I just got a new goat. She is a registered saanen.She has the start of mastitis ,her udder is hard and full .I am milking out all I can get and massaging it .Would a shot of antibiotics help ?Infussion ? This is not a good way to start out are new relationship anything I can do to make her feel better will be appreciated.

-- Patty Gamble (fodfarms@slic.com), April 28, 2000

Answers

Patty, you are on the right track with frequent complete milkings and massage. I would suggest that you also add hot packs to the procedure. The beauty of this system is that it is constantly diluting the number of bacteria and removing its food source plus you are stimulating the gland and its blood supply with the goat's own immune properties to fight infection. You didn't mention how recently she kidded or what the milk looks like. Sometimes they have edema that can feel like mastitis and it's a matter of time, the milking, massage, etc. before the udder adjusts itself. If the milk is clotted, stringy or smells bad, she does have mastitis. If it's pink, even if it looks like very pink, it usually means that the tiny capillaries are seeping blood cells but probably isn't infectious. Since you can have bacterial and mechanical mastitis, I would figure out which is which before giving her shots (as a woman allergic to penicillin, I don't readily give antibiotics unless there is a reason). The mechanical type is from recent kidding and the udder is adjusting to heavy production or something like a bump or bruise to the udder. Those could be from jumping a sill repeatedly or onto the milking stand, another goat stepped on her teat, or a poorly attached udder. They can all set the doe up for bacterial invasion so rule out the mechanical causes first. It's impossible to know just what organism is causing an infectious mastitis without an expensive culture and sensitivity test otherwise you are just shooting in the dark. That is part of the reason we have so few effective antibiotics available today. As far as infusions, I have given up using them. First it's nearly impossible not to drag "germs" into the streak canal with the applicator. Second, the udder has so many tiny pockets, the alveoli, that even with serious gentle massage, I have never been convinced that the drug is getting where it needs to be to fight the infection.

I encourage you to continue with your present therapy and give her a treat like an apple or carrot chunk and lots of scratching and patting when you finish.

Also, if you have other goats, milk this one last just in case she has an infection and separate her if possible. Never throw milk that might have such organisms on the ground where other animals could lie in it. Good luck to you both.

-- Marilyn (rainbow@ktis.net), April 28, 2000.

Excellent answer from Marilyn! I also don't see much value in infusions when they are in milk, though I do infuse at dry off. If you can confirm that this is mastits, you can send your own sample into your local Animal University yourself, then I would treat with the anitbiotic that they tell you will work, given systemically. Just because you are in another state you can still one day mail a milk sample to Texas A&M, and have them furnish you with results over the phone, and then with a hard copy. They deal with us without or with our vet. I just use vacutainer tubes, (red topped test tubes) use a padded envelope and one day mail it. You could eaisly send them in large syringes with the top taped. I don't ice one day mail, blood, fluid or milk. Your local big animal vet should have a local university that does milk samples for cattle, also. Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), April 28, 2000.

Marilyn's answer is very good and I sure do agree with it! Nearly all the mastitis we have had has been mechanically caused, for example the udder was butted really hard and got a huge bruise on it. The only thing I would add is to put a good coat of bag balm on the udder after the hot compresses. I don't know why it works so well, but when I got mastitis, I tried the hot packs, everything else, and it didn't get better until I used the bag balm. Then it cleared up almost overnight!

-- Rebekah (daniel1@transport.com), April 28, 2000.

Her milk looks fine no clumps or blood .It is very tender though .I will keep doing what I am .Thanks

-- Patty Gamble (fodfarms@slic.com), April 28, 2000.

Before the heat compress try massaging with peppermint oil diluted 30:1 with olive oil. This really opens everything up and will help stimulate the flow of blood and out with the bad, in with the good.

-- Sondra (wollbrtg@i1.net), May 01, 2000.