# mastitis : how to diagnose it



## goatskeeper (May 14, 2010)

i know some signs of mastitis in goats like (if i am wrong please tell me):
1- the milk is stringy , watery , ....
2- some blood in the milk.
3- hot udder
4- the udder is hard.


1)is there other signs of mastitis?
2)if the goat has mastitis, do all the signs appear at once or may some signs appear and others do not.
3)how to distinguish the normal 'hardness' of the udder from mastitis hardness of the udder ( *i realy want to know this , because i feel that the udder of my goat is hard a bit*)
4)if the goat has mastitis (and i didnt know that), is it safe to drink the milk ( raw milk or boiled)

thank you in advance


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

You will definately know the feel of an udder with mastitis, especially if you hand milk. As far as testing goes, you can go the "technical" route and get a california mastitis test kit or get the $4 test cards, I use the Dr Naylors mastitis test cards, Jeffers Supply carries them.
Mastitic milk can be an odd color as well as consistency, some blood in the milk is not always mastitis..broken capillaries in the udder will also put blood in the pail. Also, a doe with mastitis is extremely hard to milk...she may have an engorged hard udder but you will have trouble getting any milk out.
Personally, any abnormal milk as far as color and consistancy would not be consumed.


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## elchivito (Apr 18, 2010)

JMO, but either the cards or the CMT are preliminary tests at best. They are both designed for dairy cattle, and measure the presence of white blood cells in milk. Goat milk by nature has many more white cells in it, and so you'll often get a positive reading with the cards or the CMT that is actually not worth worrying about. I a cow, yeah, in a goat, not so much. Any really unusual readings call for a lab test to determine what bugs are causing the infection, in order to most effectively treat them. We have a dairy lab that will set you up with sample cups for free and only charge about 2 bucks for a test. We test periodically just to be sure. Cheap insurance. Sub-clinical mastitis can be hard to spot and treat, and when it eventually becomes clinical with serious signs, then you've got a problem. I'm sure most states have such labs, the one we use here in AZ is called Dairy Herd Laboratory and it's in Chandler AZ. It's dairyherdlab.com


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