Natural Mastitis Treatment & Prevention For Goats

Given the FDA’s new order requiring vet prescriptions for over-the-counter (OTC) antibiotics as of June 11th, I have been putting together posts that will assist in educating on natural measures for both illness prevention and treatment. Today, I want to talk a little bit about mastitis and provide helpful tips and tricks to keep mastitis at bay in your does, with and without the use of conventional antibiotics. As a note, I do recommend having a relationship and a VCPR with a trusted veterinarian, or at the very least, an understanding with a local veterinarian who can provide emergency support and medications if necessary.

Mastitis is the inflammation of the mammary gland usually due to a mammary infection that occurs in lactating goats (though sub-clinical mastitis can persist when dry, or can occur from a precocious udder). Several different strains of bacteria can be responsible for causing this illness. Early stages of mastitis or sub-clinical mastitis are hard to pick up on.

Early symptoms of mastitis may include:

• Elevated somatic cell counts
• Drops in milk yield
• Odd texture/color of milk
• Lumps in udder
• Off milk taste
• Lopsided udders

Once the illness progresses, clinical signs of mastitis may include:

• Fever
• Swollen and hot udder
• Udder discoloration
• Pain and tenderness to touch
• Difficulty expelling milk (due to swelling and udder hardening)
• Systemic symptoms of illness (off feed, lethargy)

Mastitis is best treated early, before it progresses systemically. In natural treatment regimens, the sooner you can start them, the better. Additionally, natural regimens have many parts to cover all the necessary bases, so be prepared to do all recommendations at the same time and consistently if you hope to treat mastitis naturally. There will also be a section below on my preferred conventional mastitis treatment for those looking for other approaches; and continue reading for my mastitis prevention program following that—as prevention is always better than treatment!

My Natural Mastitis Treatment Regimen:

To go along with the following steps, please note this is my official UdderEO Blend recipe that I recommend mixing up for this treatment and prevention plan!

Step 1. Internal Illness Fighters

It’s vital to support the body systemically when treating mastitis! All of these steps can/should be done at the same time to provide a strong internal impact on the immune system.

• Garlic (3 cloves raw, once daily)
• Vitamin C (1000mg twice daily via human chewable or powder)
• HerBiotic by Fir Meadow LLC (a blend I use as a natural antibiotic for a variety of issues. In mastitis situations, I use it at double the label dosage 3x per day, reducing to 2x per day if good improvement has been noticed)
• Fortified Vitamin B Complex (1cc per 20lbs SubQ, once daily)
• Probiotics (Probios Bovine Gel; and if the doe is off-feed, add dark beer. I also recommend a cud transfer if the doe is off-feed)
• MastoBlast (homeopathic supplement, follow label directions)
• Milk Re-Feeding (In very early stages of infection, and if no blood or chunks are present in the milk, 10cc of milk can be fed back to your doe, which may further encourage the doe’s body to create an immune response to fight the infection)

Step 2. Udder Prep For External Treatment

It is extremely important to keep your doe comfortable, reduce inflammation, and keep the udder supple enough to treat and work with.

• Apply a warm epsom salt compress to the udder (reduces inflammation and draws out toxins), massage with my UdderEO Blend, and then try your best to milk out the udder fully, working through lumps and hardness manually.

Step 3. External Udder Treatment

• Bentonite Clay Udder Mask (combine bentonite clay with enough water to make a loose paste and a small amount of olive oil, and add 10 drops eucalyptus essential oil for best results. Apply all over the udder and leave on until dry, then wipe off with a damp cloth. Repeat 2x a day)
• Essential Oil Treatment (when not using the mask, keep the udder treated with my UdderEO Blend)

Try to strip the udder of milk frequently, and continue all parts of this regimen until you feel the situation is managed. Then go back to mastitis prevention (see below) once the situation has been resolved.

Preventing Mastitis Naturally:

Step 1. Internal Supplements

Garlic, HerBiotic, and MastoBlast are all beneficial items to prevent mastitis in any lactating does.

Step 2. Proper Milking Hygiene

Ensure that you are thoroughly wiping down the udder prior to milking, using clean hands or a clean machine to milk, and applying an adequate post-milking cleanser/spray/dip. Here is my preferred natural milking routine:

1. Wipe down udder with a warm wash cloth with a small amount of Dr. Bronner’s Castille Soap or OnGuard Soap.
2. Squirt out a few “throwaway squirts” of milk, then milk normally.
3. Dip teats in a homemade teat dip of half white vinegar and half water solution (for mastitis-prone goats, consider an iodine dip under proper directives from a mentor)
4. Massage into udder either UdderEO Blend or HerBiotic Salve from Fir Meadow LLC (HerBiotic recommended for mastitis-prone goats). If the doe has kids on her and you do not want them to be deterred or irritated by the essential oils in the UdderEO Blend (HerBiotic salve is mild and should not bother them), simply use plain coconut oil for the areas close to the teat orifice.

Step 3. Minerals and Overall Health

Mineral deficient does will be prone to any illness, including mastitis. Mineral deficiencies of the vital three (copper, zinc, and selenium) are very common and have a big impact on lactation health. Selenium is an important antioxidant, zinc helps to maintain skin integrity and immune system function, and copper is also closely tied into immune health and cellular protection. Many other minerals and vitamins are also essential to proper health. Be sure you are supplementing with minerals properly and identifying and fixing any deficiencies, or mastitis may be a commonly reoccurring issue in your herd.

Conventional Mastitis Treatment & Prevention:

Please note, you can and should still use all the natural steps if deciding to use a conventional treatment as well…

Udder infusions of antibiotics (ToDay, ToMorrow) and/or systemic antibiotics can be used. I prefer to use only infusions in most cases, but some situations may call for systemic antibiotic treatment. If so, you have the option of doing a bacterial culture and sensitivity test to choose the correct antibiotic, which will prevent antibiotic resistance and misuse. However, an antibiotic which I frequently see good success in treating the systemic aspects of mastitis with is LA-200 (oxytetracycline, 1cc per 20lbs SubQ, 5-10 consecutive days), and I would currently choose it over most other antibiotics for this illness. Cleaning the udder with diluted chlorhexidine solution (dilute 10z water to 2 oz chlorhexidine) is a good addition to this conventional treatment path. Additionally, to reduce fever and inflammation, banamine is often used as a systemic NSAID when mastitis is present. For conventional mastitis prevention, the addition of FightBac spray is often a very effective post-milking treatment along with correct udder management as listed above in the natural section. A chlorhexidine solution as described above can also be used.

Overall, mastitis is a disease best prevented as opposed to treated as it can cause lasting udder damage (if you have a doe previously damaged from mastitis, please contact me privately for udder tissue recovery regimens). Keep your does at optimal health using good immune support and good management practice, and make sure to keep all of the necessary natural mastitis treatment products on hand, as an incomplete natural regimen may not have as good of a success rate!

DISCLAIMER: I am not a vet, nor am I a licensed professional. I am in no way a “goat expert” and my opinions are only that of personal experiences, and my insights shared are not medical treatment suggestions, care suggestions, or any directions for raising goats at all. I am simply sharing my own personal opinions. Any and all changes to your goats’ health regimen, care, etc. should be approved by a veterinary professional or licensed professional. I also believe that every goat owner has their own way of doing things, so just as my opinions are my own, and cannot apply to anyone else, your opinions are also regarding your individual goats, and I welcome you to share them in a kind, constructive manner.