udder health question

[mary,tx]

Milly is seven years old, kidded triplet bucks about two weeks ago, and is nursing two of them. She freshened with a very large udder. She's always been lopsided, and the larger side was very difficult to milk out the first week, especially since the teat is so large. She has become easier to milk as the kids have been nursing better, but that side still needs milked out a little every day.

This morning when I milked it out, I found the teat to be clogged with solid milk parts. I managed to get them out, and she milked out fine, though the milk doesn't want to filter. I suppose this is classic mastitis? She does not seem to be sick or uncomfortable in any way.

Could it have been a clog but not mastitis, or had I best get treating her right away? Also, assuming it is mastitis, do y'all think it is something I can just use TODAY for?

thanks for advice/opinions.

mary

[sixstrothers]

Do you have a mastitis kit to do testing with? I believe you can get this at Hoegger's goat supply http://hoeggergoatsupply.com/xcart/home.php?cat=63. I would not treat her if her teats were just clogged. If the udder is not warm to the touch or hard or your milk is not clumpy. I would not treat her with Today. I have lopsided does and their milk was just fine. The teats seem to clog on us and we just clear them out and milk them out like usual. Hope this helps some.
Lori

[DocM]

I wouldn't treat for mastitis unless I knew she had it. I assume you don't have a CMT? You can test her with plain dawn detergent, the blue kind. Mix and equal amount of dawn dish soap and milk. If it stays liquid, she doesn't have mastitis. If it gets clumpy, she does. I've had does, especially older does, that just take a little longer to get over having congested udder after they kid, especially with triplets. Her hormones are still all crazy. I've had that same problem with sticky milk in the teats and milk that won't strain - and it passed after a week or so. If it were me, I'd test for mastitis, and if she has it, go from there - probably have the vet do a culture so I knew what kind of mastitis. I'm not a big proponet of over treating for simple mastitis, infusions and invasive treatments are for specific kinds of bacterial infections. If she didn't test positive, I'd milk that side about about 4 or 5 times a day, completely, and throw it away, and see if she didn't just improve on her own in a week or so. If she's a good milker, the other side will be plenty for two kids only two weeks old.