Mastitis is one of the most common diseases of dairy animals: goats, cows and sheep. It is he who most often causes the culling of milking individuals from the herd. The fact is that even after a successful cure, the productivity of a dairy animal is often not fully restored.
Causes and prevention
Of course, like any other disease, mastitis does not occur just like that, from scratch. Its main reason is hypothermia. Treatment of mastitis in goats - the procedure is quite complicated and not always effective. Therefore, to prevent it, it is very important to take various kinds of preventive measures. First of all, it is necessary to ensure that there are no drafts in the barn. The second, most common cause is infection through a dirty litter. You need to change it as often as possible.
Another common cause of mastitis in dairy animals, including goats, is incomplete milk donation. You also need to know about this. The colostrum remaining in the udder “burns out” over time, and the products of its decay begin to decompose, causing inflammation.
Hidden form
Treatment of mastitis in goats begins with the definition of its variety. A few weeks after lambing, due to hypothermia or as a result of getting into the udder of an infection, its serous (latent) form often develops. With early diagnosis and proper treatment, the animal in this case usually recovers quite quickly (within about five days) and without a decrease in productivity.
The most dangerous variety
Gangrenous mastitis of goats is a very serious disease that can be treated with difficulty. It can leak in a super-sharp or acute form. In the first case, it is usually not possible to save the animal. When infected with acute mastitis, you can try to cure a goat. The survival rate in this case is about 65%.
Other varieties
There are also such forms of this disease as:
- serous;
- fibrinous;
- hemorrhagic.
These are the most common goat mastitis. Serous mastitis - the mildest form - is more common than others. If any kind of this disease is suspected, the goat must be shown to the veterinarian. Since it refers to quite serious ones, it is extremely not recommended to treat the animal on its own. The chance that the goat will die is too high.
Serous mastitis in goats: symptoms and treatment
As already mentioned, this species is not considered too dangerous, but requires timely treatment. Serous mastitis is called inflammation of the udder with a lump of exudate in the connective tissue. Its features include:
- reduction in milk yield;
- depressed state of the animal;
- loss of appetite;
- increase in body temperature;
- an increase in the volume of the affected part of the udder;
- redness of the skin on it;
- increase in local temperature;
- swollen lymphatic lymph nodes.
In the initial stage, the milk in the goat remains normal and the milk yield is usually not reduced. As the disease progresses, it becomes watery. Serous mastitis usually does not cause irreversible changes in the tissues of the udder.
To make sure that the goat has exactly this disease is quite simple. You can do this on your own by purchasing a special drug, Mastitest. When it is added to milk in the quantities indicated on the package, it coagulates or turns into a gelatinous mass. Treatment of a diseased goat is usually carried out both with medication and symptomatic.
Signs of purulent mastitis
Now let's see how to determine purulent mastitis in a goat. Signs (diagnosis in this case is a simple procedure) with its super-acute form are as follows:
- increase in body temperature to 41.5 g .;
- increased breathing and heart rate;
- discharge from a hot, painful udder of blood exudate.
A day after the onset of the disease, the udder becomes swollen, painless and cold. His skin becomes cyanotic. Usually, with this development of the disease, by the end of the second day, the animal dies in an agonal state.
In acute mastitis, the signs of the disease in goats are about the same, but they develop more slowly. In this case, the animal usually stands with legs wide apart. The udder of a goat is hotter on the first day, and cold and swollen on the second and subsequent days.
How to treat
Only a veterinarian can determine exactly what kind of mastitis a goat is sick with. The doctor should show the animal to the doctor. Treatment of mastitis in goats is usually carried out comprehensively. Most likely, the doctor will prescribe the introduction of special drugs and the implementation of certain physiological procedures.
A solution of penicillin or streptomycin is usually injected into the affected lobe of the udder. After milking, antibiotics are also administered intracisternally. It can be, for example, Masticide or Mastisan preparations. In a very painful state of the udder, "Mastomycin" is often used, which includes lidocaine. The main distinguishing feature of all antibiotics used to treat goat mastitis is that they are made on an oily basis (usually vegetable oil). In addition, the doctor can prescribe treatment for mastitis in goats by introducing furatsilina 1: 5000 on a 0.9% solution of sodium chloride.
After an injection using any drug, the udder of the animal is lightly massaged from the bottom up.
Medication for mastitis in goats must be accompanied by frequent milk donations. This procedure should be performed every 4-6 hours (except for night time). First, a healthy portion of the udder is reduced, and then, very carefully, the patient. After performing this procedure, ichthyol ointment is rubbed into the skin of the affected part (1-2 times a day for 3-4 days). If desired, it can be replaced with salicylic or camphor.
In addition, the veterinarian usually prescribes symptomatic treatment. On the first day of the disease, a cold compress is applied to the udder of the goat, on all subsequent ones - a warm compress. The animal is also given a diuretic and laxative.
Thus, you now roughly know how to treat mastitis in goats. The procedure is quite complicated. A sick animal requires increased attention. The recommendations of the veterinarian must be fully implemented by the owners. In the event that the udder is in a very painful condition, it is also worth rubbing an anesthetic ointment into it. For its preparation, 1 g of novocaine is mixed with 20 g of petroleum jelly and 4 g of boric acid.
Before donating, a sick part of the udder must be massaged (in the direction from the bottom up, along the lymphatic vessels).
Feeding a sick animal
Mastitis in goats, the treatment of which is carried out comprehensively, is usually accompanied by severe swelling of the udder. In order not to provoke further development of the disease, all feeds that can stimulate lactation should be excluded from the diet of the animal. For example, giving a goat juicy vegetables and fruits, as well as potatoes, or soldering milk to it is impossible. Do not give the goat fresh grass or branches. It is also recommended to lower the daily rate of feed consumed. The main food for a sick goat should be high-quality hay and brooms.
What to do with milk
Thus, the sickest animals should be given the most careful care. Of course, you can’t eat milk from such a goat. This rule applies even if she has not too dangerous serous (hidden) mastitis. Children with such a product, for example, may develop diarrhea. Before you again use milk for food, you need to conduct a thorough treatment of mastitis in goats. You can drink it only after all the signs of the disease disappear.
Milk from the sore part of the udder after disposal is disposed of. It is advisable to degrease it first. Milk from the healthy part of the udder with serous mastitis can be boiled and fed to other animals.
Internal damage
Thus, we figured out how to treat mastitis in goats. However, the technique described above is usually effective only with serous mastitis. Sick purulent variety of goats often can not be saved. The following pathological signs are observed in animals killed by this disease:
- mild rigor mortis;
- anemia of the mucous membranes;
- enlarged lymph nodes ;
- pulmonary edema with hemorrhage;
- subcutaneous tissue saturated with exudate;
- edematous perineum;
- flabby spleen;
- crowded gall bladder;
- flabby kidneys.
Thus, the disease is very serious, requiring immediate action - mastitis in goats. Its treatment should be done in a timely manner. Take your goat to the veterinarian and follow the recommendations given to them with all accuracy.