# newbie with goat mastitis/suddenly fat, goat non appetite, help!



## slikchik (Jul 18, 2012)

Thanks to all who take the time to give advice on these two issues. I know were all busy people.

Prelude: I obtained two Nubian doelings from a friend in December 2011. They are sisters, born in April of 2010. I immediately found a nearby breeder with a stud service and she graciously boarded them for about 2.5 weeks until they came into heat, at which time they were each bred to different bucks that she also used for her herd. Date bred  January 14th. Date due  June 11. (These are my first goats. They make all aspects of chicken care seem like cake.) They eat Purina goat chow, 1# per day up until delivery, free choice alfalfa/grass hay mix and have access to loose goat minerals, sea-min kelp, and baking soda free choice. They are in a large open shed at night and roam the goat yard during the day. I am temporarily staying with my parents to help with some medical stuff they are dealing with and hope to stumble across that perfect farm any day now. Until then, they are confined to the goat yard, which measures about 50x60. They come from a CAE free herd and were bred to CAE free bucks.

Issue #1  Justine, the larger black doe successfully kidded twin doelings about two days after her due date. After trying a few milking methods, we settled on the sound advice from Fias Co Farm to wait a few weeks, then separate mom and babies at night only and milk mom in the mornings. Justine had been going on the milk stand every morning since one month prior to her due date for her grain, hoof work and a daily udder massage. For the first two days that she was milked, she cleaned up all her feed, 2#, in the morning and again in the evening (she wasnt getting milked in the evening, just fed on the stand). Then she lost her appetite. She dropped to eating  pound per feeding, leaving the rest and refusing to touch it no matter how long she stood there. We are gradually working her back up to  to 1# per feeding over the past three weeks but she lost condition fast and is horridly skinny. Her coat, once sleek and shiny like her sister, is now dull and ruffled. She is giving an average of 2 # of milk per day. Her stools are mostly black pellets, occasionally a bit clumpy. Any suggestions?







Issue #2  Iris, her younger sister, was bred at the same time and about a month after the breeding, her udder started to fill out. But it was hard and lumpy, although she doesnt mind a good udder massage. However, her tummy never filled out and she never delivered. I only ever saw one strand of mucus around the time her sister kidded. I also never saw the wet rear end that they say comes at the end of a false pregnancy. Now, however, she is getting wider and wider and looks like she should pop any day. I took her to the vet about three weeks post due date and they did the CAE test, pregnancy test and gave her a shot of antibiotics. Both tests came back negative. The antibiotics were unsuccessful at clearing the infection. The vet would like to do a serum test to see exactly what kind of bacteria is ailing her before they treat it again but the test, at $110, plus another office visit fee and the follow-up visit and treatment is way out of my price range. I really really want to keep her since shes such a lover and so gentle with my toddler and infant, But I cant afford to keep a non-milker. She also has very nice stools (did I just say that?) and an excellent appetite. I just cant figure out the udder issue or why shes suddenly looking so pregnant.






Have I baffled anyone besides myself yet?


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## WhiteMountainsRanch (Jul 18, 2012)

*I had two does that did the same thing as your Justine. I gave sub-q shots of penicillin for 5 days in a row and they both cleared up within 24 hours of the first shot.  Sorry I can't be of more help I am a newbie too. I am interested in seeing what others have to say... *


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## Roll farms (Jul 19, 2012)

Have you had a fecal ran on Justine?  Sometimes post-kidding they'll have a 'worm bloom' that will take them down...fast.

As to the udder issue w/ Iris....I wish I could help but w/ neg. CAE results, I dunno what to tell you.  But if you do find out, please update because I'd like to know, too.


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## Pearce Pastures (Jul 19, 2012)

Roll farms said:
			
		

> Have you had a fecal ran on Justine?  Sometimes post-kidding they'll have a 'worm bloom' that will take them down...fast.
> 
> As to the udder issue w/ Iris....I wish I could help but w/ neg. CAE results, I dunno what to tell you.  But if you do find out, please update because I'd like to know, too.


x2  Grab a baggie and wait for her to drop berries (fresh is better so catch them right away).  The sooner the better on this-she probably has a parasite and a vet will need to tell you what kind in order for her to get the right meds for the job.

As for Iris, could you post a pic of what you mean by lumpy?  Did the vet think she has mastitis?  I am thinking maybe she had a miscarriage given she was bred at the same time as Justine and built and udder BUT then I would think there would be a mess somewhere to clean up and her backside would be a little untidy too. Hmmm......


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## ksalvagno (Jul 19, 2012)

What kind of pregnancy test was done? If it was an ultrasound, it would be hard to tell with the kids being larger in size and hard to see in an ultrasound screen. An Xray would show it better.

What antibiotics were used? Have you tried milking her? What is her temp?

X3 on the fecal and make sure they also check for coccidia.


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## slikchik (Jul 25, 2012)

Backyard chickens not letting me upload pics. Still fighting that site.

Justine -  Read Pat Coleby's "Natural Goat Care" and gave Justine the worm drench of 1t each copper sulfate, dolomite lime and crushed vitamin C tablets four days ago and again today. No change yet. Doing the fecal tomorrow, held off until now due to the expense. Hoping to find a natural worming product that does not have a milk withdraw time since I'm using the milk to clear my toddler's eczema with good success.

Iris - Preg test done was a blood test. In leu of doing the serum test, Vet recommended  3cc daily of penicillin sub-q for 7 days. She just finished it and one side of the udder is shrinking but not the other. Her udder feels lumpy and hard, like there are different sized rocks in it, as opposed to her sisters which is full yet soft and pliable. Her teats also never developed, still tiny little things with maybe enough room for two fingers.

I was so proud of how healthy these gals were before all this cropped up. Now I'm beyond the end of my budget and getting no answers with my vet. I'm a big believer in holistic care but new to goats and I have no idea where to start.


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## WhiteMountainsRanch (Jul 25, 2012)

*I would put Justine on the Penicillin (amounts suggested by your vet) and see what happens. 

I would also definitely do a fecal/ deworming and maybe even vitamin B shots.

From everything I have read the herbal wormers won't actually clear up a heavy infestation, but work better as a preventative ~ again I am new, so this is just what I have read.*


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## slikchik (Aug 13, 2012)

Update on the ladies:

Justine is slowly gaining weight after the second copper drench. We also switched her feed from the Purina goat chow to the local feed mill's dairy mix and she loves it. Helps that it's $4 less per bag too. She only milks once a day and she is now consistently around or above 3.5# per milking. I hope that's good for a first freshener who still feeds her kids during the day. We also did a fecal at the vet's recommendation and it said tapeworm count was at 4 and coccidia count was at 100 with a recommendation of safeguard. Haven't been able to get back to the vet to see what these numbers mean. Glad the copper drench worked and I don't have to deal with withdraw times.

After a 7 day treatment of 3cc sub-q of penicillin on Iris, her udder is very slowly getting better. Neither side looks engorged and instead of several hard lumps it feels like one large rock on each side. I'm still hoping she'll breed up this fall, she has good udder attachment, good maternal instincts and a very sweet temperament.


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## Pearce Pastures (Aug 13, 2012)

Glad to hear there is improvement.  I don't know much about the counts either.  I get that the number is how many sightings per slide view but what that number means in terms of treatment, I do not know.  I am curious though about the vet's choice of treatment for the coccidia.  Safeguard for tapeworms makes sense to me, but I don't think it would do anything for coccidia.  Might want to give them a call and ask about it (maybe they aren't high enough to treat).  We use DiMethox here.


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## ksalvagno (Aug 13, 2012)

If tapeworm is found, I would treat for that at any count and Safeguard is the dewormer for tapeworm. But 100 sounds high for coccidia and I would be treating her for that too. I would get DiMethox 40% and treat her at 1cc per 5lbs first day and 1cc per 10 lbs the next 4 days.

Penicillin should be dosed at 1cc per 15 lbs so unless she is only 45 lbs, the Penicillin is really being underdosed.


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## slikchik (Aug 15, 2012)

ksalvagno said:
			
		

> Penicillin should be dosed at 1cc per 15 lbs so unless she is only 45 lbs, the Penicillin is really being underdosed.


That would make sense given that her udders have decreased slightly in size but the hardness has not yet gone away. Anyone think I should repeat the treatment on Iris but using her real weight? I don't have anything to lose, if she doesn't breed successfully this fall, I'll have to find a home for her.

Oh, also, how to you weigh a full grown dairy goat?


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## ksalvagno (Aug 15, 2012)

I would definitely retreat her. I would do a full 14 days of Penicillin. If you don't have a livestock scale, you can always use one of those weight tapes to get an approximate weight on her.


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