Mastitis By Marvin Shurley for The American Meat Goat Association
Udder problems in goats
Mastitis is an inflammatory disease which can affect the mammary glands of any mammal. Most affected animals are naturally heavy milkers and this may lead some to believe it is an hereditary disease, as milking ability is a highly heritable trait. This, coupled with no genetic resistance to infection by certain organisms which cause mastitis, leads to mastitis prone herds. Often mastitis is used as a catch-all phrase by people to simplify diagnosis of udder problems in goats. One of the greatest impacts mastitis can have on a producer is of a financial nature. The nannies bag and teats become swollen and tender and she won't let the kids nurse, leading to starvation death of her offspring, and economic loss to the producer. On the dairy side, presence of mastitis leads to production loss from the animal plus the chance of herd infection, and therefore economic loss. There are three types of mastitis which have been recognized, and all, while caused by different agents, are contagious and as such should be treated as any other disease, i.e., culling or at least isolation from unaffected goats if feasible. The three types are Retroviral, Mycoplasmal, and Bacterial mastitis. Bacterial mastitis is the type I feel is most commonly experienced in the meat goat industry, and as such shall be the one addressed here. The organisms that cause it are many, but have one thing in common; they reside in unhygienic places such as dark, damp housing areas. Monitoring of your nannies after kidding to make sure the kids are sucking so that the bag doesn't get overly full and tender, and possibly "milking down" the bag until the kids get bigger will help. Providing a dry, clean, well ventilated sleeping area will help to prevent bacterial growth. Selection of nannies with well suspended udders will also help in this matter. Those pendulous udders with teats which drag the ground provide excellent places for bacterial invasion through teat sphincters and minor abrasions. Be sure to look under those goats before you buy them; it might save you some money and time in the long run. As a meat goat producer I can appreciate all breeds of goats for the attributes each one can contribute toward building an ideal meat animal. Even so, I would like to caution producers against introducing too much dairy influence into their herds. Years back beef people tried using dairy bulls on their beef cows to up milk production, much to their chagrin. This led to an extraordinarily high incidence of mastitis which they were unprepared to deal with. Let us not make the same mistake in our industry's breeding programs. Should one of your goats develop mastitis, supportive therapy with analgesics, antibiotics, and your veterinarians or friends recommendations, will offer temporary relief for your animal. I say temporary because the next time that goat kids she stands a very good chance of becoming infected again with mastitis. This being the case, the one sure cure which will relieve your mastitis problem is to cull and dispose of that goat and any like her as soon as possible. There are goats which may seem to be clinically cured and free from mastitis, but will probably remain carrier animals with the shedding of the causative organisms, infecting the other animals in your herd. Removal by culling prevents this opportunity for infection. There is not a 100% guaranteed cure for this disease and its associated headaches except one - CULLING! "Our life is frittered away by detail - simplify, simplify." Henry David Thoreau Marvin F. Shurley
Mr. Shurley can be contacted at marvin@sonoratx.net

Mastitis

By Marvin Shurley
for The American Meat Goat Association

Udder problems in goats

Mastitis is an inflammatory disease which can affect the mammary glands of any mammal. Most affected animals are naturally heavy milkers and this may lead some to believe it is an hereditary disease, as milking ability is a highly heritable trait. This, coupled with no genetic resistance to infection by certain organisms which cause mastitis, leads to mastitis prone herds. Often mastitis is used as a catch-all phrase by people to simplify diagnosis of udder problems in goats. One of the greatest impacts mastitis can have on a producer is of a financial nature. The nannies bag and teats become swollen and tender and she won't let the kids nurse, leading to starvation death of her offspring, and economic loss to the producer. On the dairy side, presence of mastitis leads to production loss from the animal plus the chance of herd infection, and therefore economic loss.

There are three types of mastitis which have been recognized, and all, while caused by different agents, are contagious and as such should be treated as any other disease, i.e., culling or at least isolation from unaffected goats if feasible.

The three types are Retroviral, Mycoplasmal, and Bacterial mastitis. Bacterial mastitis is the type I feel is most commonly experienced in the meat goat industry, and as such shall be the one addressed here. The organisms that cause it are many, but have one thing in common; they reside in unhygienic places such as dark, damp housing areas.

Monitoring of your nannies after kidding to make sure the kids are sucking so that the bag doesn't get overly full and tender, and possibly "milking down" the bag until the kids get bigger will help. Providing a dry, clean, well ventilated sleeping area will help to prevent bacterial growth. Selection of nannies with well suspended udders will also help in this matter. Those pendulous udders with teats which drag the ground provide excellent places for bacterial invasion through teat sphincters and minor abrasions. Be sure to look under those goats before you buy them; it might save you some money and time in the long run.

As a meat goat producer I can appreciate all breeds of goats for the attributes each one can contribute toward building an ideal meat animal. Even so, I would like to caution producers against introducing too much dairy influence into their herds. Years back beef people tried using dairy bulls on their beef cows to up milk production, much to their chagrin. This led to an extraordinarily high incidence of mastitis which they were unprepared to deal with. Let us not make the same mistake in our industry's breeding programs.

Should one of your goats develop mastitis, supportive therapy with analgesics, antibiotics, and your veterinarians or friends recommendations, will offer temporary relief for your animal. I say temporary because the next time that goat kids she stands a very good chance of becoming infected again with mastitis. This being the case, the one sure cure which will relieve your mastitis problem is to cull and dispose of that goat and any like her as soon as possible.

There are goats which may seem to be clinically cured and free from mastitis, but will probably remain carrier animals with the shedding of the causative organisms, infecting the other animals in your herd. Removal by culling prevents this opportunity for infection. There is not a 100% guaranteed cure for this disease and its associated headaches except one - CULLING!

"Our life is frittered away by detail - simplify, simplify." Henry David Thoreau

Marvin F. Shurley

Mr. Shurley can be contacted at marvin@sonoratx.net

Mar 20, 1998

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