# PURPLE BRUISING ON TEATS AND UDDER????



## peggy (Aug 11, 2010)

My doe freshened 3 weeks ago with a single doe. At first her udder was a little congested and the teats were very very pink and a little chapped. I massage the udder and teats reguarly with udder balm and that seemed to help. 

But the last few days I have noticed some purle bruising look to her teats and udder. I milk her once a day and am not rough and she is nursing the kid. I am thinking that it is because she is a FF and her teats and udder are tender. Does anyone else have any thoughts on this or should I be worried???

There are no lumps or swelling, nor does the udder feel hot......


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## FunnyRiverFarm (Sep 13, 2008)

I have never seen bruised teats....not to say that it couldn't happen--I don't know. Have you been milking her? If so, is there anything unusual about the milk?


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

the only thing that comes to mind is gangrene mastitis...

bruised looking udder. Doe show signs of generalized illness: depression, fever or loss of appetite. Gangrene mastitis should be suspect if the udder is cold, swollen with an excessive accumulation of fluid and the milk is watery or bloody.

Does it sound like this at all?

Can you get pics?


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## Coyote Night Acres (Dec 27, 2010)

could this just be the color of her teats? I have a doe that is black and her teats are darker


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## FunnyRiverFarm (Sep 13, 2008)

toth boer goats said:


> the only thing that comes to mind is gangrene mastitis...
> 
> bruised looking udder. Doe show signs of generalized illness: depression, fever or loss of appetite. Gangrene mastitis should be suspect if the udder is cold, swollen with an excessive accumulation of fluid and the milk is watery or bloody.
> 
> Does it sound like this at all?


This is what came to my mind...darkened skin makes me think dead tissue under the surface. Be sure to check her milk if you are not currently milking her.


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## peggy (Aug 11, 2010)

Thanks guys. I thought mastitis too but nothing else is unusual. The doe is eating great, loves her grain, eats hay, trees, and bosses the younger does around. She is thriving. No signs of illness at all. The udder feels normal and the milk is fine. No blood, not stringy, not watery, nothing like that. I use the extra milk in the house and it is sweet and creamy. I will try to get pics tomorrow. God, I hope it is nothing as tragic as gangrene mastitis. I don't think it is just the color of her teats because there are areas of purple on her udder, the the udder is basiclly white. This is all a mystery to me.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

That is really strange....but watch her close... it may be the starting of it.... :hug: ray:


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## peggy (Aug 11, 2010)

Thanks Pam, I will watch her. When I went to the barn tonight to close everyone up, I felt of her udder really really good and couldn't feel any swelling or lumps and the temperature of the udder felt normal, not hot or cold. Just right. I am really trying to stay positive and hope that it is just bruising from milking her. I noticed the bruising was mainly at the top of the teat where it blends into the udder ( where you squeeze the milk off) and along the teat. That's what make me think it is the milking. I am gentle with her but I know that she had tender chaps teats for a while too. I checked the milk from this morning that had been in the fridge and looked at the bottom of the jar to see if any signs of blood had settled in the bottom. That is where it would settle. But it was white as white, so that is a good thing too. But I will keep an eye on her.


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

3 week old kids can be rough with mom...her baby girl could be the culprit too...all my does have dark udders so the only I notice on them , up high at the top of the teat is sometimes some scabbing where baby teeth hit them. Just watch her, I'm sure it will subside once the tissue toughens up a bit.


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## peggy (Aug 11, 2010)

Thanks liz. I thought that baby could be the cause partly too because I have seen her give mom a few good udder bumps.


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## TinyHoovesRanch (Jan 16, 2010)

This is EXACTLY what I thought happened to my girl, her teats were a dark color, got super scared, but they actually changed color....maybe thats what happened with your girl?


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## Dreamchaser (Oct 30, 2008)

I was going to ask if it was maybe the kids going this. I know human kids can be awful too!


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## Realfoodmama (Apr 13, 2010)

My FF S. Saanen last year started with pink teats at delivery and by about a month later they were much darker - almost bruised looking, but more brown. She never had any problems with mastitis and never had any sores or obvious discomfort during milking.


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## peggy (Aug 11, 2010)

This is super good to hear. Sounds like others have had this problem. I checked her again this morning when I milked her and the udder was fine, still no lumps or swelling. Just the dark spots. But I am thinking if it were gangrene mastitis that the whole udder would be purple and it is just the teat area and where the teat meets the udder. No where else on the udder. I am feeling better today about it especially after hearing that others have had the same thing. I will continue to watch her though, just in case.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

Glad she is still OK... :hug: ray:


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## Udder Folks (May 24, 2013)

Just looking for information, and I found this old post.

My second-time freshener is 3-weeks post-kidding, and I brought her up to the milk stand this morning for the first time this year. I hadn't noticed that her teats had gone completely dark, and the left one in particular. She normally has pink teats, and that left one is usually quite large and more difficult for the newborns to latch onto. I milked her a bit on that side several times in the first week, just to ease her full udder, and stopped once I saw that the kids were nursing well from both sides.

This purpley-black teat (actually, both of them) has color extending part-way up the udder, past the teat. This had me concerned and running for information, so here I am. 

The udder is a normal temp. I just pulled out my CMT solution, and see no signs of mastitis based on that. Daisy has a normal temperature, and is eating and nursing her kids well. I'm assuming that this old situation on this post must have resolved itself. If anyone has anything further to look for, I would appreciate anything you can pass my way. Can this really just be bruising? 

Thank you!


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Can you post a picture?


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## Udder Folks (May 24, 2013)

Here are photos of each side. You can see the pink skin, which is her normal color.


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## Ranger1 (Sep 1, 2014)

Def. keep an eye on her, but it's normal for the pigment of does' udders to change after they kid and are nursing kids or being milked.


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## Udder Folks (May 24, 2013)

Ranger1 said:


> Def. keep an eye on her, but it's normal for the pigment of does' udders to change after they kid and are nursing kids or being milked.


Thanks. I hope that's all it is.


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