# Staph Dermititis On Udder?



## Anita Martin

I've got a FF doe who has had a big area of pimples, bumps, pustuiles, etc. break out between the two halves of her udder. I am assuming they are staph dermititis and I've looked up the treatment but didn't find a whole lot. Mostly cleaning with chlordexidine and boosting the immune system.

This doe freshened with twins about 6 weeks ago and has been a pretty heavy milker for a FF, (a little over a gallon a day so far) While everyone else is looking great right now, this doe is thin and does not look as well as the rest although she's been healthy except for this new problem.

Is this type of staph contagious to other goats or to me? No one else has it now or has ever had it. This is our first case. I vaccinated this doe today with lysigin for the first time. She was copper bolused before kidding and has had bo-se shots every month for the last 3 months, including today. Should her milk be discarded or can it be used for kids? Does it need to be pasturized before feeding to goat kids, dogs, cats, chickens, etc? I don't want to spread staph around my property, so will toss the milk if needed. 

I had been using the milk for kids, only because I milk her and another doe seperate from the rest and their milk is just enough for the three kids who are still on a lambar.

I did not realize until today how bad the bumps were. :sigh I had to get under her practically to see them and they were gross. Leaking white stuff.
:help


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## hsmomof4

Yes to contagious. And if they are "leaking white stuff" I would imagine that it could be ending up in the milk, so I would dump it or pasteurize, but I personally wouldn't feed it to goat kids, just in case. Wear gloves and I found some wonderful antibacterial wipes at Walmart that are alcohol based and work great on udders (and hands) that I have used...they were not drying. (I think they are called Sani-Hands, but I am not sure.) Staphylococcus aureus is ever-present in the environment, just waiting for an opportunity to strike. You probably have a bunch on your skin right now.


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## jejarvis

You can apply human Neosporin ointment to the areas and/or wash the udders with Betadine solution. I have had mild outbreaks of this on a couple does, and I also treated them with oxytetracycline SQ injections (they were dam raising kids at the time). I think that on mine, they started from a few infected bug bites.


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## smithurmonds

We had staph dermatitis on a doe once- Chlorhexidine worked wonders!


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## bprzyw

Ok, Been there, had this. While it was really scary, my doe is all cleared up. I shaved her, chlorohex daily, copper bolused, and mineral max EAD 5cc's daily for 7 days, then 5cc's once a week. Never thought she would clear up. Definatley a weakened immune system. Try reading this... 
http://www.dairygoatinfo.com/index.php?topic=19527.0;topicseen
For me, it took about 2.5 months to clear up. But once i started the EAD paste, it was gone in a week.
Good luck.
Bernie


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## NubianSoaps.com

Staph dermatitis is contagious in that it is enviornmental. We simply don't get it anymore since vaccinating with Lysigin, it as why we started using this vaccine to begin with. I would be shocked to see staph this time of year with the sun out, usually the barns are so dry as to be dusty this time of year, and staph doesn't live in dry.

Be very careful applying ointments, they all contain petroleum which is the perfect skin sealer. Under the seal is the perfect enviornment for staph to grow, warm and moist. Why chlorhexideen works so well with stuff like this, it's not only kills the bacteria but it has emolients in it to keep the skin in good health without the petroleum base. Also do not use anything harsh, you do not want to bring on pemphigus.

Nusiance problems like this is always a break in immunity. Vicki


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## Anita Martin

Most of our property, and especially where we keep the goats, is shaded and with the recent rains we've had it's not been as dry as farms with more sun reaching the ground, and I'm sure this has made a difference compared to more sunny and hot locations.

We don't have a feed store in town anymore so I went to the drug store and asked the pharmicist what he would suggest. He suggested chlordexidine combined with peroxide as the two would kill both gram negative and gram positive bacteria so that's what I'm using. She also got another copper bolus tonight and I called my vet to ask about the min max mineral but the receptionist said they didn't stock it so I have to call back in the morning and see if they'll call in an rx for me. Keeping my fingers crossed this doesn't turn into phemphigus.


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## bprzyw

I got the min max ead from ebay, since i have no nearby vets, and no one wants to have anything to do with goats. When my doe had it, we had a lot of rain (this spring) and the goats would not come out of the barn. I tried to keep up with cleaning it, but fell a little behind. Then it just reared it ugly head. stated on the udders, then on her body. Thanks to everyone's help here, it cleared up.


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## ksalvagno

I had problems with it as well. I did use chlorhexidine and Excede but it just didn't quite get the job done. I ended up using Camelid Skin Mix once a day (did miss a day here and there). That finally cleared it up. I got the Camelid Skin Mix from Light Livestock Supply. http://www.lightlivestockequipment.com/WitchesBrew.asp


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## NubianSoaps.com

Ivermectin - treats many but not all skin parasites
Gentimycin - antibiotic to treat potential secondary infection
Clotrimazole - antifungal to treat what is sometime an opportunistic, secondary infection
DMSO - carries all ingredients into the skin
Mineral oil - base, softens the skin to support hair regrowth areas
.....................................

At 75$ a pint if you want to mix this stuff together and use it, than mix it up yourself. If you in the south mineral oil might not be the best idea for a carrier oil for these products. Vicki


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## buckrun

Any goat that exhibits this problem has an immune system issue which is usually due to missing nutrients. 
Tweaking mineral and other supplement intake for does that have poor resistance works wonders.
Vaccinated or not they should be able to resist this. If you can provide access to twig bark you will be supplying a rich source of micro-nutrients often missing in hay and grain. If you cannot perhaps try to entice mineral uptake by adding extra yeast to the mineral mix. They should be eating several oz per day each. If you do not bolus with copper you are missing a great tool for blocking immunity breaches. If they are suffering stress because of their standing in the herd try to ameliorate this trauma. 

For disinfecting staph rash and promoting healing we found a wonderful but expensive product by Dessert Essence that is a small sanitary wipe that contains tea tree oil and other emollients and disinfectants. They are super pricey for barn use and packaged individually in foil pouches but I love how they work so I tried to make my own knockoff. I buy a package of WET ONES the big extra wet towelettes in a yellow flat plastic envelope. I take them out of the plastic envelope and place them in one of the flip top plastic boxes that the baby wipes come in and using a dropper add about a dozen drops of tea tree oil lifting a few sheets at a time to distribute it down thru the pile. I mash the whole pile around in my hands to distribute it some and leave it to sit until the next day and then flip the whole pile to change the flow of ingredients and it actually turns into a pretty nice imitation of the fancy ones! 
Lee


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## buckrun

Anita
Talked to an ole- timer- yes older than me -about this issue today!
Interesting protocol at his dairy. They only noticed it in first fresheners and did assume immune suppression from kidding so in addition to worming they did a Coccidiossis treatment immediately after kidding on the theory that with suppressed immunity the cocci populations they normally tolerated would bloom just like the other parasite populations AND.... This is another really relevant thing he told me- they gave an A-D-E injection because A is for skin building- D is to make up for the does being in confinement with no sunshine- E for immunity. I honestly never thought of cocci treating a ff since they normally gain immunity way before then but under stress it seems reasonable that there would be a bloom in the population with less ability to cope. Hope this helps! 
Lee


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## Guest

Very interesting Lee, I had my vet out recently and he seen one of my does that has alot of skin problems.. lower on the chain here... He suggested ADE in powder form sprinkled on her grain... he said it worked wonders in cattle with skin problems.. So I tried it and it worked.. my doe looks better than she has in a couple of years.. gave all the does a little on their grain... they are all looking great.. I also copper bolus a couple of times a year... got good minerals out etc... 
Barb


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## Anita Martin

Cocci treatment for a FF? I never would have thought of that but I've got dimethox coming this evening and will certainly try it. Also have tee tree oil on hand that I can use. She is in a pen with one other doe, no fighting at all. Their pen is in the woods with lots of tree branches, briars, leaves, etc. I did get her some zinc citrate tablets yesterday and she's been on vit. c at mega dose levels for a while now. 

To me it looked like the areas are scabbing over and maybe just a little better now. This doe looked absolutely stuning before kidding. Always had the best weight of any of my does. After kidding she lost too much weight and just doesn't look that good, plus her udder texture was unusual, lumpy at first, then a little rough. Her hair coat, which has not been clipped is black and very, very slick and shiny. She had lice too....the only goat with lice. 

I will certainly try the dimethox and the ade if I can find it. Is that an internet item?


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## Anita Martin

Oh, I also meant to say our minerals have been iffy. I found a product here I like from manna pro, it has the high levels of copper, zinc, active yeasts etc. but it is really expensive, about $10 for an 8 pound bag. I just found these and am giving them to this doe. Before that it was sweetlix and now for the herd I have a southern states brand. They smell and I don't like them, plus they are wet, presumably from the molasses. So, I think that is one area where our herd needs improving...in the loose mineral area Plus we need mineral feeders. I've tried and tried to get someone to order the blue bonnet, or Onyx, but the best I can do is order a whole pallet myself. If any va. people want to go together on a pallet, let me know! Otherwise, with shipping, it's like $60 bucks a bag....right now I'm almost thinking it would be worth it!


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## fmg

ADE can be ordered online, but it is also usually sold in feedstores and vet offices as an injectable. There is also an oral gel version, but that probably is mostly just available online.


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## MF-Alpines

The only ADE I could find online was the gel.

I use the Manna Pro, too, Anita. I really like them, but YES, they are pricey.


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## Anita Martin

This is getting better! Slowly but surely they are drying up and disappearing! I've thrown the bucket at her as far as treatment, so I'm not sure what's actually helping, but I could not afford to wait and see by trying one thing at a time! Thanks for all your great suggestions!


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