# Help with Mastitis



## Katemary63 (Nov 30, 2010)

Hi. I've got a first freshener 94% Boer goat. She's our best goat. Won Grand Champion at the fair in 2009. She kidded Thursday, the 20th. She did NOT have a huge bag long before kidding. It only got big really, the day before. So she had a difficult birth. First kid was born fine. Second kid was much bigger with head flipped back. My husband had to go inside and pull the head forward and pull the dead kid out. No prolapse, thank God! 

We gave her selenium, B12, goat drench and penicillin. Surviving kid was weak so we milked the doe and bottle fed her once that night and again the next morning. By morning the doe was not eating and had a fever of 105.4 so I called the vet. She also had a hard udder on one side. The vet came Friday morning, flushed her out and stomach tubed her water to hydrate her. I asked him about the hard udder and he said just keep milking it out which we had been doing but there was very little actual milk coming out. The bag was not hot or red. By Friday night the doe was eating again and the kid was nursing her. 

Saturday morning, the doe was miserable with an udder as hard as a brick. We bought some ToDay and started treating her for mastitis. (Stupid vet should have done it Fri. dangnabit!) She got some Sat. and Sun. and will again tonight, and we've been trying to milk her several times a day but there is so little. Some strings of thick stuff do come out. We've used hot compresses and massage. The kid doesn't even try to nurse that side now and she's not even getting what she needs from the good side. We are having to supplement her with a bottle. 

A dairy goat lady near by told me to treat for mastitis for 3 days and then tape up the good teat on day four and force the kid to nurse the bad teat. At this point, with an udder as hard as a brick, is this what you all would recommend? I'm so very disapointed since this is our most valuable goat and I'm afraid her bag is ruined. Do goats every recover from this and go on to nurse normally the following year? 

Sorry this is so long. ANY advice would be appreciated.


----------



## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

I am sorry you lost a baby :hug: 

As far as the mastitis goes, from what I understand, you are doing everything you should be...med, massage, milking. Keep it up, the longer she is getting treatment the better the chances for full recovery.


----------



## farmgirl42 (Jan 3, 2010)

I would NOT tape back to "good" teat, or you may very well end up with the same problem on that side as well.

Peppermint oil mixed with a little bit of glycerin or jojoba oil will really help.

Another option is to process some cabbage leaves in the food processor and massage that mush into the udder. Sounds really weird, but for some reason, cabbage really helps relieve congestion.

One lady I know mixes the peppermint oil into the cabbage leaves, but I haven't tried that myself so I can't say. I have done one and then a couple of hours later done the other.

I would consider giving her Penicillin if you don't see an improvement in the next day or so. Also, high doses (about 3000mg) of Vitamin C to support the immune system.

It's very important that you keep trying to milk out both sides. Probably best to try to milk her 3-4 times a day instead of only once or twice. That should help relieve some of the pressure/swelling.

Are you dipping the teats once you finish milking? The kids have an enzyme in their saliva that encourages the teat opening to seal off, but when you milk them the teat canal stays open for a while and lets bacteria in, which can lead to a continuation of the mastitis.

Hope this helps...

Here's an easy recipe to make your own teat dip:
Ingredients: Apple Cider Vinegar 
Tea Tree Oil (or other essential oils having antibacterial properties) 
Glycerin 
Steps: 
1.-Fill an 8 oz bottle or jar mostly full with Apple Cider Vinegar 
-Add ~0.5 mL of Tea Tree Oil 
-Add enough Glycerin to just cover the bottom of the bottle (it sinks when you add it). 
-Shake to mix before each use 

2.Add a little more Glycerin in the cold weather months.


----------



## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

I agree with the others..... Also warm compresses will help... :hug:


----------



## pelicanacresMN (Dec 29, 2009)

I've heard of the cabbage method for humans that are breastfeeding & my sister-in-law who has child #3 swears by it..never thought of using it on goats so that's interesting. 
I had one doe last year that got the mastitis in one side so we used the peppermint oil & started the process of drying her up right away. She had a single kid that apparently only nursed on the one side. 
The mom is due to kid in about a week & a half & I am curious also to see how her udder will look this year & see if it will function properly. I will let you know how it turns out if I remember to post.


----------



## MissLady4Goats (Apr 1, 2014)

I have a mother goat that gave birth march 13 to twins. She was a week earlier than we counted on. The boy was left for dead in 20 degree temps and the other his sister was twice his size and healthy. We revived the boy 1 1/2 pounds and it was touch and go for 2 weeks. You name it we have had it to deal with. Just when we thought we were on easy streak the mom got black mastitis on one teat and it fell away during washing! We treated the one teat as the kid was only nursing on the other one. Less than a week later the kid had blood on her face and mom was bleeding from her teat. The kid has just mutilated the one good teat! We took the kid off the mom and began to bottle feed her and treat the mom for mastitis. We were unable to milk her out and was only able to milk out about 2 ounces for the kid before we began treatment. We have given her a vitamin B, E, and C drench, used three doses of Today and penicillin for three days 2 x's a day so far. We have put warm compresses on her for 15-20 minutes, massaged the utter and applied mint oil and still unable to get more that 1-2 ounces each time. We also apply antibiotic cream and wash with a iodine solution. She is eating and pooping fine. The kids are both on bottle feedings every 4 hours 7 ounces with a pinch of baking soda, a teaspoon of yogurt every 3rd bottle and given electrolytes and B vitamins. They are separated from mom but she can lie next to them and see them on the other side of the fence. She does not accept the male kid at all. She even tries to head butt him through the fencing. By now he is like a little Goat Dog. He is left to play with his sister all day but brought in at night as we only have a very small pen for one baby. We are in the process of building another larger enclosure for the kids that is next to where mom is kept.

My concern is the difficulty we are having milking her out!! We are supposed to give her the Tomorrow in the morning but with her udder full I am unsure as to what to do?? 

I will try the cabbage leaves. She is really difficult to even get in the building on the milking station. When we do get her there she shakes like a leaf and gives us a whole lot of problems. It takes about an hour once we have her in there. 

We are only able to do this 2 x's a day because we have to work and one of us cannot handle her it takes us both.
Any advice or help would be greatly appreciated!! 

Thank You,

Jaye


----------



## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

I have never dealt with Mastisis....but have had congested udders here that kept me on my toes...
a very warm compress..coconut oil with peppermint ess oil and vit e..and lots of muscle...warm, massage, knead then milk..repeat...it took us a week or longer to get one girl loose...we went out several times a day...I have heard about the cabbage but never used it myself...I read to place them on the udder and wrap in warm moist towel..hold there as until it cools..then massage knead ,milk and repeat..
One more thing I do is feed 30 cc the does milk back to her..I do this twice daily...any bacteria the body detects she will make antibodies to fight against..this will help her fight from within as well


----------

