# Bloody milk - mastitis?



## bornagain62511 (Mar 3, 2015)

one of my does had a blood clot in the first squeeze of milk out of one side of the udder this morning and the milk was pink with blood until the very end. Other than that, I don't notice anything else wrong with her. Is this a sure sign of mastitis, or could it possibly due to another doe "hooking" and injuring her udder with it's horns which happens occasionally?

Also, is the milk safe for me to drink from the non infected half of the udder, or should I discard all her milk until it clears up?

Has anyone had good luck with using herbal infusions such as Fir Meadow's Udder Blast to cure mastitis?


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## IHEARTGOATS (Jun 14, 2016)

Sometimes they just have a blood capillary burst.


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## IHEARTGOATS (Jun 14, 2016)

I would test for mastitis though.


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## bornagain62511 (Mar 3, 2015)

ok thanks! So if it is just a capillary burst, could that cause the all the milk from one milking to be bloody? Does the blood usually clear up quickly in the next milking or two?


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## mariarose (Oct 23, 2014)

Is this her first milking from a very full udder?


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## bornagain62511 (Mar 3, 2015)

She is a first freshener, but she has been in milk since June.


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## Suzanne_Tyler (Jul 19, 2014)

She could’ve been hit which would cause a burst capillary.


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## mariarose (Oct 23, 2014)

But has this been the first time the udder was really full?


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## bornagain62511 (Mar 3, 2015)

mariarose said:


> But has this been the first time the udder was really full?


no


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## mariarose (Oct 23, 2014)

That would've been almost certain confirmation of burst capillaries. But as Suzanne said, she could've been hit.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

Just to be safe, test for mastitis.


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## bornagain62511 (Mar 3, 2015)

Good news, I had the vet test her milk from that side and it tested negative. She's been acting normal eating normal no unusual lumps or textures in her utter or milk besides the pinkness from the blood. And the blood in her milk cleared up quickly within 24 to 36 hours. And milk production and texture stayed the same other than the pinkness from the blood. I'm 99.9% sure it was from one of the doe's with horns "hooking" her in the udder that caused the bleeding inside her udder. I'd been milking this doe once every morning and that morning I first noticed it the milk was really pink with blood. I decided it would be best to milk her out on that side that evening, and there was just a tiny bit of blood clot in the milk and less pinkness overall in the color of the milk, so less blood. The next morning there was barely a noticeable tint of pink in the milk. I did not milk here that evening and the next morning the milk was white as could be. From watching my doe's interact over the past weeks and months, I'm pretty sure I know which doe did the "hooking" injury with her horns too. There was not any noticeable injury on the outside of the skin of the udder or anywhere in that area. Must have just hit it perfect to cause a capillary to burst or something.


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## Suzanne_Tyler (Jul 19, 2014)

Glad it wasn't mastitis


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

Good to hear.


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## bornagain62511 (Mar 3, 2015)

So the milk was all clear for a few days and now this morning it was bloody again and there was a large clot of blood that came out in the first few squeezes of milk from that same udder. I know the first test was negative but I'm going to take this milk in for another sample just in case. Not sure what to think of it. Any ideas? I'm also starting to question if it was for sure from another goat hitting her in the udder with its horns because I would sure think I would be able to see some kind of injury or cut on the outside of her skin if the bloody milk was caused by that. Not sure what to think


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

Wow, yes, test her again.


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## bornagain62511 (Mar 3, 2015)

I found this doing a quick search

https://attra.ncat.org/calendar/question.php/our-goat-s-milk-has


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

If it sounds like described in the link, she is probably OK. 

A periodic test for mastitis will let you know.


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## TexasGoatMan (Jul 4, 2015)

May I suggest separating this doe from the others and see if the milk clears up. if it does then you know what is taking place. The other doe may be a bully toward this doe and if so you could/will continue to have this problem. If it doesn't clear up then you have eliminated one possibility. Good luck


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## mariarose (Oct 23, 2014)

Mastitis, in my research as I don't have a lot of personal experience, does not normally cause actual blood clots. That isn't really an "infection thing" I do know that a single trauma can cause multiple results.

Are your goats crowded? When they get crowded, and something makes them cranky (bad weather?) then meanness can occur that otherwise would not. In times of stress, like bad weather, it is wise to allow the goats as much distance from one another as you possibly can, including lots of small shelters over 1 large shelter. Even if the large shelter, or large feeder, should hypothetically service a lot of animals, more bullying will occur.


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## bornagain62511 (Mar 3, 2015)

Thanks again for all the replies and especially the last couple above, some very good suggestions there. Part of the bullyness is definitely due to that it's cold and snowy up here in Wisconsin and I have my 8 doe's in a relatively small enclosure with one large hay feeder and two Huts that they use for shelter to get out of the snow and the wind. From April until late November they're out on pasture and have lots more open free space to roam so they're definitely more likely to be bullying one another in this weather and in the smaller enclosure.

So I had her milk tested again even though we were all sure that it was not mastitis, but I had to check just to be sure. The second test came back negative again so that was good and confirmed our thinking. The blood in her milk disappeared again after a couple days and now the last two days it has been completely blood free. I think what happened is kind of like when we get a bad cut and our skin forms a scab and if we bump it or rub it too hard the scab breaks loose and it starts to bleed again. I think the same kind of thing happened with the blood vessel that was bleeding inside her udder. Hopefully it's healed up for good now and is never an issue again. I will post here if there is ever blood in her milk again but otherwise you can assume that all is well and it was never a problem again. Thanks


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