# One udder with mastitis in dry doe



## foxhollow (May 5, 2013)

I picked up a doe yesterday from a friend who had been wanting to give her a better home for awhile. She was a bottle Kid in a large herd that was really pushed around. She was free. She is a 2 year old Pygmy/alpine and what a love! 

She kidded this spring and the baby was lost due to cold weather and poor timing. Some of the other kids may have fed off her. 

One teat is swollen, not overly hot, and there is one hard spot. I can't get any milk out of it as I belove she is dry. (I've also never milked a goat but I get the concept) 

I've started her on 2500mg of crushed up vitamin c, garlic and apple cider vinegar. I am brewing peppermint tea and have peppermint extract mixed with coconut oil for a good massage. 

She is otherwise a sound, healthy goat. Nice weight, pink eye lids and gums. Hooves are next on the list.

Suggestions? I'm trying to go the herbal route but if I don't see a turn around I'm 3-4 days I am willing to get penicillin in her. 
Will get a photo up momentarily


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## lottsagoats1 (Apr 12, 2014)

My theory on mastitis- don't mess around.

Try to get something out of it. This spring is not that long ago for her not to have anything in that udder. Usually even a dried off doe will have something you can express from her udder. If it's swollen and has a mass in it, you need to massage and try to soften that mass. Try to get something out to see what is going on. Clear, clotted, bloody..whatever. If other kids have been nursing off her, it may be just residual milk.

Do you know an experienced milker who could check her for you and try to express some fluid from each side of the udder? Who would know if it is truly a mass or if it is just firm mammary tissue?

If I suspected mastitis, I would hit her with intercanal mastitis treatment. Herbs will not kill the bacteria, but the bacteria can kill the doe. Mastitis is painful. First hand experience speaking. 

I have never had a case of mastitis in my goats in 30 + years of having dairy goats, but we did have some cattle who had it. It's not something to play around with. I am a believer in herbal treatments, but there is a time and place for everything. I would not use herbs as a primary mastitis treatment.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

I agree. Don't mess around with mastitis. It is very important to get her milked out and use Tomorrow mastitis treatment.


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## foxhollow (May 5, 2013)

Ok, I am ready to do what I have to. I am picking up the Tomorrow (if TSC carries it) or order it from Jeffers first thing in the morning. 
How do I administer in the canal?


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## foxhollow (May 5, 2013)

Upon massaging for the second time I feel like the mass was breaking up and wasn't as prominent. I can not get anything out of the teat. I know there can be a plug but I can't get it. I spent a lot of time working it.


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

its good the mass is breaking up.. keep at it..plugs can sometimes be hard to remove but usually not so much you can do it...something else may be blocking it. Can you get a pic on her udder and teat area?


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## foxhollow (May 5, 2013)

Good morning, 
Thank you all for your input. I will be picking up the Tomorrow treatment and administering it this afternoon. I am quite nervous. Any advice?
Is this the most effective treatment? Would I be better using an injection of penicilin?
I posted a picture here of her udder. Any other thoughts would be so helpful!


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

I would do Tomorrow mastitis treatment on that...the medication comes with a tiny insert thingy to infuse the teat...its not painful...treatment of Tomorrow is best since she is dry...injecting antibiotics will not work the same in the infection of the udder. How ever B complex is a wonderful support vitamin any time : )


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## foxhollow (May 5, 2013)

Thank you so much Cathy! Your confidence is very reassuring. I will pursue this. Will the udder shrink back up when the medicine starts working? I am curious to know of the indication that what I am doing is getting her better. 
She is such a great girl. Very alert, getting along great with my 5 month old kids and walks with us like she was my own bottle kid.


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

the teat will shrink..it may remain larger then the other one..but the inflammation should decrease...


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## foxhollow (May 5, 2013)

Ok so different situation in the barn today! Ahhh!
Got the ToMorrow and was ready to administer. Started massaging like I have been and got milk to come out! Ran inside and got a clean mason jar. I got maybe a cup out. Came inside and did the homemade mastitis test just for the heck of it and no super goop of stringy clumping, just ye consistency of the soap. No evidence of blood. I've never milked before so it looked relatively ok to me. I stuck the rest in the fridge to get cold and I might get brave and taste it. Do I still give the ToMorrow? 
This has been quite the run at questions. Thank you so much for your help!


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## foxhollow (May 5, 2013)

The milk is cold and taste fine. Taste great in fact. Do we have contested udder here instead of mastitis?


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## mjs500doo (Nov 24, 2012)

Possibly yes, or you messing with it has brought it back into milk.


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## foxhollow (May 5, 2013)

Should I keep milking her out or give her the ToMorrow? I don't mind the milk, it's not much but I think she would be better off to have a significant amount of time dry before I think about breeding her again. I'm confused haha! It's been a dream to have a doe in milk but this was a bit scary to start.


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## mjs500doo (Nov 24, 2012)

If you did the mastitis test and it was normal, milk her. She may be congested as well. I would have a goat person or vet come out and bump her or do an ultrasound however as well to see what you're facing if there are kids.


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## foxhollow (May 5, 2013)

There are no kids in her or in need of her milk. She lost her kid this spring during a severe cold spell. I took her in because she was really an outsider of her herd as she was a bottle kid. The herd is of about 40 goats. I don't necessarily agree with how this guy does it but I knew I could give the attention she needed. 
Is it safe to keep milking her even if it's only one side? Will the Tomorrow dry her up right away? I hesitate to give antibiotics of any sort unless absolutely necessary. For me and my goats. I just want what is best for overall health


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

i would not milk her...because its only one side..I would let it dry up. If it is a Precocious Udder and both sides are the same that would be one thing..but since it it not you will cause her udder to be lopsided...if the mastisis test came back normal..I would just keep watch and let it dry up..


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## mjs500doo (Nov 24, 2012)

Ohh from what I understood there was a kid on her still. With this all said, then I would still confirm with a vet or goat person to see if she is pregnant or not. If not, dry her up. 

Could be precocious, she may also have a "dead side". Kind of one of those things you'll have to wait and see.

Confirm, and dry treat her if open. Dry treating does not make her dry up, it only prevents further damage, and treats any undetected mastitis. Kind of keeping the udder "as-is" while during the dry period. I dry treat all lactating animals here, some people do not. Just personal preference.


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## foxhollow (May 5, 2013)

Oh Cathy you have been sooo helpful! It is folks like you that confirm to folks like me that we are capable of succeses and that we can join the ranks of knowledge with all this experience.
I have attached a picture of her girl parts for your opinion on if she is pregnant or not. I am going to order a blood test to be absolutely sure. There is a chance she could be pregnant. Her previous owner did not separate bucks and does. (Yet another thing I can't really agree on.)

This leads me to my next question: 
If she is pregnant, should I not treat her with the ToMorrow? Is the ToDay treatment what I should be doing?
If she is not pregant, I will go ahead with it.

This morning the udder was not full again. I massaged and it was not hard. There is one questionable spot but it is closer to the top (closests to her body) and near the vein that separates both sides. It has broken up quite a bit. It may not be a problem at all but I am so new to the udder part of things that I may not know any different. 

I am so grateful for your input here! It is so nice to have this reference. Thank you! Let me know what you think of these girl parts.


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## mjs500doo (Nov 24, 2012)

If she's pregnant I would choose ToDay. This would be precautionary and will not harm her. If she's high SCC, which "beef" breeds of both cattle & goat tend to be, this will help lower that too. For ToDay I personally would follow through with 3 infusions total, 12 hours apart each. Milk out before each treatment. This should be enough for her. 

If not pregnant, one infusion of ToMorrow after milking that side out completely one last time.


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

from my experiance...if there is a buck in the pen..does are bred..lol...the pic is a bit blury but I see a relaxing of the pooch area..is her vulva pointed up or down?..Im thinking she is bred...BUT please let others who are better at pooch pix chime in lol..

heres the thing on that teat...with this being a single swelling I would suspect some kind of infection..I would go ahead and do as mjs500oo suggested...just to be sure all is well...if she is bred, once she comes into full blown milk...untreated could open a world of problems... get a blood test done just to be sure what you are dealing with..then treat with the meds approperiate... today or tomorrow..

best wishes!!


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## foxhollow (May 5, 2013)

Hello again,
I have just ordered a Bio-tracking test kit. We will draw blood and see what we are working with. 

For now, I am keeping an eye on the udder and if it becomes engorged or full I am milking it out. Since the afternoon where I was massaging and got the plug out (now 36 hours ago )the problem side has filled up just a little bit but upon massaging again yesterday I could not get any milk out. I am guessing this is good because we want her to dry up. 

Once I know for sure if she is bred or not I will administer the ToDay or ToMorrow accordingly. 

Should I do this in both sides or just the one that has been trouble? (My instincts say both)

She is getting a CD&T shot this weekend and there is no evidence of worms but I will be worming her next week as well. She has recived pro-bios and 2500mg of vitamin c in the evenings since Friday. 

She does not go for the grain as eagerly as my 5 month old kids. She pokes around at hay but yesterday I took them all for a walk and she browsed well. She is pooping and peeing regularly. Should I have any worry about food intake? She does have hay all day and some browse. I am not home to see her eat during the day but the regularity of pooping and peeing indicates to me she is ok. Thoughts?

I can't thank you all enough. Your input is so helpful! This was/is a real trial for me.


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

you would treat just the side thats swelling.....

Some goats just do not like grain...I would only worry if she is not chewing a cud..not making gas noises, has runny poop, sub temp ect...anything pointing toward a compromised rumen..or if she is very thin, needing extra calories or fat..
I would offer it and see if she will grow to enjoy it..other wise living on graze and hay is just fine. : ) 

best to worm only as needed...check inner lower eye lids for color..you want deep pink to red...if she is pale...I would worm..also her condition,,,if she has a dull coat, cotton feeling, mousy,..loss of weight ect...I would worm...without a fecal you are shooting inthe dark so a broad base wormer is best...we use Ivomec plus ( 1 cc per 40# sub Q) or Valbazen ( 1 cc per 10# oral,,not for bred does)...

if worms are not indicated but coat seems dull and color is fading...she may need Copper...: )


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

I went back to look at pix and see her tail is flared ( fish tail) and color is fading..so she may need copper... I buy cow bolus which is cheaper..break up the bolus to 1 gram per 22# in a smaller capsul or 1 cc per 60# ..I use a syringe ..cut off the top..fill it to the cc I need and top with probioitc paste...put way back corner of mouth to get it behind the tongue...push plunger..I have water ready in a small drenching gun to wash it all down


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## foxhollow (May 5, 2013)

I should probably change this title to reflect that she is not dry....

I am still waiting for the Bio-tracking test and with that I will administer the proper treatment- Today or Tomorrow. 

If she is bred, I am unsure of a specific date because she was not in my hands when it may have happend. This is a real shame and I can probably get close to a date but it will not be ideal. 

Are there advantages/disadvantages to a fall kidding? I live in Massachusetts and one draw for me is that there is less of a chance for kids to be born in the bitter cold. I know breeding in the fall and kidding in spring is most common but it seems as if both my does have been bred this spring to kid in the fall. Should I continue this cycle? General thoughts on this are welcomed. 

With all this attention to her udders (massaging with peppermint oil, Vitamin C suppliments, garlic, probios and some great access to browse) she has been giving me about a cup of milk, every evening and increasing as we go along. The udder that was not congested, that did not look problematic is also producing again. I have been testing a bit of the milk every other day or so and no mastitis. It looks great, tastes great and I am totally thrilled. 

My new questions are: Should I keep this going? If I find out that she is bred I want to give her a break from milking for awhile. Will the Today treatment dry her up? 

Thank you again! I have learned so much from this little gal!


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

We usually stop milking at 3 months bred to give a rest and allow mom to give all to the growing demand of the kids...I think since her milk looks and taste good, I think I would stop milking until the test come back...she may have a PU and a lopsided one at that which should be left..once she fills with full milk for new babies this should correct itsself....
If she ends up not being pregnant I would still leave the udder alone if it shows no sign of disease...then get her bred lol..

I like to plan kiding when wether is not too harsh eiterh way..cold or hot..but in Texas its a crap shoot!! we can snow on Easter or have a heat wave during Christmas!!


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