I have a doe that is 35 days fresh. I started milking her 5 days ago. Today she had a small hard lump in one of her teats and I could not get milk out. I noticed I could move it up into her udder. Could this be mastitis or something else? She is a second freshner and was well behaved on the milk stand but I noticed that she would not stand still for me to milk her the last five days I thought it was becuse her kids were screaming for her but now I wonder if it is painful to be milked. She is eating well and acting normal.
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It could be a clump of milk. If you just noticed it this morning, and her kids are nursing again, the lump will probably be gone next time you check, because the kids will probably suck it out. If you force the clump down to the orifice and it starts to stick out, you can grab it with your fingernails and pull it out. I think that's much easier on the doe than trying to force it out by just squeezing the teat. Some people might say it's a sign of mastitis, but I really think that the term is overused with livestock. I used to be a lactation consultant for humans, and it wasn't mastitis unless you had a fever. Otherwise it was just a plugged duct. I really think that what is commonly called mastitis in livestock is really just plugged ducts (there are six to nine ducts in each udder half), and the best solution is milking frequently and massaging the udder with oil that has peppermint and oregano essential oils added to it. If you don't have the essential oils, just massaging is helpful. Having someone hold a hot washcloth on her udder while you're milking is also helpful. One of my la manchas has issues like this if we separate her from her kids for 24 hours, but she's fine if they're nursing 24/7.
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