Recurring Mastitis-comments, suggestions

["SPIKE"]

Some of you may remember a post earlier this year about Cecelia getting mastitis in one side of her udder. I was caught early and treated with hopes that there would be no further problems. Treatment was infusion and antibiotics. This was on 3-15-13.

After 30 day withdrawal due to antibiotics everything looked good and we started using the milk again. I kept a closer watch for new signs of mastitis and on 5-23-13 she tested positive again using the Dr. Naylor cards. Talked to my local goat mentor and the vet. Treated this time with 3 rounds of Nuflor. The last was on 5-27-13.
The vet suggested I think about culling Cecelia. My local mentor said to wait and watch further. This is also the people I got the goats from.

Decided to test today, even though the 30 day withdrawal period was not up yet, because that side of her udder seemed a bit hard last night.
POSITIVE AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I can not cull her because she is the companion to my other doe. I only have the 2 does. The buck has a wether buddy, but they have their own area.
For 2 years I have cared for this animal as best I could and we have been through too much for me to shoot her.
Because of other life problems, I have been thinking about selling everyone anyway. I do not and will not push this problem onto anyone else without telling them. Annie will still need a companion! I can not get another companion for her if I am thinking of selling everyone!

How can I treat this mastitis problem? Can I treat it then dry Cecelia off without it being a problem for her? I'm sure it can not be good to live with in infection inside your udder!

Don't know what to do and who to trust!

SPIKE

[coso]

If you are going to keep her, I would run her through another round of treatment get it cleared up then start drying her off. When you milk her for the last time dry treat her. The decision is yours whether to keep or not. After a goat has mastitis they are at a greater risk to get it again.

[Alice In TX/MO]

Have you sent a sample for testing to determine what antibiotic to use?

["SPIKE"]

Originally Posted by Alice In TX/MO

Have you sent a sample for testing to determine what antibiotic to use?

No, I have not. Dumb ole me, just trusted local vet and mentors, again.
I thought Nuflor was kick butt for most anything/everything.
I can not spend a lot more money on this goat! (I guess that makes me sound like a terrible person!)
I do need to get her well enough to be a companion until she can be culled.

SPIKE

[mygoat]

Don't base the diagnosis on Dr. naylor cards. Those are about useless.

Send in a milk sample for a culture and susceptibility.

Chronic mastitis is often a management thing more than anything else. Milk her last, change your teat dip/udder wash, improve POST DIP QUALITY (change post dip - most important - dip ONLY, no spray on!) think about wearing gloves at milking time, clean bedding or change bedding type, keep udder shaved, reduce mud she walks through etc. Or, it could be conformation - too big of orifices, pendulous udder...

If it is chronic mastitis, culling from your breeding herd is your only bet. Doesn't mean you have to shoot her, I just wouldn't breed her anymore. Treatment costs money and withdrawal, not to mention you're building resistance and eventually her udder could be completely ruined as repeated infections cause scar tissue, increase future susceptibility to infection, decrease production etc. Keep a daughter next year out of the other doe. Dry treat the problem doe with ToMorrow when you dry her off and continue to breed/milk her at your own risk.

[mekasmom]

Are you simply infusing or using antibiotics I m too? Prognosis is better with systematic antibiotics.

[Alice In TX/MO]

That is not my understanding. From what I have been told by the vet(s), getting an injectable antibiotic into the infected mammary tissue in often not effective. Infusions with the correct antibiotic can be supported with injectible antibiotics, of course.

This may be one of those topics where personal experience varies.

["SPIKE"]

Originally Posted by mygoat

Don't base the diagnosis on Dr. naylor cards. Those are about useless.

Send in a milk sample for a culture and susceptibility.

Chronic mastitis is often a management thing more than anything else. Milk her last, change your teat dip/udder wash, improve POST DIP QUALITY (change post dip - most important - dip ONLY, no spray on!) think about wearing gloves at milking time, clean bedding or change bedding type, keep udder shaved, reduce mud she walks through etc. Or, it could be conformation - too big of orifices, pendulous udder...

If it is chronic mastitis, culling from your breeding herd is your only bet. Doesn't mean you have to shoot her, I just wouldn't breed her anymore. Treatment costs money and withdrawal, not to mention you're building resistance and eventually her udder could be completely ruined as repeated infections cause scar tissue, increase future susceptibility to infection, decrease production etc. Keep a daughter next year out of the other doe. Dry treat the problem doe with ToMorrow when you dry her off and continue to breed/milk her at your own risk.

I started a thread a while back, questioning the use of the Dr. Naylor card. I contacted them and also questioned Hoegger about selling the product for goat use.
I guess I let myself get convinced that the card could not give a false positive!

The first time mastitis was in question, there was strings in the strip cup and that side of the udder seemed a bit hard. A Dr. Naylor card showed positive so I loaded Cecelia into the cab of my truck and we went to the vet. They did no test, just examined the udder and the stuff coming out when milked.
She was infused with Amoximast (I've no idea what that is, but it is on my receipt) and given injections sub Q of Dexamethasone and Nuflor. follow up injections for 2 days later were sent home with me.

The second time and the present time, there were/are no other signs except the Dr. Naylor card.
Am I over reacting? Am I getting a false positive?
That half of her udder has always been smaller. It never seemed to develope when she was a FF and her kid died prebirth.

After the first time I made sure to keep area cleaner, even though I sweep up every day. I also freshened bedding more often.
I milk her first so I know my hands are clean, then I wash them before milking the second goat.
I stopped using Fightback spray and started using Dairyland dip and disposable Dixie cups.

I thought I may be the problem, so I did my best to eliminate that possibility.
Annie Goat has never had a problem. She is a good easy milker.
I still may have to sell all and if I do I will sell her as a companion that should not be bred. Or if there is another companion, she could be butchered by the new owners.

SPIKE

[mekasmom]

Originally Posted by Alice In TX/MO

That is not my understanding. From what I have been told by the vet(s), getting an injectable antibiotic into the infected mammary tissue in often not effective. Infusions with the correct antibiotic can be supported with injectible antibiotics, of course.

This may be one of those topics where personal experience varies.

The vets at the clinic always use IM injections because systematic antibiotics treat the issue better. Bacteria can spread via bloodstream, mammary tissues and lymph. Simply applying an infused antibiotic in one area cannot kill circulating bacteria because it never reaches it. It is important that the antibiotic be able to treat the exact bacteria though.

[coso]

Spike, I think you need to send in a sample and see what you are dealing with. I have never used the mastitis test Dr Naylors or the CMT. But from my understanding they are not very reliable on goats, unless you have tested them when you know they are OK and have a baseline to work off of. One side bigger then the other sound like you may be dealing with staph. Especially if you are not seeing any inflammation, most likely you are dealing with subclinical staph.

[ozark_jewels]

Originally Posted by coso

Spike, I think you need to send in a sample and see what you are dealing with. I have never used the mastitis test Dr Naylors or the CMT. But from my understanding they are not very reliable on goats, unless you have tested them when you know they are OK and have a baseline to work off of. One side bigger then the other sound like you may be dealing with staph. Especially if you are not seeing any inflammation, most likely you are dealing with subclinical staph.

I agree. This is the route I would go. And I'd ask my vet exactly how to dry treat this doe when you dry her off. Many have their own pet dry treatments. I know my vet recomended a concoction for us with a few cows that were fighting subclinical staph. It worked! She also reccomended we vaccinate *those* cows with lysigin. No more staph after the next freshening on most of those cows. A few were still slightly higher somatic cell, but never had staph again. So after you get the test results back, ask your vet about the dry treatment for this does individual case.

["SPIKE"]

Thanks everyone for your time and input.

SPIKE