# Clumps of blood coming out with milking



## mhuckeba (Mar 3, 2011)

Hey all, so I was milking my doe this morning (my first dairy goat) and some clumps of blood came out from one side. I have read this could or could not be mastitis. Of course I ordered a CMT test 2 weeks before I knew I would be getting this doe and of course it is still not here :veryangry: Anyway, I am hoping for my package soon because I just saw the charge for it last week. But if this is not mastitis, what could it be from? I researched and watched videos of how to milk properly so I am sure I am doing it correctly. I am using the udder wash and teat dip recipe from the Fias Co. website until I can afford the shipping on the good stuff. I will note, my husband and I did make a hand pump for milking and tested it on her yesterday but we may have milked out an ounce. Could that have hurt her? She didn't seem to mind. 

So now I have the milk and I have strained it and put it in the fridge until I know what the blood is from. I really hope she is ok. She has been through a lot. She got super stressed from the move and was off feed for a few days. She got bad diarrhea so I gave her a b complex shot. She is now eating great, poo back to normal, and acting normal. But now of course there is blood in the milk :GAAH:


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

If it's large clots and the milk itself is tinged pink with no clumps of "curd" there is chance that she got bumped hard in the udder....Glad that you are questioning mastitis though because ANYTIME there is a change in milk, mastitis is the culprit 99% of the time.
Until your test kit arrives...a simple and sometimes effective way to check for mastitic milk is to take 1/2 cup of warm water and put 4-5 drops of regular blue dawn dishsoap in it...swish to disperse, then add 1/2 cup od fresh warm milk from the abnormal side...stir it up, if it turns slimey and slides off your fingers then she has mastitis.

Even though the homemade milker may have been gentle...it's a different type of pressure than what your hands would make, she could have been sensitive to that. Until you get your test kit or even until you are positive she doesn't have mastitis, keep her milked out and massage her udder with a peppermint oil/mineral oil combo or what I did was to use Bag Balm with peppermint oil and massaged the udder. My doe never had fever, heat or hardness to her udder and she milked out with normal milk though it was pink at times and the clots went to pinpoint size in the filter after 3-4 days.

Have you felt her udder? Feeling both sides at the same time will help you distinguish between what should be there and what shouldn't by comparing the halves...if there is any odd feeling hard lumps in the half that gave the clots, then it very well could be mastitis.

I experience this a few months ago....and I knew it was from her getting rammed in the udder, she ended up with a swelling with in the udder half that was long and firm...just the size and shape of the curved horn from the doe that hit her...it took a few weeks to totally disappear and she's fine now.


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## mhuckeba (Mar 3, 2011)

When I noticed the blood I did check her out. Her udder feels the same on both sides. I conveniently just shaved her udder yesterday. It is not hot or hard. I did massage her udder but I do every time I milk her. I remember when I was breast feeding and massaging feels good so I do it for her  And I do not think she was injured but I do not know. I only have 2 and the other one is her 2 month old daughter. Also, she has only been milked by a machine until she came to me. So she has been hand milked for the past 4 days. 

The clots that came out where sort of stringy. I actually looked to see if I was wearing any red that could have cause lint to fall in the pail. When I filtered the milk, I saw tiny strings of blood. And the milk was not discolored either which is why I thought lint had fallen into the milk. No clumps that I could see. 

Also with your home test, can I milk her out on that side here in a few hours when she fills up a little bit? Or do I need to wait until tonight when I milk her again? 

I may call the vet too, maybe they have a test strip or something that I can just test her with real quick, we will see.


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

You can milk her out now...with those thread like strings, I'm betting that she's reacting to being hand milked because they don't seem to be heavy( my doe actually had a clot that was the look of a chicken liver and bigger than a quarter) Thin strings of blood could be just capillaries breaking from being milked in a manner she's not used to, even though hand milking is a gentle process.

I would call the vet and see about a test strip anyhow...even if she clears up with the next few milkings, it may be best to test her sooner.


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## mhuckeba (Mar 3, 2011)

Ok my testers came in today. The breeder told me to get the cardboard ones because thats what she uses. Anyway, test came back negative for both sides. So is the milk ok to drink? Should I do anymore tests or leave her be and keep an eye on it?


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## KW Farms (Jun 21, 2008)

Hmm...I have no experience with this, but i'm sure someone will chime in soon. I'm glad to hear the tests came back negative though! :thumb:


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

So you got the Dr Naylors test cards?
It's accurate enough BUT with certain strains of bacteria it can show a false negative.

If you feel ok that her milk looks normal and tastes normal, then I don't see why you can't use it. Mastitic milk has a definate salty flavor as well as a thick curd like consistency.

It's up to you if you feel that she needs treatment, mastitis when serious enough can cause serious damage to the udder or even the death of the goat. If she's not showing a hard udder or the milk looks and tastes ok then she may be ok to just moniter her over the next few days.


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## mhuckeba (Mar 3, 2011)

Ok I will taste the milk. When I filtered the milk tonight I only saw maybe 3 tiny strings of blood. This is my first dairy goat so I didn't want to drink the milk and get sick or anything. If it gets worse or doesnt improve soon I will get the vet involved.


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