Posted by Sherry on May 14, 2001 at 18:10:42:
I have a two year old Nubian doe from a heavy milking line. Her udder is somewhat pendulous...OK...let's face it, it looks like the freakin' liberty bell hanging back there! Anyway, this is her second kidding (quads!) and she is six weeks fresh. She's a pretty good milker, about 12 lbs. a day depending on how well my hands are working! She's in good health, eats well, plays with the other girls and has shown no signs of illness or infection but every now and again there will be a small (from 1/4 to 1/2 the size of your little fingernail) piece of bloody grissle come out on the strip cup when I milk her. This happens every three or four days and there's usually only one piece. It happens on both sides but more often on the left. I'm not very concerned about what comes out of their udders when the BIG ones first freshen. I've got one doe that looks to pass kidney stones for a week after she first freshens and then she's fine. I'm getting concerned that it keeps happening after this long. The milk isn't tainted, flaky, slimy or lumpy and there isn't any blood settling to the bottom of the jar. All CMT's have been negative. Her udder is normal temp with no hard areas and the milk tastes fine. Everything appears to be normal except for the grissle.
When I got her last year she was still milking about 6 lbs. and I'm wondering if she's just over filled and that's whats causing the problem. She's also had to adapt to that huge thing hanging back there and had trouble learning how to get on the milk stand without banging herself. I hold her udder up and she crow hops up on the stanchion so she isn't stepping on herself getting up there. However, the sides of her udder stay red from her legs rubbing it as she walks! Yep...it's that wide!
So, what do you think guys? Is she just getting banged around or what? I've been thinking about getting one of those udder supports but I don't know anyone that's ever used one so I've got nothing to base a decision on there. Should I get her milk cultured to make sure she's OK even though the CMT is neg? She herself is no show goat but she makes babies that are to die for and anyone who's had a barn full of hungry baby goats yelling at them will tell you how important it is to have at least one good milker around so I don't want to lose her. Add to all of this that she is a real sweetie and is one of my favorite does to milk. Any suggestions, recommendations or "orders to be followed immediately" will be much appreciated!
Thanks for always being here! You are the best!