My milk goat Clara had mastitis last spring and I called the vet. At the time I was trying to dry her up..prior to her kidding. The vet...a great old guy who talked to me on the phone about goats for 45 min. no charge...told me at the time that he would like to see me get it cleared up without antibiotics, and so I milked her 3 times a day, and was even more clean than clean can be about everything...threw her milk where not even the cats could get it..etc...and it cleared up. He told me at the time if her temp went over 104..it never did....or this didn't help, or she went off feed..etc..that I would need to give her oxytetricycline. Since it cleared up...I never did. I never was able to dry her up completly, although I tried. Anyway...she kidded, and I weaned her baby over a month ago and sold him. She has had a little flare up again so once again I am tossing the milk and milking more often. It is better again...still no fever or acting sick..just a lumpy teat...just above the teat actually. The milk is not thick or stringy or clumpy at all. It is tender on that side when I milk, so I carefully milk her out really well.Should I treat her with Oxytetricyclene (sp) or is there something better...or just not worry about it?? She is a wonderful goat who gives about a gallon a day at peak. I am pretty sure she must have had this problem before I bought her almost 2 years ago. She was dry when I bought her and was not due to kid for 4 months more. But....no regrets about getting her...just want to clear this up if possible. We are not drinking the milk until I am sure its okay. Any thoughts???Vicki??

-- Jenny (Auntjenny6@aol.com), October 20, 2001

Answers

Are you sure it is mastitis..no clumps,etc.?She may just have a tender teat for some reason.I cleared a lump up above a teat,by feeding the doe vit.C,and vit.E tablets daily..You can milk a cup of milk into clean container,add 1Tbl. of dish soap,stir around..if it is mastitis,it will get thick and lumpy..if it remaims the same consistancy,it should be safe milk..

-- Michelle Burton (davmic25@hotmail.com), October 20, 2001.

I had a few years ago read about that mastitis check, but could not find it again recently. Thanks. Tana

-- Tana Cothran (tana@getgoin.net), October 20, 2001.

My milk goat had bloddy, clumpy milk after the 2 kids were weaned. Igave her 2 goldenseal roots on apeanut butter sandwich, & the milk was clear in 2 DAYS. ( ? ) I didn't want to kill the rumen bacteria, so I guess that did it.

-- Elizabeth Quintana (rpckshelter@webtv.com), October 20, 2001.

You could try the CMT test found in Jeffers, or the Dawn dishwashing liquid, with equal parts milk, swirl in a flat dish, if it turns to jello you have mastitis. Problem is this doesn't show staph. Yes most mastitis does have nasty milk, and you can taste it, see it and you have heat in the udder, problem is staph doesn't have any of this, can show in one half as simply less milk, sometimes a thicker wall to the udder half, uneven drying up. The best thing to do is to send a milk sample in. It would be cheaper than buying one bottle of LA200 or udder infusions. It is cheaper than one trip to the vet. And if I say yes give her the LA200 and infuse her udder with this or that, we are just guessing that the kind of mastitis she has is sensitive to tetracycline! And many are not. The vitamin C idea is a very good one! Vicki

Did she actaully clear up the first time or dry due to being bred? After drying her is really the perfect time to treat her. And any doe that had abnormal milk or an abmormal udder during her lactation should be dry cowed at drying. It is tough to clear a actively being milked doe. Especially a doe who milks really well as she clears drugs much quicker than a sluggish milker. Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), October 21, 2001.