# precocious doe what to do??



## jenG (Aug 20, 2011)

I have a doe who bagged up and we thought there was a small chance she could be pregnant, no babies ever came and I read somewhere not to milk her that she would reabsorb the milk.
She is very lop sided and it has been since mid February. I have gotten her on the stand to see if her teat was blocked and it is not. I was able to express milk very easily. Her other side was filled I saw it leaking milk several times and now seems almost back to normal. She doesn't appear to have any infection or to be uncomfortable.
Should I do anything? She has never kidded and from what I read on the fiasco farm site this could be a sign of her being an excellent milker in the future.
Thank you!


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

You can milk her.


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## jenG (Aug 20, 2011)

Thank you, Alice!


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## LomahAcres (Jan 21, 2007)

A precocious udder that is also lopsided is usually brought on by mastitis - unless she has always been lopsided even in previous lactations. I would send a sample in for testing - usually the smaller side is the infected side. I know when you read around everyone says don't milk - but having dealt with a lot of precocious udders here I say milk her all the way out once - be very clean and use a teat dip after. Usually they take another 1-2 days to re-fil and not as much. I continue to milk out if they seem full every few days or so and eventually (usually within 1-2 weeks) they dry up.


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## jenG (Aug 20, 2011)

Thank you I will do that.


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## jenG (Aug 20, 2011)

LomahAcres said:


> A precocious udder that is also lopsided is usually brought on by mastitis - unless she has always been lopsided even in previous lactations. I would send a sample in for testing - usually the smaller side is the infected side. I know when you read around everyone says don't milk - but having dealt with a lot of precocious udders here I say milk her all the way out once - be very clean and use a teat dip after. Usually they take another 1-2 days to re-fil and not as much. I continue to milk out if they seem full every few days or so and eventually (usually within 1-2 weeks) they dry up.


You were 100% correct. I thought that the small side had gone down because it was dried up, but when I squeezed her teat this thick yellow clumpy stuff came out and YUCK! I feel horrible letting her go this long without treating her. Its not like I hadn't checked her but I obviously have a lot to learn. &#128551;
Thank you for your help.
Now to learn about mastitis........


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## LomahAcres (Jan 21, 2007)

If she is at the point where you can't get enough to sample I would start treatment for staph type mastitis - as this is usually the cause. Here's my treatment for staph in precocious udders - 

From your vet - get a box of Pursue mastitis treatment and a bottle of banamine. 

I give 1/2 dose of banamine injections every 12 hours for 3 days (do not give for more then 3 days) This will help stop and prevent scar tissue from forming in the udder. 

Antibiotics - I like to use Bio-mycin (usually available from your farm store), one shot every 24 hours to help her body fight off infection for 5 consecutive days.

2 TB yogurt twice daily for probiotic supplement - anytime goats are on antibiotics they should also be on probiotics to keep their rumen healthy. 

Chewable Vit C tablets - like for people - 2500 mg daily for an immunity booster and again to help fight off infection. Most goats will eat these out of hand - but if not, I crunch them up real small and mix it with the yogurt and syringe orally. 

With the pursue - I would just infuse the infected side - in needs to be in her udder at least 12 hours to work well. I would infuse twice daily for 3-4 days - milk her out all the way and give her a good rub before infusing. On the last day with the last infusion leave it in there, don't milk her out again. 

If available I would also give her the J-Vac vaccine now - as I have found to work well in softening tissue and preventing scar tissue - even though that is not it's intended purpose. I would also fallow up with a lysigin vaccine in a few weeks to keep it from coming back, and would also fallow up with another dose of each vaccine at the start of her next lactation. 

I know it seams like a lot but if not treated quickly mastitis can ruin an udder. I have found this treatment to be fairly effective.


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## jenG (Aug 20, 2011)

I called both my local feed stores today and neither one carried the CMT. They had no clue what I was talking about.:/
I got her up on the milk stand and she really let me massage her and milk her completely out with very little fuss. She has never kidded or been milked so for her to be so good, especially if she has mastitis, kind of blew me away. 
I'll call my vet in the am to see about getting her tested and the supplies you mentioned. 
Ok so when you say to give her 2 TB of yogurt do you mean Tablespoons?
Can I give her flavored like vanilla I have some organic baby yogurt or should I get plain?
Lomah acres you have really been so helpful! Thank you and I appreciate all the advise/help!


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## LomahAcres (Jan 21, 2007)

Yes, Tablespoons - you really can't give too much yogurt. Vanilla flavored or plain is fine, its just important she gets some probiotics into her. There is sticky thread at the top of the main form for mastitis testing - you have to take a sample and freeze it - ship it to the lab overnight - testing is free but shipping is usually pricey - around here it's about $60. The milk has to reach them still frozen or they can't use it.

That's the thing with mastitis - it's more common in your dry does then in your milkers - dirt gets into the udder - with a doe in milk the udder is continually getting filled and empty - sort of a flushing process so most of the time dirt doesn't stay in long enough to do any harm. In a dry doe- dirt gets in and just sits there and then festers into an infection.


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## jenG (Aug 20, 2011)

Wow! All the time I thought I was doing the right thing by not milking her and I could have prevented this entire process. Is it ok if I friend you and send you a private message?


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## LomahAcres (Jan 21, 2007)

Sure thing, anytime - always happy to talk goats


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