What should be the udder of a goat
The goat is kept in order to have fresh goat milk every day. To do this, every day in the early morning begins milking livestock. The main organ for milk is the udder of a goat, its structure should be anatomically correct, and the care of the organ should be sufficient. In this case, the nipples are located symmetrically, should have only the correct shape, the presence of wounds and ulcers is unacceptable. The process of formation and removal of milk in a goat is similar to that in a cow.
Goat udder
The shape, size and number of lobes of the goat's udder are sharply different, although the number of teats is identical. The structure of the udder of a goat depends on how old the goat is and what its state of health is. Let's start our story with how the udder works in a goat, then we describe the most common problems, namely, what to do if the udder grows excessively.
Goat udder structure
The udder of a cow consists of four pairs of lobes, while the udder of a goat consists of 2, on which the teats are located. It is worth saying that each such share can work independently, not depending on each other. Despite the fact that the lobes have a physiological connection, there is a membrane separation so that the blood supply is autonomous. The same goes for nerve fibers. The udder of a goat contains the following tissues:
- The main part of the udder of a goat is the glandular part.
- Milk ducts, also called nipple canals
- Connective tissue, which is found in any internal organ of a living organism.
Milk itself is produced in the alveoli, which are in the glandular tissue. The cells lining the inner lining of the alveoli can convert fluid into milk, extracting all the nutrients from the circulatory system, this is their unique ability.
If the goat is healthy, then there will be no red inclusions in the milk, that is, blood. The alveoli store milk in themselves, and then, on a signal from the brain, give it out. If you look at the udder in section, you will see a red-blue glandular mass that resembles a sponge.
The nipple is formed from many layers of the skin, and the outer part is also lined with them. The milk duct to the nipple becomes narrow, and its end has a sphincter, which performs a restraining function. It opens up during milking or natural sucking by a kid, releasing milk outside.
Previously, it was believed that the more pronounced the veins on the udder, the more milk yield can be obtained from this animal, but this was not always true. It may also only indicate that the goat is suffering from varicose veins.
Nipple structure
The normal shape of the teat is oval, and the placement on the udder lobes of the goat is symmetrical, with more displaced anteriorly. The structure and appearance of the nipple is important, since the milkiness of the animal depends on it.If the nipples have a normal structure, then the milking of the animal will take no more than five minutes, although this period can vary upwards depending on the breed of the goat and age.
To be sure that the goat will give a lot of milk, you need to carefully examine the udder:
- The shape of the udder of the goat should resemble the correct shape of the ball.
- The size of the nipples should not be too large
- The nipples should be directed vertically and slightly to the side
- Nipples don't have to be long
A goat will not produce much milk if the udder is too saggy or the teats are not in shape. Such goats can be called vicious; when buying such an animal, you need to refuse.
Even if the goat meets all the requirements, it must be taken into account that you must provide proper care for the milk organ. This is necessary in order to maintain maximum elasticity of the dense tissues lining the udder so that the milk yield is high.
Udder care
Attentive and respectful attitude
Even if you purchased a high-yielding goat, but did not provide sufficient care, you should not expect a large volume of milk and its high taste. The fact is that due to the development of a disease in the udder, the quality of milk will also deteriorate, respectively, its taste. A sick goat produces milk with a lower lactose content, which will prevent it from souring and become the basis for the production of goat cheese, for example. It is recommended to conduct a daily examination of the udder in order to notice the slightest changes in the state of the organ in time.
Udder care steps:
- Before you start milking, you need to wash the udder. This will require warm water, after which the udder is wiped with a towel;
- If the skin is dry, then you can use a cream to moisturize it;
If you follow these simple rules, then with a high probability you will be able to avoid health problems of the animal. It usually takes about 5 minutes to prepare for milking. Veterinarians also recommend completing the procedure with a massage to loosen up the tissues. If you massage the udder regularly, blood flow will improve and lactation will increase. Before starting the massage, be sure to lubricate your hands with cream so that touching does not bring discomfort to the goat.
After you have milked the goat, you need to treat the nipples with oil, the most common sunflower oil will do. Do not neglect this procedure, so you will protect the animal from the appearance of painful cracks on the nipples. If you notice wounds, ulceration, or roughness, you should change your regular moisturizer to a medicated one with an antibiotic.
What to do if there are signs of udder disease
A goat can cause mechanical injury to the udder, for example, by injuring itself on a sharp surface or driving a tick into the organ (in this case, a characteristic rash may appear). To provide first aid, you need to understand what your actions should be:
- For disinfection, you need to treat the wound with a weak solution of manganese, then dry the wound site with a napkin
- After that, you need to treat the cut site with iodine, then make a bandage or stick a plaster
- After 2-3 days, the wound will dry out, then proceed to treatment with ointment (for example, levomekol), if new symptoms do not appear
To prevent the development of a more serious udder disease, it is necessary to analyze the behavior of the goat. If the goat is healthy, then she is active, she has a good appetite. If you make basic measurements of vital activity, then the pulse will be even no more than 80-90 beats in 60 seconds, and the body temperature does not exceed 39 degrees.
You can distinguish a sick animal from a healthy one by the following signs:
- Appetite spoils
- The goat moves a little, looks bad
- Apathy appears, lethargy
- The temperature rises, the pulse becomes fast
How to care for a goat with a diseased udder
We fight diseases in different ways
First, the goat must be quarantined to prevent the spread of the disease if it is contagious. Then you need to start direct treatment. If there are wounds on the udder, hair should be removed from the nearby area so that the hairs do not contribute to infection. Then you must definitely seek help from a veterinarian, since it is not possible to determine the cause of the disease at home, the more difficult it will be to choose the right treatment, you need to start treatment only after consulting a doctor.
The cause of the disease can be both the ingress of a virus or bacteria into the animal's body, as well as errors in nutrition, insufficiently balanced food, poor-quality feed, errors in animal care, non-compliance with milking rules, as well as conditions that do not meet the standards for keeping cattle.
Let's talk about the most common udder disease - edema.
Swelling of the udder in a goat
The most common occurrence in goats is serous edema of the udder, when the organ is full and can become inflamed. The cause of its occurrence is problems with the blood circulation of the organ, when the volume of lymph increases. The most susceptible are those goats that did not receive sufficient physical activity during gestation, namely in its second half. And in addition to this, they received only juicy food or, even worse, sour food. You may notice the first signs of swelling even before lambing, and the udders will be bulky compared to other healthy goats, as they are overfilled.
How to tell if a goat's udder is swollen:
- The goat becomes inactive. To avoid this, try to walk the animal in a position at least twice a day.
- If you press your finger on the swollen udder of a goat, then the formed empty hole will return to normal for a long time, it will become dark. Such a test can be seen in the photo and video.
- On palpation, you can see that the temperature of the skin on the udder has become colder with a hot head, and the sensitivity has significantly decreased
- The nipples may change their appearance, become black, the affected ones become longer
If treatment is not started on time, then subcutaneous edema can spread to the chest, which leads to mastitis or mastopathy. It is worth saying that curing mastitis in a goat is a rather troublesome business, so it is better to prevent its appearance and take timely measures to prevent it.
In some cases, it happens that the swelling goes down to the thighs, which negatively affects her ability to move. At this stage, if we are not talking about mastitis, then the temperature should remain within the normal range, otherwise it will indicate that the infection has begun.
It should be said that udder edema is not the reason that milking should be stopped, such milk can be eaten even though its taste and color may change slightly, it may become darker. Usually, udder edema lasts no more than a week, otherwise you need to urgently seek help from veterinarians to make a diagnosis and prescribe treatment.
How to treat udder edema in a goat
Swelling can happen on its own
If the swelling does not go away on its own, then the veterinarian will prescribe a course of treatment, consisting of certain medications and massage. In addition, you need to make some adjustments to the diet. It is necessary to exclude juicy food from the diet, and also make sure that the goat does not eat salt. For the period of treatment of edema, it is better to give preference to the most common hay.
When treating edema, the number of milkings should be increased up to 8-9 times a day. At the same time, for better liquid removal, it is better to reduce the volume of water. Also, make sure that the goat does not injure the enlarged udder, so as not to aggravate the course of the disease. It is strictly forbidden to use creams and cosmetic ointments when caring for the udder during the treatment of edema.
What medications are used for treatment? Usually, veterinarians prescribe urinary medications to help the animal get rid of excessive fluid buildup. It can be caffeine benzoate in the form of injections, calcium chloride is administered intravenously. A special cover for the udder will help to improve the condition of the animal, which will support the heavy sagging udder when walking or standing. The ointment, which at the moment has established itself as an effective treatment, is Rigefen, its side effects are minimal, and the effect is achieved quickly.
How to prevent the development of udder edema
The best treatment is timely prevention. The best prevention of udder edema is to take regular walks in the fresh air. It is important not to introduce too much juicy food into the goat's diet, especially closely the necessary nutrition should be monitored on the eve of giving birth to the first-born so that the udder does not grow too quickly.
If we talk about the prevention of mastitis, then these are the same measures. The goat should live in normal conditions, with normal temperature, humidity and in the absence of drafts. It is advisable to clean and disinfect the room every time goats and goats are on the walk.
Separately, it should be said that edema and mastitis can be a genetic tendency if it occurs periodically. In this case, you need to take measures to improve the breed. It also happens that edema provokes early weaning of the kid from the mother, try not to wean the kids from natural feeding too early. Although the answer to the question of how much a goat should feed the kids is decided strictly individually.
Feeding to prevent mastitis and edema
It should be understood that a pregnant female goat quickly gets tired and worn out, so you need to make sure that the goat receives the right amount of vitamins and nutrients. To do this, you need to introduce flaxseed broth or a bran-based broth into the diet, this normalizes the withdrawal of fluid from the body.
In addition, you need to enter carrots into the menu, which must be carefully chopped, while hay can be given, but not more than 50% of the diet. After giving birth, you need to feed the animal strictly in accordance with the schedule, while it must be sufficiently liquid.
Many novice breeders are interested in the question of why juicy feed is contraindicated for pregnant goats? The fact is that they often cause a disorder of the gastrointestinal tract, usually diarrhea and bloating. In order not to provoke such problems, you need to make sure that the goat has fresh hay and clean drinking water in the sippy cup.
If you start to follow all the recommendations, then the milking process will be as simple and convenient as possible, both for you and for the animal. This will protect the goat from diseases and problems associated with the udder.