new goat owner

[blguidry]

Just purchased a Nigerian Dwarf momma and baby this past Saturday from a livestock auction. This is my first go round with goats. We get momma home and she has a really swollen and warm to touch udder. Ive been doing warm compresses and massaging it and trying to milk her. Milk is really clumpy. It doesnt smell bad or anything. Someone told me could possibly be mastitis. Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Also we are unsure how old either one of them are. Is there anyway to tell.

 

[cassie]

She has mastitis. Get a sterile vial from the vet, take a sample of the milk and have it cultured. Meanwhile, infuse a mastitis treatment into the affected half now. By treating it you have a head start on the infection. By culturing it, you will know what you are dealing with and in the event the medicine you tried first is not effective you will know what else to use. Do not delay treatment. The longer you delay the worse it will get and the more damage will be done to the udder. Ask the vet on how best to proceed. He/she may suggest you use a systemic antibiotic. Mastitis can be very serious. It can cause permanent damage to the udder, loss of the udder, and in extreme cases the goat can die. I think I would take the kid off the doe and bottle feed it, but some people suggest leaving the kid on the doe because the kid's nursing may help. Personally, I do not like the idea of the kid consuming the infected milk, plus the fact that by nursing the kid can spread the infection to the unaffected side.