goat mastitis

[momma_to_seven_chi]

I bought a goat from the sale barn 10 days ago. She came in late, so I didn't get a chance to look her over first. She was a nubian, very tall with nice looking body. Her udder appeared swollen from where I was sitting. They said she was 2yo, had kidded early, and had access to a billy recently. And she only went for $40, so it didn't seem like a big risk to buy her. Everything was going low because it was a very slow day there with few bidders. She has a nice body shape for a milk goat.
Unfortunately, she had mastitis. (I should have looked her over first!) Her udder was full, hot, knotted, and the milk was very thick. I got her antibiotics from the vet. I have been milking her out twice a day, and massaged out all the knots. Her udder has lost the heat and swelling. But yesterday she passed blood from her right teat. Same today. It is brown, icky, smelly, and watery.
Apparently she lost her kid or they took the kid off her, and didn't milk her out. It caused her to congest and get mastitis. Is there any hope? She has been on antibiotics from our vet since I got her. I have never seen a goat pass bloody milk like that before. I hate to simply cull her or resell her because she is sweet. But I have a lot more money into her know for vet visits than it would have cost to simply buy a quality goat.
Has anyone ever seen this before? Do any of you have experience with mastitis and bloody discharge?

[fnfredux]

get back with the vet, she does still have an infection. Keep up the milking as that will help. What kind of antibiotics is she on? Has she had any penicilin in shot form?
Sale barns are great places to pick up infections, she may have been almost okay 10 days ago, but might have been exposed to more than the vet is treating her for.
I have never had a goat quite that bad, not for vey long anyway, I give a three day course of injectable penicillin at the firat sign of infection/mastitis.
Check to see that her teats have no sore spots. WASH her teats before you milk and dispose of the milk, don't use it even for animal feed.
It will take some strong antibiotics to clear things up completely but don't give up.
I had a dog once that had mastitis, I gave her the oral antibiotics that the vet prescribed, but I also expressed milk from the affected/infected teats. It took about a week of treatment for it to clear up. Try to milk your girl a little more often 4-5 times a day and don't milk her out all the way. Then as she heals go back to milking her out then back to twice a day.
DON'T give her any grain as this is a protien, give her only hay/browse, you don't want to supply more protien to make more milk now. NO alfalfa hay either, it can actually make your goat sick.

[bookwormom]

this is the old time remedy that worked for cows and goats at home. Massage the udder with lard, better yet if you have calendula salve made with lard. Lard draws infections. Milk her a lot more if you can, to get it all out. The more you milk the better, and massage with lard.

[momma_to_seven_chi]

I didn't realize you were supposed to milk more often. The vet just said she should dry up, so I was milking twice daily to try to keep the infection down, but not increase flow.
She just finished a round on injected antibiotics. A friend told me to also use an antibiotic infusion into the udder orifice, but the vet disagreed. He prefers the Sub Q injections.
The brownish, bloody discharge in the milk scared me. I have never seen that before. I've seen a fleck of blood before, but never just brownish bloody watery milk. Her temp is normal which is better than it was when I brought her home.

[bookwormom]

How is your goat doing now?

[momma_to_seven_chi]

We sold her. The discharge stopped, but I was concerned about a recurrence. Her udder was not tight or swollen, and she hadn't passed anything for the last two days I had her. On sale day, she went back to the auction. Everyone said that once a goat had mastitis it was ruined. I don't know if that was true or not. I had her treated with antibiotics, had her milk or discharge dried up, and she gained ten pounds while I had her. I just felt that I had done the best I could, and with limited space, she had to go. I was also concerned she may have spread it to other goats. I kept her separate while she was here, then bleached everything.

[Anon001]

I hate to hear that you sold her..... What you heard about them being ruined after mastitis is not true... it can be but not always. With a goat or a cow, it depends on how quickly you treat and get it cleared up. I would bet she would have gone on to be just fine... Most cows and goats that get treated before losing an udder or part of one usually do fine when they freshen again. BUT.... with ALL cows and goats, when milking, you always have to watch for mastitis because it can occur and is just one of the health issues you have to keep an eye on. Anyone that has cattle or goats will sooner or later deal with mastitis and most likely more than once. Don't give up... Get another and try again...
PaulNKS