Mastitis treatment

[gccrook]

I had a doe that I felt had mastitis, so I treated with Today infused into the udder. I did 2 treatments 12 hours apart per the instructions. It says to wait 4 days to use the milk again. It is a week later, and I still see a little bit of oily substance on the surface of that milk. I do not want to use it until that oily substance is gone. Did I do something wrong here? Does it take longer than they say sometimes? I am not in a hurry to start using the milk, but would like to eventually have that milk again. Every once in a while I still get a small piece of blod show up in the filter also. Otherwise it looks, smells and seems to be OK. Not masititis shows up on the test. She seems otherwise very healthy and normal.

[Vicki McGaugh TX Nubians]

Respectfully, It's very unlikely she had mastitis to begin with if two sessions of this were used and she is now clear. The carrier in the tube is just peanut oil, she would have to be a very poor milker not to have cleared this oil out of her system, the drug itself, Cephrin clears the blood and milk in 36 hours, perhaps a little longer in a poor milker, a little faster in a better one.

Little flecks and clots are normal after treating.

Unless you are allergic to Cephrin or peanut oil, the 36 hour milk withdrawal is fine.

CMT tests are fine for home use, the problem with them is that by the time they show positive you could already tell from the stringy milk, hot udder and sick doe. It won't pick up subclinical staph which is the only mastitis we have ever had on our farm, so it's pretty worthless. The Dr Naylors cards don't even work on goats, you can get them to react with the spit from the goat, we saw this done at a mastitis clinic. Vicki

[gccrook]

Thanks Vicki. She gives about 3 quarts per day in 2 milkings. What started all this is that we noticed a little blood in the milk from one side. It was enough that a little ring would settle in the bottom fo the jar. I decided that since there were no other indications of mastitis we would give her a couple of days to clear up on her own. We had this same thing with a previous doe, and she cleared up in about 2 or 3 days. When it did not clear up in about 3 days, I decided to treat for mastitis.

Are you saying that what I am seeing might not be the remains of the Today treatment? Is 1.5 quarts/day not enough for her to clear this out? Should I be concerned about something else? I noticed this evening a small speck of blood in the filter. I normally do not worry about a small speck of blood here or there. Could she have been injured by another doe? there are 5 in this pen together.

Again, thank you very much for your reply.

[Vicki McGaugh TX Nubians]

Blood in a just fresh udder is usually the small blood vessels bursting from the pressure of an increased lactation over last year. Especially when we hand milk every 12 hours, in a doe nursing kids the udder gets empty all during the day...sometimes does like this when you wean her kid, expand the udder for the first time and then you get blood. You can also milk pink milk from an injury, long pendulous udders are always in harms way of being stepped on, and fighting does of course seem to aim for each others udders!

After you have blood line this it's nothing to see some real tissue, since the cells slough off. It's not harming the udder, it's actually a good thing, more milk!

It can take a few day to a few weeks for them to get over it, and some don't until 6 to 8 weeks comes and they naturally even out their flush of milk.

Mastitis is heat, nasty milk you would not drink, a hot udder and a very sick doe...subclinical mastitis is poor keeping quality to the milk, a thickened feeling to the outside of the skin of the udder (not fat inside) and udders that are lopsided, not from kids nursing..that's staph and its everywhere!

If you have to ever say to yourself "Hmmm, wonder if she has mastitis" than she doesn't because when you get a doe who has mastitis believe me you will KNOW! It's like being a little pregnant

You didn't do any harm, and I have no idea why you are seeing an oily residue on her milk, I know at the end of lactation my Nubians have very high butterfat after milking for 10 months, even my cheese has an oily slick to it, a yummy oiliness, but it is there. Is your grain high in fat, feeding black oil sunflowerseeds also? What breed? Vicki

[gccrook]

Again, thank you so much Vicki. It appears that today the milk is back to normal. It is funny to read your latest post, because you just described my doe. She has a long pendulous udder. She is the only one that has nokids on her. The people we bought her from kept the kid because they were bottle feeding it anyway. We really like her temperament, and she gives plenty of milk for us, since it mainly for our own use.
You have really been a great help. We have had several people that have been willing to help us learn, and for that we are very grateful.

[Hank - Narita]

Vicki is right; sometimes they have blood but it goes away. My does butt each other from time to time so this happens. If the udder isn't hot, don't worry.