# Please Help! Hard Thing In Udder Mastitis? Pics!



## CookingPam777 (Oct 16, 2007)

I feel so stupid. But for the longest time I thought boy she is hard to milk out I am just not getting it out. I would milk till nothing would come and her udder still felt big. I noticed this yesterday. Well today I milked her out same thing but a whole lot worse. I felt one side left all squishy the other side right had a huge hard thing in it. I did not notice it while milking her out but when I was pouring her milk in bottles there were clumps creamy white color. I noticed her udder was HOT and her milk felt like it had been brought to a boil to milk out. I got my brother and he said exactly what I was thinking and you can see the visible difference. See pic below. I am going to post a pic of her full as well. Please tell me what you think of her udder. She has always been hard to milk out but I noticed she felt so full which usually if I keep at it she milks out okay. So what do you think it is? Is it mastistis? If so how do I treat it? I only have a human thermometer or I would have taken her temp. I hear human ones don't work. She doesn't seem to be in any pain. Any help would be much appreciated!

Heres the Pics:



















Sorry for the dirty milk stand in the pics it has been a muddy mess. I keep cleaning it yet when rainy and muddy it doesn't keep clean long.

Please Help!

Worried Goat Mama


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## HollyBearFarm (May 25, 2008)

I would take her temp. I use a basic digital thermometer in the bum. It's not pleasant, but it's effective. 

A hard, hot udder and clumpy milk are pretty classic mastitis symptoms. I would milk her out every couple of hours and throw the milk away until her symptoms go away.

Have you ever had mastitis? According to my goat mentor, goat mastitis is exactly like the human kind. So treat it the same way...by keeping the udder empty and very clean, and antibiotics if necessary. 

Good luck! I'm a newbie too, and I can totally relate to the nervous, pit-in-your-stomach feeling that you get when one of your new goats is not well.


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## CookingPam777 (Oct 16, 2007)

I did not realize till the bottom of the bucket I was pouring a little feeding then noticed. Will my baby goat be all right? When I noticed I did throw away the milk.


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## CookingPam777 (Oct 16, 2007)

Can the milk go to chickens or should it definantly just be thrown away? I have never dealt with mastitis. Today she has a lump in the left that was not there yesterday like half the size of the other one. Is it always fast growing like this? The other side was the same size as yesterday. A goatie friend is bringing some meds that you stick in the teat I guess she said udder but that would be more like a shot and I don't think that's what she means. Do you think I should do this to? Her udder did not seem as hot as yesterday. And she gave more.


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## marytx (Dec 4, 2002)

Yes, I would give her the teat infusions. Just be sure it is done very clean.

When I had mastitis, they told me to let the baby nurse. I have always let the kid goats nurse when the doe has it.

But I would not drink her milk until you get this all cleared up, and do a withdrawal period for the drugs.

mary


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## susanne (Nov 4, 2004)

i would not let kids, especially doe kids nurse on a doe with mastitis. there are forms of mastitis that are infectious for the kids, and when they freshen, will have problems too.
before you infuse anything in the udder, please take a milk sample and put it in the refrigerator. if the treatment doesn't work, you have a sample you can send to a lab for culture.


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## CookingPam777 (Oct 16, 2007)

I have a pail of milk on the counter waiting for the ground or chicken mouths what should I do with it? I was feeding a little buckling milk but to be on the safe side I don't want to give it to him. So can chickens eat it?


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## southerngurl (May 11, 2003)

I can't imagine it would hurt the chickens, I've seen them eat some gross stuff. They are like little feathered pigs.


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## HollyBearFarm (May 25, 2008)

It's fine for chickens, ducks, pigs, anything. But I do agree with not letting kids drink it. Just keep milking her out. I also have an udder massage stuff (I think it's from Fiasco Farm) that was given to me to put on their udders...it kind of smells like Vicks and seems to work very well. Just google "mastitis balm".

Can you run to the feed store and get a California Mastitis Test? It's not much help the first time, but once you get a sense of what "normal" looks like for your goats, it can help a lot. I bought a bottle that made a full gallon...and I don't think it goes bad.


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## Starsmom (Nov 7, 2004)

Some may think this sounds a little weird, but shortly after having triplets, my doe starting developing a hard hot udder. I wasn't able to get into town right away to pick up the meds she needed, so I started doing some research. I found an article where someone milked out the goat and gave her back some of her milk in a drench. She began to produce the antibodies needed to fight the bacteria and her mastitis cleared up. I thought it odd, but figured I'd give it a try, what would I have to lose. I did and within a couple days she was cleared up. Its worth a try, what do you have to lose?


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## sammyd (Mar 11, 2007)

Mastitis milk is fed to calves regularly and it doesn't affect them.

Somehow the drench story doesn't sound like it would work. If the bacteria is all ready in her system she should be producing antibodies anyway. I read that article as well and suspect that the milkout and rubbing some sort of salve on the udder has more to do with curing anything than pouring milk down her throat.



> what do you have to lose?


 half an udder, a goat......

If her udder is noticebly hot and hard to the touch and the milk has big noticable clumps I wouldn't mess around. Get some meds in her. Keep her milked out as much as possible.
In the past I have used oxytocin to help in keeping an affected cow milked out and gotten away with just using that and stripping the udder every couple of hours.
Do you use a good premilking wash and post milking dip? If her pen/pasture is muddy you can get dips that form a film that do a good job of keeping out the nasties.


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## CookingPam777 (Oct 16, 2007)

Her lumps are gone down I'd say 1/3 in size. Her udder is not feeling as hot and I have not seen any more clumps.


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## CookingPam777 (Oct 16, 2007)

I am getting the meds today when we go out. She seems to be getting better though.


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## HollyBearFarm (May 25, 2008)

Woo hoo! That's awesome, Pam! And Sammy, that's an excellent point about calves being fed mastitis milk.


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## CookingPam777 (Oct 16, 2007)

When she gets the meds in her will the milk still be safe for chickens or no?


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## Citrine Rising (Mar 20, 2008)

And then after the treatment is done invest in some peppermint oil. I make my own peppermint udder balm/salve. 
Here's a quote from Hoeggers Supply Catalog on the virtues of the oil: "Peppermint oil is an all natural solution to the problem of mastitis. Massage around affected areas. This is not an antibiotic, so there is no need to discard milk. Peppermint oil is also good for bruises, strained muscles and poor circulation." I also make my own teet dip out of organic apple cider vinegar, peppermint oil, and water. Also think about putting Apple Cider Vinegar in her drinking water. Potassium is to our tissue, what calcium is to bone. Super important! Don't waste your money on the dead distilled ones at the supermarket.....Look for the original Live, Organic Vinegar w/ the mother. That's the only one to use here. She would really benefit from good minerals that have the proper copper level for goats. And a loose mineral is the optimal to give to goats. Copper is toxic to sheep, so make sure that you don't feed the sheep and goat block that's sold at feed stores. 
Sure hopes this helps, and I truely hope for a speedy recovery for your girl.

Blessings,
Citrine


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## CookingPam777 (Oct 16, 2007)

I have tried and tried and tried to cram the treatment up her teat and just cannot do it. What should I do? She's getting better without me really doing anything. I got some fight bac for her teats. Which she is not fond of. She is a really well behaved goat so she would stand there for hours I just need to know what I am doing wrong. Her lumps keep going down in size.


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## Lada (Jun 7, 2008)

It sounds like it's getting better on its own, which is normal if caught early. Just like with human mastitis if you catch it early, milk it out and keep everything clean, you won't have to use the antibiotics. Watch carefully, though. If she starts acting sick at all or running a fever, that's not good.


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## CookingPam777 (Oct 16, 2007)

Okay! She is acting great so I guess she'll heal pretty much on her own then.


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## southerngurl (May 11, 2003)

Peppermint oil is also wonderful for headaches, try it next time you have one.


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## HollyBearFarm (May 25, 2008)

I have one doe that I have to watch pretty closely for mastitis. She has VERY large orifices and likes to lie in the dirt.  Anyway, the first sign of mastitis for her is heat, and as soon as I feel that I start rubbing salve into her udder. And I've only dealt with an actual case of mastitis once.

It's really not that impressive when you consider that I've had goats for less than half a year, but still a testament to the power of prevention.


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

Did you lubricate the tip of the treatment tube and her orifice?


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