# clotted blood in milk?



## sinthome (Apr 9, 2011)

3 yr old doe, just got her 5 days ago. first few milkings were good, but now i am having issues. when i got her, she already had a soft lump above her left teat that is probably a cyst. the previous owner thought it was no problem. however, halfway through milking two nights ago, the left teat got clogged and then pushed out a white chunk with strands of clotted blood in it. i finished without further incident and the milk strained clear except for this one chunk. since then i have been massaging her udder with tea tree, lavender and almond oil after every milking. yesterday morning, the milk was clean, no problems. last night, a couple more bloody chunks came out. this morning, the milking seemed fine, but when i poured the milk through a strainer, i discovered some more very small chunks with clotted blood (see photo from this morning). i would rather not use any antibiotics, but if it gets much worse i will probably try using Fight Bac. are there other essential oils that would be helpful? is this a milk case of mastitis?


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

I would test her for mastitis.... it could very well be that.....  :hug:


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## RunAround (Feb 17, 2008)

Fight Bac is a spray that is used on the teats after milking to prevent bacteria from going up the teat... so it would do nothing for a case of mastitis. 

It probably is mastitis. I'm all for going natural, but in the case of internal infections antibiotics are needed. If it's not treated correctly she could loose her udder, or her life.


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## sinthome (Apr 9, 2011)

shoot. okay. what should i do?


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=20645&start=0

This is a long topic but is showing what you have there...Thank God though that my doe just ended up getting hit in the udder by my meanie herd queen.
Binkey is doing great now and milking wonderfully and the bruised tissue that formed during her healing process has now gone.

Diligent and frequent milkings as well as using test cards for mastitis is what helped her out, I never allowed her to get totally full to keep the pressure off the injured area.
I would have her tested for mastitis...it is a very devastating problem if it's not treated correctly and immediately, IF there is no chance that your doe could have gotten slammed by another, then mastitis would be the #1 suspect with her.


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## sinthome (Apr 9, 2011)

tonight's milking seemed totally fine until i strained it and again got some blood clots. no chunks, no pink milk, just the same few tiny clots. i tried the milk to see if it was salty or whatever and it tastes just as good as before. i tried using the dawn dish soap mastitis test. i tried it four times. no perceivable change in the milk after swirling. i massaged her udder with almond oil, peppermint, eucalyptus, tea tree oil and lavender. is there anything else i should be doing short of an antibiotic infusion? is it safe to hold off on going the antibiotic route? there are no other symptoms other than the minor clots.


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## sinthome (Apr 9, 2011)

i picked up the Today infusion shots, in case it gets any worse. this weekend i will have time to milk her out every couple hours and massage a lot more. tonight's milking had less clotting, but i noticed that the milk bottle gets a pink tinge at the bottom after it sits in the fridge for a few hours. i will toss the milk until it clears up. my theory is that she either got bruised in the bumpy car ride or the previous owner was machine milking and her udder is reacting to being hand milked now. maybe? i am also going to get a real mastitis test card as a second opinion.


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