How to Prevent Mastitis

Mastitis can have a number of causes: injury, lack of regular milking, moldy feed and bacterial contamination.  Here are a few tips to help make sure your doe stays healthy and does not develop mastitis.

	Keep living area clean to prevent bacterial from entering your the teat orifices.
	After milking, have fresh hay for them to eat so they do not lie down for at least 10 minutes after milking (this allows the wax plug to form in the teat orifice preventing bacteria from entering the teat.  Some people use teat dip, but I have found that we have fewer instances of mastitis when we keep the teat dry instead of using teat dips.
	Milk at regular times.  If a doe's udder gets too full, this can trigger mastitis
	Do not feed an overly rich or unbalanced diet as diet can play a large part in udder health.  Avoid moldy hay and moldy grain at all costs. Have fresh, clean water available at all times.
	Milk the first few squirts of milk into a strip cup each time you milk.  This will allow you to notice any lumps or oddities in the milk texture early on so you can catch it before it becomes a big issue.
	Keep a high quality 2:1 mineral available. I like Bio-Blue from RestoraLife Minerals although the Hi-Copper mineral from Wick's Livestock is my 2nd favorite.  Also be sure to have salt available (we use Redmonds).

Resources

Caprine Supply - for mastitis test strips and milking supplies