Agri Vehicles Insurance from Greenlands

Author Topic: Mastitis  (Read 8684 times)

Lesley Silvester

  • Joined Sep 2011
  • Telford
Re: Mastitis
« Reply #15 on: November 21, 2012, 10:07:00 pm »
Hope she's better soon.  I had a goat who often got mastitis.  The first time was because the person I shared her with wouldn't finish milking if she (the goat) started moving around.  After that, I had her to myself.  I always managed to catch it quickly and used the tubes.  Not easy to get them in situ though, so well done on managing it.  I usually found that I would get it in then, before I had a chance to squeeze, she would kick it back out.  She so hated the injections though, that I had to persevere with tubes.

Mammyshaz

  • Joined Feb 2012
  • Durham
Re: Mastitis
« Reply #16 on: November 21, 2012, 11:01:02 pm »
 :hug: not nice to find.

Only experienced it in dogs and cats ( and myself ) and we strip it out as regularly as possible. It doesnt sound too bad if the area is still soft. check the skin stays pink . The area is friable so use plenty of lube to strip out gently as possible and clean the area then dry it.
This is assuming goats will be treated similarly.

In dogs and cats, because it's a short 6 weeks to weening the owners are advised to hand rear and the mother dried up once settled. With goats I am wondering if it it more like people,  once the inflammation is cleared, you can use milk as usual. ( this is my questioning and curiosity JK,  you probably know the answer  ;) )

Thinking of you working through the night with her, hope it clears quickly  :hug:


jaykay

  • Joined Aug 2012
  • Cumbria/N Yorks border
Re: Mastitis
« Reply #17 on: November 22, 2012, 07:16:00 am »
I think we're winning (she says, cautiously and quietly, so as not to provoke the jinx again!)

One thing I want to ask the folk who've dealt with it before in goats - is it normal for the milk to dry up?
I know I'm stripping it out much more than my normal once a day, but I'd have said the milk production in that quarter was really down.

MS, the antibiotics have a withdrawal period - 6 days for the tube, the injectable says don't use in animals producing milk for human consumption (marvellous, hadn't read that yesterday morning) so I don't know.

A vet study says about 6 days for milk after LA oxytetracycline in dairy goats.

residues in milk after oxytetracycline use

Might be time to dry her off, get her mated and worry about it next year.
« Last Edit: November 22, 2012, 07:40:36 am by jaykay »

Welshcob

  • Joined Jul 2012
Re: Mastitis
« Reply #18 on: November 22, 2012, 11:14:25 am »
I would say that it depends on the extent of damage - if it has been spotted early like you did jaykay, the milk would likely go down (infection in the mammary gland does not aid milk production!) but then come up again.
It also depends how long lactation had been so far, though. If she is many months away from her previous kidding, I'd say to expect the milk not to go back to the level it was before the mastitis.

Also re. withdrawal, if the label of your injectable says not to use in milk producing animals it means that it is likely stored in other tissues of the body and released later, with more or less amounts ending in the milk. If you are happy to use it after 6 days it is up to you, I would wait a month (30 days is average default withdrawal for medicines that do not report it on the label, unless recent studies prove otherwise).

Anke

  • Joined Dec 2009
  • St Boswells, Scottish Borders
Re: Mastitis
« Reply #19 on: November 22, 2012, 01:09:30 pm »
Re withdrawal period - the general advice from the Goat veterinary Association is a 7 day withdrawal for any medicine that is not licensed for use in goats. As there are so few and most sheep medicines have not been tested for milking animals that seems to work for most goatkeepers.
I have found that although the milk doesn't dry up with mastitis it is very diffficult to return to the amounts you had before. Each time I had it in my BT girl the overall milk yield was down a bit, once she recovered. This is even more marked on going into winter. I think all you can do is continue to milk her and see what she gives. I take it her kid(s) is/are weaned now, so it is only you who is taking the milk?

jaykay

  • Joined Aug 2012
  • Cumbria/N Yorks border
Re: Mastitis
« Reply #20 on: November 22, 2012, 02:48:37 pm »
Yes, just me and she wasn't giving a lot of milk. I'll see how she goes, I'm just a bit worried that if I dry her off I'll never get her going again.

Anke

  • Joined Dec 2009
  • St Boswells, Scottish Borders
Re: Mastitis
« Reply #21 on: November 22, 2012, 03:39:56 pm »
I would just keep milking her, even if she only gives a pint a day it will go up again in February - unless you think she is fit enough to be put back into kid? I normally run mine through after twins/triplets - and the GG girl is down to 1.7 ltrs by now. (If I wouldn't I would have even more goats.... ;) ).

Lesley Silvester

  • Joined Sep 2011
  • Telford
Re: Mastitis
« Reply #22 on: November 22, 2012, 05:12:17 pm »
Mine always had less milk but it went back up afterwards although, as others have said, not to the same level.  It's difficult at this time of year when yield is going down anyway but you may be able to run her through.

jaykay

  • Joined Aug 2012
  • Cumbria/N Yorks border
Re: Mastitis
« Reply #23 on: November 22, 2012, 05:16:44 pm »
Rowan's giving so little, even before this, that I don't think she'll milk through. It's her first kid/milking. She's also on the thin side (2.5 maybe, I prefer my goats to be 3-3.5 at this time of year) so I think I will keep milking til we get well past this and then dry her off so she can concentrate her resources on growing a kid. please let her only have a single this time.

Ellie, who is as fat as a house, can keep milking til she's a month off kidding, she needs to shed some of the weight she put on last year, eating for three and only producing one!  :goat:

Welshcob

  • Joined Jul 2012
Re: Mastitis
« Reply #24 on: November 24, 2012, 05:56:03 pm »
Also re. withdrawal, if the label of your injectable says not to use in milk producing animals it means that it is likely stored in other tissues of the body and released later, with more or less amounts ending in the milk. If you are happy to use it after 6 days it is up to you, I would wait a month (30 days is average default withdrawal for medicines that do not report it on the label, unless recent studies prove otherwise).

And

Re withdrawal period - the general advice from the Goat veterinary Association is a 7 day withdrawal for any medicine that is not licensed for use in goats. As there are so few and most sheep medicines have not been tested for milking animals that seems to work for most goatkeepers.

I agree it's a problem that not many sheep medicines have not been tested/licensed in goats, and that's where the vets will use the "cascade" to prescribe stuff that isn't licensed in goats (could be anything, even a human drug if there's no veterinary alternative).

However my point was that a drug that says "not licensed for milk producing animals" IT IS NOT the same as "not licensed for use in milking goats". It is not merely a species difference, it is a purpose, and if such milk was to be sold there would be big issues with law. As it is, i.e. milk for your own consumption, as I said it is up to the individual to decide how long to withdraw the milk. Unfortunately wasting milk is never pleasant but I think unwanted antibiotic residues are even less pleasant. If it was my goat I'd wait 30 days before using that milk again.

P.S. I hope that Rowan is on the mend anyway  :)  :bouquet:

jaykay

  • Joined Aug 2012
  • Cumbria/N Yorks border
Re: Mastitis
« Reply #25 on: November 24, 2012, 06:10:48 pm »
She does seem to be thanks, though she's not producing milk from that quarter still.

I've decided go for 10 days, on the basis of that veterinary study I linked to, which found that oxytetracycline residues in goats' milk were well below safety limits by that time.

Welshcob

  • Joined Jul 2012
Re: Mastitis
« Reply #26 on: November 24, 2012, 06:47:03 pm »
 :thumbsup:

Mammyshaz

  • Joined Feb 2012
  • Durham
Re: Mastitis
« Reply #27 on: November 24, 2012, 07:11:36 pm »
Glad she's getting better  :thumbsup:  shame that her milk is poor  :-\

jaykay

  • Joined Aug 2012
  • Cumbria/N Yorks border
Re: Mastitis
« Reply #28 on: November 24, 2012, 07:42:10 pm »
I'm just worried that if I don't get that quarter working again, it might not, ever. It doesn't matter otherwise, but if she has twins, she'll need it.

Early days yet  :fc: I'm glad she seems well  :)

Anke

  • Joined Dec 2009
  • St Boswells, Scottish Borders
Re: Mastitis
« Reply #29 on: November 24, 2012, 08:32:02 pm »
I'm just worried that if I don't get that quarter working again, it might not, ever. It doesn't matter otherwise, but if she has twins, she'll need it.

Early days yet  :fc: I'm glad she seems well  :)
Most likely that she has just shut up shop for the season so to speak - if that side is soft and no pain when you massage it, she (hopefully?) should be fine next time round? I would keep a very close eye and massage udder cream into it, as long as you are still taking milk from the other side. Nothing else you can do.
To my total surpise I found this autumn a couple of ewes with hard quarters after weaning - there were no external signs and their lambs were not significantly smaller than the others... but of course with sheep you can't go round and check udders every day... :-\ , so milder forms of mastitis can go unnoticed.

 

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