I've been working on her udder for awhile; 1 hour yesterday; very tiny singular streams come out at very long intervals. Tried again this morning. I'm massaging with olive oil and peppermint, applying very warm compresses. I spoke with the vet and he mentioned the Today udder treatment as an option but to beware that kids may suckle medicine. After I worked on her bag more this morning with no difference I went ahead with that treatment. I taped off the teat even though babies have begun avoiding it anyway. I have my fingers crossed but I'm very worried. I'll keep trying with the massage and compresses. Her poop went from normal yesterday to clumping together to no form now. I did the treatment at 9:30. Is it just time to bring vet in or does anyone have experience with using Today treatment? She has a normal temp; 102.9 and 102.7 although vet said that was getting high for such cold weather. He suggested pen G which I gave her at 6:30 am. Thoughts? I'm also communicating with a dairy goat owner who has used the treatment with success before and walked me through the process and hoped for result. I feel so much dread!!
Ok, going to try again. These are the things in my nightmares during this time of year! I only have 2 does!!
Thanks for replies!!
The udder is not hot. May help to know that when I weaned her babies last year, months later she has residual milk. I thought it would dry up but I expressed chunky awful looking stuff. No blood from it and she never became ill but I suspect she had an infection then so when you say the damage is done I think of that incident. I told the vet about that as well. I would be okay with retiring her and even supplementing babies but will this udder condition kill her? I am mainly concerned about saving her. She has not been CAE tested but the former 6 does she has lived with in the past have all been negative. And the buck is negative too. I guess my main question is, can she die from this udder condition?
That sounds hopeful. This is day 2. I will keep working on her as much as I can. I know she is not feeling like herself. I don't have banamine but the vet offered that in the event that I couldn't get things moving just to help with swelling and pain. I believe the compresses feel good but even after nearly an hour of massaging we are both tired!
She did receive her BoSe about a month ago.
The milk that I have seen is a very thin stream, however that only happened the first two times I worked on her bag. I see milk accumulate in the opening of the teat as if a tiny tiny amount pools there as I massage but not even enough to create a stream. Her udder has gotten harder since yesterday. Except right at the top of the teat it has some softness. Also, I noticed the medication from the Today treatment doesn't go very far up into the udder. I can tell how it has filled up all available space just above the teat and will go no further. Her teat is plump with the medication.
Ok, it truly helps to know this can be resolved. I'll keep trying. Really appreciate the input!
Hmm... The chunky awful milk last year sounds awfully suspicious. My best guess is that she developed an infection last year during the dry-off period and since it was not treated the udder was permanently damaged. Trying to make it come back now is probably a lost cause (just my opinion). However, the good news is that your doe is probably in no danger from that old infection. It just means she'll only be able to nurse from one side. That's ok. I've known a few one-titted goats and they were healthy and happy in every other way. Some were such good producers they were able to feed all their babies from the one side! That's something you'll have to keep an eye on--making sure the kids are getting enough milk to thrive and grow properly.
I've been so worried about her that I would be perfectly relieved for that to be the case. I just came in from working on her. And indeed, the udder isn't hot still. It is hard. She doesn't seem to mind my rubbing on it until she gets bored of standing. I know she's not herself because she actually turned away from grain (!) but was happy to munch on hay while I massaged. The udder is awfully hard. I'm in the process of getting some banamine to hopefully provide her with some relief. REALLY appreciate all of the feedback. I have decided that if she can survive I would be more than happy to take one her babies and bottle feed it if she can just feed the two smaller ones from one side. These are pictures of her bag. It's her left side that I've been working on. Unfortunately she was a fabulous provider for two very robust kids last year but if she can care for her's for a little longer I'm happy to keep her!
