# Swollen doe udder bag



## dmoritz (Jun 21, 2011)

My 10 year old minature doe has a swollen udder (left side) and the vet came out and said she is not sick and does not have a fever but the bag is full. He told me not to milk her since she has never had any babies and he does not want to break the seal but it looks so uncomfortable, I am temped to try and milk her anyway. He hoped she would just dry up but I think that should have happened by now. It has been about 3 weeks. 

Do you have any suggestions?


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## still (Mar 16, 2013)

Can you post a picture?


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## dmoritz (Jun 21, 2011)

That is a great idea...I will need to figure out how to do that.


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

You can milk out just a tiny bit to see whats in there...at her age I would suspect infection...be clean...wash her udder and teat well...use warn water with Vinegar ..milk a few squirts out to see what it looks like...if it looks gross, smells bad then I would would grab some Tomorrow teat antibiotic..


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## sweetgoats (Oct 18, 2007)

I agree, she needs to be milked out a bit to see what it going on. IF there is an infection going on it has to be taken care of.


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## still (Mar 16, 2013)

I agree with using the Tomorrow. You can milk it completely out then infuse with the tomorrow........you can even do it for more than one day. Do you have any penicillin? You can give her that as well.


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## dmoritz (Jun 21, 2011)

Attached are two pictures of Bonnie's swollen udder.


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

Yikes poor mama...yes...milk a bit out and get a good look


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

Absolutely, milk her out. She may not like it all especially if the area is tender so be prepared for her to act out.

Once you have the contents emptied, massage her udder and gently feel for any hard knots within, you may feel mammary tissue which is normal when producing milk but any hard lumps will indicate mastitis. Treat her with the tube of Tomorrow and be sure to follow cleanliness procedure and do not touch the normal side at all to avoid contamination of the healthy side.


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## audrey (Jul 17, 2012)

Its so sad, and will always be shocking to me that so many vets don't know a thing about goats or dairy animals!


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## dmoritz (Jun 21, 2011)

Hey, where do you get the Tomorrow Teat Antibiotic? Is is only available through a vet? I have tried several feed stores and no one has heard of it or carries it.


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## still (Mar 16, 2013)

If you have a tractor supply they have it usually 


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

You can ask your vet if you cant find it locally..but most farm supply stores carry it...Tractor supply, Bovine supply stores, or you can odder it from Jeffers

best wishes


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## dmoritz (Jun 21, 2011)

I was not able to find the Tommorrow Teat Antibiodic here locally so I ordered some online. It should be here sometime this week. We are going to try the warm compresses in the meantime in hopes of getting the swelling to go down. I don't want to milk her until I have the antibiodic on hand. She does not seem to be too concerned about her swollen udder.

Can goats eat lawn grass that has been dried or has dried out? Just wondering because our little girl seems to like it but I don't want to give her something that might not be good for her. We have taken her off all alfalfa because we recently lost her half-brother to Urinary Calculi. She is really missing her alfalfa.


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

Alfalfa is fine for her.....its not the cause of UC..she will be fine... sorry you lost her brother..
http://www.tennesseemeatgoats.com/articles2/urinarycalculi06.html

grass clipping are ok as long as they have not been treated with chemicals...but they will not provide all her needed nutrition...but fun to chew on...


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## dmoritz (Jun 21, 2011)

OK, my Tomorrow supply has arrived. Since she has never had any babies I have never had to milk her. I am not worried about milking her (maybe I should be) but I am worried about getting the Tomorrow up in her teat after I have milked her out. Is there an easy way to contain her that someone has found in order to treat her with the Tomorrow? Do I need to build some kind of crate or something? I don't want her to get hurt and I don't want her to hurt me with those hooves of hers.


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## still (Mar 16, 2013)

The tomorrow is easy to put in......when you break the tip off it leaves a small applicator tip that you insert in the teat......it doesn't go in very far......my experience has been good and it doesn't seem to bother them much  you will need someone to hold her but other than that it should be relatively easy.......unless she doesn't like being handled at all 


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## dmoritz (Jun 21, 2011)

OK, so we milked Bonnie and received about a cup of beautiful white milk...surprise! We really did not expect that. I really don't understand how she could be producing milk. Her half brother (who we had to put down last week) was neutered at about 9 months of age 9+ years ago and I never saw him mount her so I don't believe she could be pregnant. I don't understand how or why she would begin producing milk at 10+ years of age. Anyone have any ideas? I was able to put some Tomorrow up her teat but not a whole tube. It looks like I am going to have to milk her again because her bag filled right back up. Has anyone seen this before?


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

*It is called Precocious Udder*, unless she shares a fence with a buck or one jumped in with her and jumped back out?
Get her a preg checked in case. That will let you know.

Here are some links that may help

http://www.thegoatspot.net/forum/f217/sophies-precocious-udder-130797/

http://www.thegoatspot.net/forum/f186/precocious-udder-retired-doe-developing-her-udder-year-130721/

http://www.thegoatspot.net/forum/f183/precocious-udder-milker-116291/

http://www.thegoatspot.net/forum/f197/pregnant-goat-precocious-udder-115552/

http://www.thegoatspot.net/forum/f186/precocious-udder-151770/


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## dmoritz (Jun 21, 2011)

So it has been four months since Bonnie's precious udder starting producing milk and now both bags are full. I don't want a milk goat but she is not drying up like I was told would happen. Does anyone have any ideas on how to get her to dry up. She looks miserable.


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

if she tested negative for mastisis..and the udder is even...then you can either milk just enough to make her comfy and hope she dries up...OR breed her...and let her kids nurse her...Or find a nice home with a family who needs milk...


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## goathiker (Apr 14, 2011)

I wouldn't be comfortable with breeding a 10 year old that has never had kids before. Just milk out enough to keep her comfortable. You can feed her Sage and Chicory to help reduce milk production.


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

> I wouldn't be comfortable with breeding a 10 year old that has never had kids before


You're right!! I didnt read back to see her age!! I should have...


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## dmoritz (Jun 21, 2011)

I milked her once to be sure it was just milk but it was very tramatic for me and her and I don't want to have to do that again if I don't have to. I am thinking her hormones are out of whack and I just need to get them going again somehow...kind of like goat menepause How do you feed Chicory and Sage and where do you buy it? How much of both should I give her? I have tried contacting UC Davis University to see if they have any ideas on what I can do but no one has called me back as yet.


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