Doe Mastitis: Types, Diagnosis, and Prevention

1 Causes

Around kindling, too much feed and nutrition make milk flow heavily and thicken; weak kits or a small litter leave excess milk sitting in the udder, where bacteria infect it (internal cause). Or a kit bites the teat or the nest box scrapes the udder, letting Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, and others in (external cause).

2 Symptom Types

Acute: poor appetite, dullness, refusal to nurse, fever over 41°C; the udder is red, swollen, hot, and painful, and after a while the skin turns blue-purple, with small hard dry stools sometimes carrying jelly-like mucus. Untreated, the doe can die of sepsis and, if she survives, keeps after-effects.

Chronic: local redness, heat, tight shiny skin, less milk, refusal to nurse, dullness, poor appetite, and raised temperature.

Suppurative: lowered appetite, fever, and udder abscesses.

3 Diagnosis and Prevention

A first diagnosis comes from red, hot, painful udder, refusal to nurse, fever, dullness, lost appetite, dark purple skin, and pus.

Distinguish it from rabbit staphylococcosis, which also shows swollen hard udder, purple skin, pain, fever, dullness, poor appetite, and pus in the gland.

Prevention: clean and disinfect cages regularly and remove all sharp objects so the udder and skin are not injured; in the three days before kindling cut concentrates and juicy greens to keep normal milk flow, and after kindling check supply and add quality juicy feed if low; and for 2 to 4 days around kindling give one long-acting sulfonamide tablet by mouth to help prevent mastitis.