalvagno]

Actually, you would want to use Tomorrow, not Today. Today is for an animal currently in milk. Tomorrow is for drying up or dried up animals.

 

[allanimals21]

I'm still waiting to hear from them. I think I'm going to call them and let them know about this issue. I told them I thought maybe a blown teat but that it needed to be dealt with either way. I know they have not a clue what to do and I have a feeling the other people that are interested don't either. I was going to offer them $175-$200 altogether for the three. They need groceries and hooves trimmed. I'm sure CDT and de worming..who knows. My concern is this doe though

 

[BlondeSquirrel04]

If it was blown/had mastitis last freshening, then there's really nothing to do now. Chances are it'll fill when she's bred again, and then the milk in it will slowly re-absorb. You probably won't be able to get anything out, and the teat won't fill.

I worried that I couldn't breed my doe again, so I called my breeder. Her best doe, complete with more ribbons than I could count, had the same issue last year. She's great in production, and even nursed triplets this year. Her show career is over, but that little messed up udder has no impact on her progeny and their genetics.

Good luck getting them down on a fair price!