# Congested udder or mastitis?



## otter (Apr 1, 2016)

Okay, so I have been reading articles online and am now udderly (pun intended ) confused on whether or not my doe has mastitis or congested udder. One of my does had twins last weekend but one did not make it and the survivor is weak. I noticed she was not producing much milk and, upon inspection, she has 1 large hard knot in each of her udders just under the skin and above the teat (one about the size of a marble and the other udder has one the size of two marbles). The teats are not hot or cold, and I have seen the kid feeding but again he is not growing well. Is it mastitis or congested udder?

My second question would be whether or not I should put her kid on another of my does? I have another that gave birth at the same time, has two kids on her, and is producing plenty of milk. However, they are all new mothers and I didn't want to deprive her of her offspring if I didn't have to. She is the boss of the herd and I was hoping that her nurturing instincts might help her to chill. If I need to milk her out or treat her with medication, I will surely have to graft her kid onto the other doe, right? Any help is appreciated. I am relatively new to this.


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## jdavenport (Jul 19, 2012)

I would milk her out once, see how much milk you can get, then give the little one a bottle with the milk, as long as it looks all right. If he's hungry enough to take a bottle, he's not getting enough to eat. Mom can still take care of him, and once she's milked out, it might be easier for him to latch on.


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## hsmomof4 (Oct 31, 2008)

A congested udder is overfull and inflamed, so it's hard for kids to latch on and hard for you to milk. Think "swollen." Generally it's because there is so much milk all of a sudden that it causes inflammation. Like when human moms' milk first comes in and they're engorged. It's usually just uniformly hard, not lumpy. So, based on your description, I tend to think it's more likely to be mastitis, which often causes a decrease in milk supply, and often quite noticeably. I would definitely want to milk her out at least somewhat, looking for flakes, chunks, strings, etc. You can put a piece of dark fabric across a cup or bowl and secure with a rubber band and milk into that, and it will give you an idea. You can also send milk off to be tested for mastitis; instructions are over in the Health and Wellness section.


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## HiveQueen (Feb 4, 2016)

I don't mean to take over this thread, but I have a Nubian doe that has had a similar problem. She kidded four weeks ago with twins (second time for her) and had a uniformly hard udder that was producing little to no milk. I tried to hand milk her only to have her jump around and act like milking hurts. So, I took her to the vet. And let me say, right here, this is a super sweet, docile doe. Vet tested for mastitis and said she was just engorged. In the weeks that have followed I have both hand milked her and used a milker and still she puts out very little. Fortunately the babies are pretty much eating on their own and are now separated out at night so that I can milk her out in the AM to see what she is producing. Huge udder (not red or inflamed) and I am getting less than 1/4 of a cup from her. If the babies try and nurse on her now she jumps and minces. Is there anything I can do for this girl to make her more comfortable and yet get decent amounts of milk from her now or in the future?


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## otter (Apr 1, 2016)

Thanks so much for the great advice guys. I will try milking her out and across a black piece of cloth in the morning to see what I might find. In the meantime, I thought I would mention that she is not only low on milk, but her udder's are very small as well. Originally I had believed it to be mastitis and gotten from the vet some injection antibiotics and Pirsue to put in her teats. However, after reading about how mastitis causes hot or cold spots on the teat, and not finding any, I started to doubt that was the issue. I went ahead and gave her the shot, but didn't go ahead with the Pirsue because I assumed I would have to take her kid off of her. Does anyone know, if I do give her the Pirsue, will I need to take the kid of her? And if so, for how long?
P.S. One udder has cleared, but the worst one has gotten now better if not worse. I've seen her kid latching on and suckling from her with no apparent complaint from her, though I still believe he is not getting enough milk. Also, I forgot to mention, I have Boer goats (3 nannies, 5 kids, & a buck). Thanks again all.


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## hsmomof4 (Oct 31, 2008)

HiveQueen,
what is the CAE status of your doe? 

Otter,
mastitis can cause hot or cold spots, but it's not a necessity. And to me, it sounds like your goat has mastitis. Apparently, according to the label, the milk withdrawal time should be 36 hours. But I don't have a label to look at, so you should look at yours. Or ask the vet you got it from, if you don't have a label.


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## HiveQueen (Feb 4, 2016)

hsmomof4,

she came from a CAE clear herd but I have ordered a test kit to have that checked simply because I cannot figure any other reason for her udder to be hard. Still, I have no experience with the disease. I am planning on testing her and all the does in her pen Wednesday. If she does have CAE and the other three adult does do not, there is just one female baby that I was planning on giving to a friend of mine for her herd. At what age can I test that baby?

Thank you for being willing to help. I am stumped.


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## HiveQueen (Feb 4, 2016)

I has occurred to me that I need to be clear about the doeling that I want to place in my friends herd. She is not the baby of this Nubian, she is the baby of a La Mancha.


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## hsmomof4 (Oct 31, 2008)

You can test the baby at 6 months. But you will want to retest again at a year if you have positive doe(s) that she might have nursed off of. Sometimes, they don't develop antibodies right away. Unfortunately. And there's no guaranteeing that the baby didn't sneak a drink from a doe that's not her mom. However, it's not spread by casual contact, so if she's not bred, it's probably not going to be an issue. (So you could send her to your friend and hold off on breeding until you're comfortable with the results, if you wanted to, and take her back if need be.)


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