I have a yearling doe that doesn't have an orifice on one of her teats.I thought it was clogged at first and I used a syringe tip to open it and milked her out but the orifice keeps healing closed. Is there something that can be done to keep it open , that I or a vet can do.The other teat works fine and has a kid drinking from it.

-- SM (unreal@msn.com), June 02, 2002

Answers

Yes, go to the dairy cattle section of the jefferslivestock.com catalog. They carry the teat lancers that will make a new hole, and also the teat canulas to insert while the hole heals. You may want to have a vet who has done this before do this doe, or better yet visit a dairy farm. If done incorrectly the orifice will not work correctly and the doe will leak milk. I have used the Dr. Naylors canualas that are made of wax, soaking in medicated bag balm for keeping a teat open that was badly damaged, they work really well. Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh TX (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), June 03, 2002.

Vicki, I couldn't find the teat lancers or teat canulas in the Jeffers catalog. I've already have made a hole in the teat and drained the milk a few times only to create a new problem, Mastitis. I've infused the udder with Today (mastitis medication) and I've inserted Dr.Naylors teat dilators.Are the teat dilators the same as teat canulas ? This morning the teat that has the problem didn't have milk and is hard .The last milk it did have had no odor but was almost black in color and I needed a milk tube to get the milk out, it had clodded substance in it.

-- SM Steve (Unreal@msn.com), June 04, 2002.

I really don't know what to say about this, having never encountered it before. It sounds as though she is in serious trouble though with the milk turning dark in color- probably due to blood. How is she doing now, and have you talked to a vet about this?

-- Rebekah (daniel1@itss.net), June 11, 2002.

Rebekah, I used the Dr.Naylors teat dilators and I got the orifice on her teat to heal open ( It's seems OK ) but she dried off on that one teat. Before she dried off she gave a little milk and it looked normal. She's still giving milk on her other teat.I'm letting her nurse her kid ( a buck ) . But as soon as she weans him , I'm gonna dry her off.It doesn't look right to see her bag up on one side , while the other side is empty.I'd like to dry her off now but this solid black Nubian is the loudest goat in the world and she insist on staying with her kid. She's real healthy other wise and I think she'll be alright.

-- SM Steve (unreal@msn.com), June 12, 2002.