# Bucks with Mastitis



## paulaswrld (Mar 2, 2008)

Okay, as some of you know I am working my tail off trying to save my Sr. Herdsire, the vets here are CLUELESS and I am lucky that I got him out of the office and back home alive...but, that is a story for another day. I asked about mastitis and was told "HE CAN"T HAVE MASTITIS, he doesn't have a mammary system"....WHATEVER....so, she has decided it is UC...I am just not sure...he has always had large "milky" teat...however, one is way larger than before and today I went to feel them and they are hard...should they be?? How does a buck with mastitis present??

:help

Paula


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

Hard swollen teats, fever, walks with his legs apart as much as he can, you could feel the glands in his groin when we had him down on the ground that they were inflammed. We could get nothing out of them and she used a bobcat cannula (I always assumed it was a cannula used for cats?) to infuse the teats with gentamycin and ? assumed it was sterile water. She IVed him antibiotics (I have not idea) then sent me home with Naxcel and Banamine (my first intro to it). I had done a good job already of keeping him hydrated so I just kept up with the IV setup subq. He was better in 12 hours, up and eating and walking.

This is very very common I owned a buck and now 10 years later own another buck that milks. Males dont' have mammary systems? Vicki

Vicki


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## paulaswrld (Mar 2, 2008)

I tried to tell the vet that and I told her he has HAD milk in his teats and she said "WHAT??" and just ignored me and started trying to stick a needle in his bladder and missed and hit the rumen..3 times...she actually extracted stuff from the rumen and said" look how thick the urine is..." she then sent her tech to test it for crystals...I am sure she is not happy with her tech for coming back to the area and announcing outloud that it was not actually urine. He is sleeping now, and I honestly, don't expect him to make it through the night...I can pray at this point. I do not have Naxcel...I have Nuflor and LA200. My daughter and I decided we were bringing hom home, he was not going to die on her floor like that...he has earned better in his short time here with us. So, we dragged him and lifted all 270+lbs of him onto the trailer and brought him home. She had sedated him with something and he was throwing up cud I guess...I don't know anymore other than the fact that this day has been really bad.

Paula


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## Sondra (Oct 25, 2007)

I am so sorry Paula Hope he makes it thru the night and maybe starting him on the Nuflor would help this I don't know for sure. Would think tho that infusions would have to be done also with the gentamycin and pirsue.


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## SherrieC (Oct 26, 2007)

Paula, I'm so sorry I am so sick of dealing with vets like that myself. Maybe the nuflor would help surely if he hasn't lost too much temp and isn't shutting down, can't you infuse his teats yourself while he's sleepy? Nuflor would be good to use I think. Lactated ringer's, or IV to keep him Hydrated, a blanket and antibiotics maybe a warm compress for his "manmaries" I know Hot compress feels good on mastitis


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## Little Moon (Dec 29, 2007)

Oh Paula! I am so sorry. I will be praying for a miracle for you and your buck. Thank heavens you got him out of there when you did.

Hugs,
Anne


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## Ravens Haven (Oct 26, 2007)

And this is the ignorance so many of us have to deal with, with vets. I am so sorry Paula, I am praying for your guy.

Autumn


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## Terry (Oct 27, 2007)

Praying here too.
Terry


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## Kaye White (Oct 25, 2007)

I actually had a mastectomy done on my 5yr. old. I brought him through a couple bouts of mastitis-infusions, antibiotics and banamine- and he formed a mammary tumor in one teat. YES, they actually have the glands. The only difference in a buck and doe is that the buck doesn't have the main mammary artery that runs up the side or underneath that a doe has. 
My vet had never done a masectomy on a goat...but he got on the phone to LSU and when through...he said piece of cake. We layed him down behind the clinic and went to work. He doesn't have a teat on that side but he also isn't sick with mastitis. 

Find another vet before this one kills one of your goats.
Kaye


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## CarlinsDarlin (Feb 8, 2008)

So sorry your buck is sick, Paula. I'll be praying for him too.
Kathy


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## Guest (Jun 4, 2008)

Question, would wethers also be afflicted with mastitis? I would assume a yes is the answer. Would there be a preventitive treatment? And is this a testosterone level issue? I am just curious and want info for the books. Tammy


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## Belle (Oct 26, 2007)

I'm so sorry you're having to go through this, some vets are just terrible. 
Wishing the best for you and him!!!


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## MysticHollowGoats (Nov 5, 2007)

Hope your buck has a turn for the better, keep us updated.


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## paulaswrld (Mar 2, 2008)

Thank you so much to everyone for the prayers for Tamatrix...they just may be working! He is up, ate some leaves out of my hand, sorta dabbled with some hay and drank some water. The milk in his teats tested positive for Mastitis so I started him on anibiotics, continuing to push fluids and all the other standard stuff.

Thanks again and I will keep you all posted,

Paula


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## Guest (Jun 4, 2008)

I'm really glad to hear Tamatrix is feeling a little better. May he recover soon. Tammy


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## Little Moon (Dec 29, 2007)

Paula - I got a little teary eyed when I read that he is doing better.  Keep up the good work. 

Anne


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## Sondra (Oct 25, 2007)

OH that sounds promising!! Maybe now that vet will believe you. Can he get you any gentamycin now?? Hope he continues to improve.


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## Belle (Oct 26, 2007)

Glad he's feeling better, I hope he makes a quick recovery!


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## Anita Martin (Dec 26, 2007)

I'm pulling for your boy too! How dismaying this must be for you. I am so sorry. I'm glad he seems to be doing better, even if it's just a little. I'll be praying for him and for you. 
Anita


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## GypsyRose (Jun 4, 2008)

Good luck and hope he feels better soon!

Tammi


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## Nancy (Oct 25, 2007)

Hope he continues to get well. Maybe the vet learned something from the experience.


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## Terry (Oct 27, 2007)

Glad he's feeling better.
Terry


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## Sharpgoat (Feb 7, 2008)

I hope he is doing better if he is not try new antibiotic.
I have a buck that I just got him thought a bad illness and two of the antibiotics were not doing the job but the last one I tried did work and he is still here and doing well.
Fran


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

Dont you just want to sometimes scream I TOLD YOU SO...to them??

I think this is a good study for everyone to really give your goats a really thorough going over, don't ever take it for granted what you may think is wrong with them. Always do a really good physical exam on them from head to toe, then make your diagnosis. When we play a vet on the farm (and on the interenet  our diagnosis is only as good as the information we have.

Glad he is doing better! See if they will give you some gent to use as a dry cow infusion after this is all overwith. I use them after they are out of rut and last week on GE as they start going into rut. GE is my teaching tool here, I show everyone his milkyteats as he stand on the fence to say HI to us...think Sharpgoat may have got a picture  Vicki


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## Becky-DixieDoesAlpines (Oct 26, 2007)

We've had several bucks that milked. I leave the udder alone unless it fills up. We had one buck that would slowly fill till it got really tight. I'd milk it out, spray his teats and let him go, he needed to be checked regularly.
Becky


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## Kaye White (Oct 25, 2007)

Mine seems to get worse with the onset of rut. Maybe the testosterone? He's usually fine during the summer and the teat left starts filling in Sept/Oct. I just keep a check on him and milk him out when it gets full, like Becky.
Kaye


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

Mine don't fill udders, they just get big ole blown looking teats. Right now GE's are about the size of a good size lemon, during winter they were a saggy lime, but now they are full, I do go touch them as he goes to eat  He hates that because he knows what is coming next...doesn't help that I have to have help sit on him to infuse the suckers! Vicki


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## Tim Pruitt (Oct 26, 2007)

Never have had this... and I hope I don't ever have this problem with my bucks.... but it grosses me out. YUCK! You would treat it though like any mastitis. I think when it was healed, I would be taking this guy to the Vet for a mastectomy.


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

Yes Tim I know  I need to take Bab's in for the surgery on her dorcel so I can finish her, for Birdy's salivary cysts, she would easily finish...and GE now his testicles....but surgery on stock I want to stay forever to give me more kids....aint' happening. Even with Texas A&M who is the only place I would go, there are still problems with surgery. Nope, I will infuse teats, milk him when need be  and explain over and over about Birdy's salivary cysts "nope it's not CL" see how you can squish spit through them back and forth...see how soft and squishy they are  LOL!!!!


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## Tim Pruitt (Oct 26, 2007)

Vicki,
It's always something isn't it? Seems if it isn't one thing, it is a dozen more. It is the challenges that go with dairy goats or virtually any other kind of animal husbandry.


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## paulaswrld (Mar 2, 2008)

Tamatrix is DOING GREAT!!! The anitibiotics, a strong buck, a stubborn goatherswomen, and the many prayers and wonderful advice from all of you have pulled us through this nightmare. When I went to check him earlier he came to the fence and grinned at me...he grins...one day I'll take a pic of it cuz' it is soooo cute. he is still not totally out of the woods yet but, he is drinking, eating, peeing and his scrotum and teats are looking way better. At the height of all this is scrotum sack had gotten so small he looked like a 4 month old...maybe from the dehydration.

Anyhoo, A big thank you to all...and yes, they are ours and we know them better than a vet that just see's them occasionally...always go with our gut feeling is what I have taken away from this. Funny, much like I reat my 2 legged kids doctors..

Thanks again,

Paula


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## Guest (Jun 6, 2008)

Yay Tamatrix! Good job Paula. Tammy


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## Kaye White (Oct 25, 2007)

So happy for the good outcome.

Ummmm...Tim, It is kinda' embarrassing to be caught up under a buck milking them out. :blush You can't believe the FLACK I catch from DH. What's even funnier is the expression on the buck's face. Priceless! :lol
Kaye


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## SherrieC (Oct 26, 2007)

Yay, Paula that's awesome! 
Kaye lol!


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## CarlinsDarlin (Feb 8, 2008)

Glad to hear it, Paula  My buck, Ringo, grins too  I know what you mean.
Kathy


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## Tim Pruitt (Oct 26, 2007)

OH Paula! I am so happy for you! This is wonderful that he is responding to treatment. Tell us how you are treating him.... I wonder if you could get some dry cow infusions and infuse that teat? or would that be too invasive? 

Anyway, you know what to do if this happens again. 

And NO! KAYE! I don't want to be caught milking a buck. If I have that problem with a buck, I will call for you!


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