My goat kicks during milking. Why is she doing this and what can I do?

Yes - the hardness and difficulty to express milk are typical signs of mastitis and she will require urgent veterinary treatment in order to prevent long term damage. Antibiotic and anti-inflammatory injections are generally both required but vary on the different types of mastitis (taking a milk sample to your vet is very helpful to determine this); regular emptying of the affected milk also reduces the burden of infection. You may need to bottle feed the kids if both mammary glands are affected or they are anxious and hungry

If there is infection, she should be getting antibiotics. You can milk the udder, just discard the milk. Keeping the wound clean and dry will aid in healing. You can use diluted Betadine to clean it once or twice daily. Change the bedding frequently if she is in a stall. A serious wound should be addressed by a veterinarian experienced in treating small ruminants.

Hi there. Thiamine deficiency doesn't typically resolve that rapidly, so they is unlikely to be the cause. It does sound like she may have mastitis as this will cause a firm, swollen udder. If your goat is on a balanced diet of high quality grass hay, you shouldn't need to supplement with anything. I would recommend having a vet come check her udder for mastitis if her udder is still swollen. I hope that helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

I would definitely be thinking mastitis and not calcium deficiency. It's best to have a veterinarian examine Strawberry so they can diagnose the specific problem and provide the necessary treatment. For now, it's best to strip the milk from that utter twice a day while massaging it with warm water to ensure the goat kids are not drinking it and to help remove the infection. You may need to feed the kids milk replacer if they are not getting enough milk from the other utter. I hope that helps and Strawberry gets better soon.

The left side does look much bigger than the right, but does not appear infected. It is not uncommon for there to be some asymmetry between the two udders, but I agree that this is rather pronounced. Given the size of the udders, I would expect that she would be due any day now. False pregnancy is a possibility, but rather rare, so I wouldn't be too suspicious of this yet. I would just keep an eye on the udder for any change in color or discharge like pus or blood. This would indicate that there is an infection. If it has an infection or you are otherwise concerned, then it would be best to have a veterinarian check her out. They could have a better look at the udder, test it for signs of infection and easily be able to check for pregnancy. I hope that helps and Iris has a kid soon.

Mating can be quite traumatic for the female and if your goat is still very young then she could be easily hurt by the male. Hopefully it is soft tissue inflammation but potentially he may have injured a nerve. You could see if your local large animal vet can prescribe you an antinflammatory injection for her. Definitely keep him away from her.

Check her temperature. If she has a fever, call out your farm vet. Potential causes include infection, vitamin/mineral deficiency (namely vitamin E and selenium), parasites (the most worrisome being meningeal worm) or trauma. Keep her warm and as stress free as possible. If necessary, rig up a sling to help her get around. The easiest is a towel slung underneath her behind the front limbs. Without an exam, it is difficult to determine definitively what is happening. If her symptoms are worsening, consider an emergency vet call out or trip to the nearest veterinary ER.