# Hard Udder



## tlt0000 (Apr 28, 2009)

I have a 3 yr old alpine that is a first time freshner. She kidded on April 1 with triplets that are dam raised. She has a very hard udder. She has since she had them, however she is acting fine. She is eating and drinking. She moves around just fine. I gave her probably four to five buckets of parsley last week. Bought all the parsley in a 30 mile radius . I have been rubbing peppermint oil/olive oil on her udder since Friday and have been doing warm compresses on and off since then. I gave her 3 - 5 g of vitamin c for about 5 days. None of this is softening the udder. We can milk out a couple of squirts but that is about it. Her udder is not red, inflamed or sore and the kids are nursing very vigorously from her. She doesn't act sickly and her udder is not tender so I don't think it is mastitis but I am very new to all of this. Does anyone have any suggestions on if I am doing anything correctly? Should I be concerned about mastitis? Thanks for any advice you may have.


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## stacy adams (Oct 29, 2007)

Has she been tested for CAE?


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## goatmom (Oct 26, 2007)

When are you milking a couple squirts - after the kids nurse? If so, you shouldn't get much but her udder should be soft(er). Do you know her CAE status? CAE causes rock hard udders but I don't know (no expert here) that she could feed trips if that were it.

FF frequently have congestion sometimes for a few weeks. something I just noticed - she is 3 at first freshening - thinking could be a meaty/beefy udder. Do you have other does to compare her to?

if Staph mastitis, esp sub clinical you won't see a lot of external signs - sometimes not much in the milk either. Only way to know for sure is to test, either through your vet or there are instructions on this forum for milk testing at LSU.

Good luck and welcome to the forum


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## tlt0000 (Apr 28, 2009)

I do not know her CAE status. I thought she would have very little milk if she had that and she is feeding three. I will have to get her tested. Do I call a vet or is that where I can send a sample to LSU? If it were congestion, which I am hoping it is, I would have thought the parsley would have loosened it up. What would a meaty/beefy udder look/feel like? My other does have soft udders and even when full they are not hard like Happy's. In the back it is hard, it is hard in the middle between the teats and it is hard in the front. It is just hard all over, although not the teats. We took the kids off of her for about 1 1/2 hours and I milked a little bit out, her udder does not get any softer. It just stays hard. I guess I need to get her tested for CAE and mastitis. Any other suggestions? Thanks!


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

If it was any kind of mastitis that will test positive other than staph, that doesn't cause any of the problems you are having, you would have sick kids and a hot udder to go with the hard udder. Now you could be feeling old scar tissue if she had previous mastitis before you purchased her? Congestion isn't hard, it's firm, spongy even and the more you milk the more the congestion goes away but it can take up to three weeks. Using a steroid like Dex or an antiinflammatory like Banamine will also help lesson the congestion or edema. But if it feels hard, like cement hard under the skin it is usually mycoplasma or CAE.

You will want to send in a blood test to WSU or biotracking.com all the info is in goatkeeping 101. Can you call her previous owner to see if this is normal for her, it is normal for some does to get bad congestion each time they freshen...alot is caused by how the doe is fed also. Vicki


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## tlt0000 (Apr 28, 2009)

Yep it is hard like cement. She is a FF so I have nothing to compare her to. I have figured out that I was feeding her incorrectly before she kidded and am trying to change that. So with it being so hard, it is pretty much either CAE or mycoplasma. I am not sure what mycoplasma is. So I can stop the peppermint oil and massaging? I will look up the info on the blood test and do that. Thanks for your help.....


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## tlt0000 (Apr 28, 2009)

Would she be able to feed triplets if she had CAE?


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## Sondra (Oct 25, 2007)

are you weighing the kids and know they are growing up to par? all three not just one or two. Be on the safe side and send of the blood sample and continue the Vit C and massage till you get the results back .


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## goatkid (Oct 26, 2007)

I would keep up the massage. I have a doe who freshened with one side of her udder hard, like two lumps. I've been working on her and the top firmness is gone. The lump at the bottom is getting smaller each day. She's not producing as well on that side, so I suspect my problem may be subclinical staph. I need to run her milk in to Bozeman, but we seem to have snow on my weekdays off work. Kathie


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## mill-valley (Feb 22, 2008)

My one CAE positive doe has had mastitis twice, and one half of her udder is hard like you describe. Impossible to know if it's from CAE or mastitis, but I would think if it were CAE it would be both sides?? Anyway, she is producing 10-11 lbs/day...enough to feed triplets and the hard side produces almost as much as the other side.


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## Guest (Apr 29, 2009)

I would not keep a CAE positive goat nor would I keep kids that have nursed a positive doe. They would all go in the freezer. I just don’t want to deal with that in my herd. We make sure and test everyone and we will continue to test every year. Of course, this is a decision you need to make on your own if she does come back positive.

If you do not know how to take blood a vet can or if you have another goat person near that knows how ask them.

Regardless of what you plan to do with her you should get her tested.


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## tlt0000 (Apr 28, 2009)

We are getting the doe tested. It is so sad because this is my sons goat. He got her for his 3rd birthday and it was the first goat we had. She was so sassy before, but from the moment she kidded she has been an angel. She has been an excellent mother, better than we ever imagined. Where can we get the vials with the red lids that the sample has to be sent in?


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## homeacremom (Nov 6, 2007)

You can pick up those red top tubes at a vet's office. They are inexpensive and some will just give them to you when you need just one or two.


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## mill-valley (Feb 22, 2008)

:yeahthat

Or some of the livestock supply websites sell them in boxes of 100. Believe my vet sells them for $.25 a piece.

And yes, it's all well and good to start with CAE neg. animals, much easier in fact and I would not keep kids that had nursed a positive doe either. However, when it comes down to being your best doe, it's certainly manageable to at least get a few kids out of her before culling. Poppie's days are numbered, they would be even if she weren't CAE pos because of her udder issues...but I want a daughter out of her first .


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