doe with hard udder

[treeclimber233]

I wrote earlier about my doe kidding and one half of her udder was hard. I never got it to milk out much and now it is dry. Tonight when I milked her I was massaging her udder trying to coax more milk out when I noticed a lump had broken open. I thought the lump was just part of the "hardness" of her udder but now I think she has an abcess. What should I do? The other side of her udder seems to be getting hard now and I am not getting as much milk out as I was two weeks ago. Her baby is still nursing so I don't know exactly how much milk she is making. (or how much the baby is drinking) I am now getting about 1/2 - 2/3 a cup of milk per milking. She is a Lamancha from good dairy lines.

 

[PotterWatch]

I wish I could help. Have you done a mastitis test on her?

 

[mekasmom]

She has mastitis that seems to have spread to both sides now. She needs injected antibiotics. If there is an open abscess, you will probably loose that half of the udder to gangrene.
Don't just simply put antibiotics up into the orifice. Inject them. I know people on the internet have sites saying to infuse the udder, but that just spreads the infection. They must be injected to move through her system.
Since the udder is this bad, you should see a vet. Hopefully the infection isn't systematic. Septicemia could kill her if it becomes too widespread.

 

[treeclimber233]

I took a sample of milk to a lady that has dairy goats and she tested it. She said it was not mastitis. She took the milk and put it on a square peice of paper with colored dots on each corner (not sure what the name of the paper was) She said if the dot chaged color then it would be mastitis. But it did not change color. My doe also never had any heat in her udder. When I milked the hard side the milk was a bit clotted but I never saw any blood in it.I thought all these things pointed to mastitis. Could it still be mastitis? (new here and still trying to learn) There are no vets within an hours drive so getting her to a vet will be difficult. Can i give her a shot of antibiotic? If I can which one would I use? and how much for an adult Lamancha? How many times?

 

[Chatychick]

Those squares of paper dont work for goats and barely work for cows. It sounds like mastitis to me also and I personally would take her to the vet to get treatment. Its worth a vet visit to me when something like this happens. I dont do the infuse either as it just spreads it. She need antibiotics NOW! JMO

 

[BeardedChick]

I'd get her to the vet. If it's mastitis, the kid is drinking the infected stuff (and it sounds like you might be, too).

Blech.

 

[tharrell]

I only know of mastitis in dogs, but it is suggested to apply a warm compress to the area, and try to have the babies nurse on the infected teet. Aparently it helps to get the infection out, and the milk isn't bad for them. Also manually expressing the milk can help the infection. Atleast make a call into a vet and get their opinion.