I have a pregnant doe (due to kid in the next several weeks I think!) who has developed mastitis. It's not hot at all, but has nearly rock hard places in both the teat and that side of the bag. My vet gave me an antibiotic yesterday, but my question was, since she's pregnant, do I still milk her out?

-- CJ (cjtinkle@getgoin.net), November 27, 2001

Answers

CJ how long have you owned the doe? Did she milk well for you last year? If she is new for you than this could be old scar tissue from mastitis or scar tissue from burst abscess or injury, you are feeling.

You simply can't tell by looking or feeling (unless you are feeling for heat) that a goat has mastits. You have to test the milk, either by site, by lab or home testing or by taste. Very pregnant and all you should have in the udder is the beginnings of colostrum. I would leave this animal alone unless a more experienced goat breeder looks at the udder and tells you to proceed. Filling her with antibiotics isn't going to help unless you know what is wrong. 99% of the time mastitis is horrid. Hot udder, sick goat, stinking runny nasty sometimes bloody milk. Subclinical mastitis is usually only picked up because the doe is milking lopsided, doesn't have good keeping qualities to her milk or is picked up on routine test, and it is usually staph.

Though not near the teat, several of my older does freshen with big masses feeling like a shelf at their rear udders, whether this is colostrum packed into the glands or edema, with thorough milking and lots of massage it goes away in a week or so. What ever is wrong with your doe, deal with it after pregnancy unless she has a temp or is ill from this. Get some colostrum from another goat keeper on hand just in case and perhaps a few gallons of goat milk in the freezer. This way you will have all your bases covered. When she kids the colostrum should be clean and sweet, if you do discover it to be nasty than pull the kids and bottle them, milk the doe and treat her. Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), November 27, 2001.

Goldenseal ( 2 roots on a peanut butter sandwich) or motherwort will CURE her without killing th rumen.

-- Elizabeth QuintanA (rockshelter@webtv.com), November 30, 2001.