Sheepshape
Herd Master
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Good luck with this. Are teat or teats thick and 'pointing downwards'? (They usually do with mastitis). Usually the udder on the affected side is very swollen and hot
Get someone to hold the sheep with you on your knees beside her. Try to simulate what a lamb does....they often 'bump' the udder to cause oxytocin release and the milk to start coming down. Grasp the teat firmly all along it s length(not just at the tip) and pull /squeeze/ slightly rotate from top to bottom gently but firmly. Sometimes it takes a few squeezes to get the milk coming down....save any into a clean jug If there is mastitis it will look and smell unhealthy.....maybe blood or pus in it. Persist until you have drained all you can get from the affected side.
An anti-inflammatory from the vet will help, and, if she mastitis antibiotics will be needed.
I'm hoping that this is all a 'false alarm' and that her udder is swollen and a bit congested but not mastitis.
As babsbag said, engorgement can look like mastitis. A couple of years back I had a ewe with a massively swollen half udder. I didn't manage to get more than about 50mls the first try, but after an anti-inflammatory I removed over 2.5 litres with a dramatic change in her udder (but it DID take about 30 minutes on hand and knees).
Get someone to hold the sheep with you on your knees beside her. Try to simulate what a lamb does....they often 'bump' the udder to cause oxytocin release and the milk to start coming down. Grasp the teat firmly all along it s length(not just at the tip) and pull /squeeze/ slightly rotate from top to bottom gently but firmly. Sometimes it takes a few squeezes to get the milk coming down....save any into a clean jug If there is mastitis it will look and smell unhealthy.....maybe blood or pus in it. Persist until you have drained all you can get from the affected side.
An anti-inflammatory from the vet will help, and, if she mastitis antibiotics will be needed.
I'm hoping that this is all a 'false alarm' and that her udder is swollen and a bit congested but not mastitis.
As babsbag said, engorgement can look like mastitis. A couple of years back I had a ewe with a massively swollen half udder. I didn't manage to get more than about 50mls the first try, but after an anti-inflammatory I removed over 2.5 litres with a dramatic change in her udder (but it DID take about 30 minutes on hand and knees).
