# Need advice now...doe acting odd



## Mamaof4girls (May 2, 2016)

We have a doe that we noticed a small lump on the back of her udder a couple of days ago. We have been milking her twice a day and massaging the lump to see if it will go down. The lump has not changed, but tonight she is acting a bit lethargic and has very little appetite. Her temperature is 101.2. Should we be concerned about hypocalcemia and possibly mastitis at the same time? We did see specks of orange in her milk this last milking. She's not hot or swollen.


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## Mamaof4girls (May 2, 2016)

Update: It's after 9 p.m. where we live so we called the vet to see if he would come out on an emergency call to see her; however, he thinks this will wait until morning. He said from what we describe, he doesn't believe it is mastitis since she let us milk her, and she's not hot?? He's not thinking hypocalcimia since she did eat a little. Maybe I'm paranoid, but I feel like something is wrong. Some please give me some thoughts.


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## Dwarf Dad (Aug 27, 2017)

@happybleats ,@mariarose ,@toth boer goats @ksalvagno


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## Mamaof4girls (May 2, 2016)

Thanks Dwarf Dad for passing this on. It's been nearly an hour, so I'm heading out to the barn to get another temp on her. I will update temp here in a few minutes.


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## Mamaof4girls (May 2, 2016)

Her temperature is still 101.2. She was nibbling some hay. No trembling. I put a calf coat on her as a precaution. I hope she doesn't mess with it too much. I have a baby monitor set up so I can keep an eye and ear on her between barn checks tonight. I don't think I'll be getting much sleep.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

I would get some probiotics into her. Also B Complex. Low temp can be rumen problems too. Dark beer or Brewers yeast would be good too.


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## mariarose (Oct 23, 2014)

I agree. Flat dark beer is a good source of calcium AND probiotics, or a rumen bolus can keep that going.

All I can add is to keep an eye on that temp. Try to keep her warm until the vet gets to you... Good thinking on using a calf blanket.


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## Noahsoak (Sep 16, 2013)

If it's rumen and she should have rumen sounds 1-1.5/min., I've used a product called rapid rumen, got from vet. It works great!


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## Mamaof4girls (May 2, 2016)

Thank you all! She seems to be doing much better this morning. We gave her probiotics, but disnt have beer or Brewers yeast. Temp. Is normal 102.6. She's showing interest in her grain. We kept her with her kids all night but I am wondering if I should milk this morning due to the lump? I read that if it is hypocalcimia, I should back off on milking any more than needed until I get more calcium into her? Will go in town once stores open to get alfalfa cubes and/or beet pulp to get more calcium into her. Do you think I should still call the vet out? They are a well respected practice, but not sure they have much dairy goat specific background.


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## mariarose (Oct 23, 2014)

I'm glad about her temp. Yes, milk her. Yes, I'd have the vet out, or take her to the vet.


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## Mamaof4girls (May 2, 2016)

I should clarify that her two kids are on her all the time, we have not taken them from her so they are drinking her down. I just wasn't sure if I should try to milk her as well.


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## mariarose (Oct 23, 2014)

I would say yes, because in my experience, lumps are more often resolved with milking than without. I don't recall any lump coming from a lack of calcium. Perhaps you do have a calcium problem... but I don't think it is related to the lump problem.

You've seen the vet by now, yes? What was said?


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## Noahsoak (Sep 16, 2013)

I agree with seeing vet. Watch the grain intake if she's been off feed. Alfalfa and hay most important. Usually a vet will say no grain if a goats not eating and under the weather. 
This test would verify mastitis, but vet could do I assume. It's a cheap product. Wish you were near, I've never used. California Mastitis Test for cows.


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

Oh glad to read temp and She is much better...good job!! To clarify, lumps are internal? And where in the udder are they located? Is the milk still a little pink from blood? Low Calcium can cause blood in the milk. A good natural boost is a carrot and celery juice..1-2 each put through a juicer and drench . ( she may slurp it up on her own) this will offer calcium in a yummy and easy for her body to use form. Since baby's are with her, they will help bounce her udder and keep it drained some but you may need to do hot compresses and massage and knead further. Also if the udder is still fairly tight with the kids then milking her out some to offer more relief is a good idea.


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## Mamaof4girls (May 2, 2016)

Another update: This morning, the Doe's temperature was again normal, and her appetite is back to normal as well. Her udder was full so we milked her down a bit, and any red flecks in the milk we can now see are coming from some chafing and irritation on her teats. We did see when we stripped her that there were a couple of small clumps on the strip cup before milking. The lump is still there, it is just under the skin on the back side of the udder. It hasn't changed since we first noticed it. The only other unusual thing going on with her right now is that her stool is very large and clumpy, almost like the consistency of horse manure. It's not every time she goes, just occasionally. You can also see a lot of undigested plant products, like hay, mixed in. We did start feeding her Alfalfa pellets yesterday to help with calcium intake. Could that change in diet have cause some of these stool changes? We will continue massaging and heat compresses twice a day on the lump to see if it makes any difference. Since she has no other clinical signs of mastitis, could the clumps on the strip cup be from another source?


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

the lump center top of the udder is where a Lymph node is located. Sometimes it can be size of a good size egg. Loose stool and can be diet change, wet graze or lots of fresh grass graze. Probiotics can help that and feeding hay before setting out to graze. a good udder balm will help chaffing. Have you tasted her milk? Slight salty can be the start of mastitis..small red flakes, or a a bit of blood can be the need for calcium. I find feeding mom back 30 cc of her own milk from suspicious side for a few days helps her adjust things. (body detects any bacteria and builds antibodies to fight against the bacteria)


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## Mamaof4girls (May 2, 2016)

Hello fellow goat friends! Thank you all for your help and suggestions! Our doe is doing better, she still has that lump, but I'm starting to believe that it is a swollen lymph node from whatever else she had going on. It does seem to be shrinking somewhat. The flecks of blood I noticed are definitely from a chaffed teat. I apply some animal Neosporin to that sore teat after milking. Any suggestions on how to give it time to heal so it's not raw and bleeding? My new regime is giving her alfalfa pellets in addition to her grain and probiotics. Leaving her with kids 24/7 but milking out 2 x daily. Weighing kids daily to make sure they're still getting plenty of milk. They average about 1/2 pound growth daily. Only other negative change I've noticed in the doe is that she has sticky clumpy poo...probably from the dietary changes. That's my update! Thanks again for providing this helpful community support!


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## Sfgwife (Feb 18, 2018)

Mamaof4girls said:


> Hello fellow goat friends! Thank you all for your help and suggestions! Our doe is doing better, she still has that lump, but I'm starting to believe that it is a swollen lymph node from whatever else she had going on. It does seem to be shrinking somewhat. The flecks of blood I noticed are definitely from a chaffed teat. I apply some animal Neosporin to that sore teat after milking. Any suggestions on how to give it time to heal so it's not raw and bleeding? My new regime is giving her alfalfa pellets in addition to her grain and probiotics. Leaving her with kids 24/7 but milking out 2 x daily. Weighing kids daily to make sure they're still getting plenty of milk. They average about 1/2 pound growth daily. Only other negative change I've noticed in the doe is that she has sticky clumpy poo...probably from the dietary changes. That's my update! Thanks again for providing this helpful community support!


When you milk are you using a cream or something on her udder to make your hands glide? I wipe down the udder with my stuff, apply salve i make, milk, wiped udder down again and reapply a thin layer of the cream again. I use more cream when i am milkin than i do on the last part. Some people like bag balm... i make somethin similar here.


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## Mamaof4girls (May 2, 2016)

Oh yes, I use bag balm. The chaffing is on one teat, probably from one of the kids.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

For teeth wounds, I use chloroxidine solution, I actually spray it on 2 x a day, or more, when the kids are not nursing or just after they do.
I dilute 10 ounce water -2 ounces chloroxidine, put it in a spray bottle shake to mix.
It works and heals it even with nursing kids. Keep putting it on until healed.
Check the kids teeth for sharpness, get a very fine file and file the sharp area's off, it doesn't take much.
They hate it, be sure their lip is out of the way.

If she is really sore to start, hold her so the kids can nurse her, if she doesn't allow it, to ease some pressure or milk her, yourself.
I have given banamine to those who are really sore, for a few days.


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## Mamaof4girls (May 2, 2016)

Thank you for this great advice! She isn't refusing the kids as they're still gaining about 1/2 pound daily. They've doubled their weight in 2 weeks. She allows me to milk her, but inevitably, even with bag balm, I still irritate the scab a little. I'll give your advice a try.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

Good luck.


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