Keeping Goats- Dealing with Mastitis in your Goat

Goat MASTITIS 101If you are keeping goats, especially breeding goats, you will probably encounter mastitis sooner rather than later. Mastitis is inflammation of the mammary glands, often the cause of bacteria. If you air swimmers have a goat with this condition, first ensure she is eating and being given lots of love and support. Many times, the new mother will lose her appetite, which is common. However, if she stops eating, the condition will quickly take her downhill. To help get your goat back on track, penicillin shots twice daily for five to seven days should be administered. If the Mastitis is severe, the Air Swimmers treatment period of antibiotics may need to be extended. Keep in mind that if the Mastitis appears before five days of the goat giving birth to her kid, there is some risk of milk fever from intensive milking, which is a common cure for nursing goats with Mastitis. On the other hand, if the Mastitis appears right after birth, the kids are not suckling enough milk. Remember, if the doe is not producing adequate milk, she is at risk for Mastitis. However, even if she has a large udder and appears to be producing significant milk risk of Mastitis could also exist. In other words, this condition can manifest in a number of ways. Therefore, as a rule of thumb, express one-fifth of the doe's milk per day. In other words, if the doe delivered three days prior and Mastitis appears, you want to express three-fifths of her milk. If the doe delivered five or more days prior, go through the normal milking process. Then, rub the teats followed by milking, repeating the process for 10 to 15 minutes. When done, very gently inject 2ml penicillin into each of her teats. If remote controlled air swimmers you are able to empty the udder without causing milk fever, the best solution for Mastitis is again, milking followed by rubbing the teats for 10 to 15 minutes. If the udder is hot to the touch, apply ice packs to sooth her aching body. If the kids are nursing, the ice pack will also help make the teats softer and less painful for nursing. Remember that every case of Mastitis in goats is different. Therefore, you will need to watch your goat to see how she responds, providing her with the appropriate treatment. It is important to always consult your veterinarian at the appearance of any signs of illness when you are keeping goats, and talk to your vet about all possible solutions available to you. Reference source: The above article is an excerpt from "Goat Crazy" the unique ebook for anyone considering keeping goats as pets or commercially farming goats.Source & Author: Helene Malmsio of the "Keeping Goats" website.