2018 started cold, REALLY cold. I don't recall the exact temperature, but it was certainly not only below freezing but well below zero. I remember tossing the goats some pine bows to celebrate the new year. I remember it being beautifully sunny, but with a fairly brisk wind. While the sun makes you feel better, it doesn't do much to heat objects that time of year. Despite negative temperatures, the goats usually fair very well, surprisingly well. All they need is plenty of good quality hay, a place to get out of the wind, and 'liquid' water. Frost bite is fairly uncommon anywhere other than ear tips, and that is usually only newborn kids who are still wet.
I feed my goats everyday, with few exceptions. Not because they need food, but because it is a good opportunity to give everyone a once over. The key to keeping your goats alive is recognizing illness at the very first sign. I toss food in the pans and then make the rounds to all the houses to make sure everyone is up. Occasionally, I will find one dead-asleep, which causes brief panic. I then watch them for a few minutes to ensure everyone is greedily munching and exhibiting their normal behavior - some run from pan to pan somehow expecting to find 'the best' food, some angrily glare and nip at their compadres, others eat as much as quickly as they can (the smart ones). I check rear ends for heat indications, poo issues, and/or uddering. It was at this time on the 1st that Star's teat caught my eye and my heart sank.
Star is a 2009 model so not exactly a spring chicken. Her November 2017 milk test revealed my first ever encounter with mastitis. Star had a somatic cell count (SCC - a marker of inflammation) of 2.4 million. She had no outright symptoms of mastitis. Her body and udder were normal temperature. One side had become slightly smaller than the other and had a bit of a lump. Nothing to raise concern, though. I would not have known there was a problem without the insight of milk testing. Being inexperienced in regards to mastitis, I did what I always do and called my wonderful vet, Dr. Chris. He came out a week or so later. He did a California milk test on her and confirmed subclinical mastitis in the slightly smaller side (other side tested normal). I discussed with him that after her October milk test, I changed her milker ration to strictly fiber as she was beginning to dry up. The high carb/sugar & moderate fat ration, needed to keep her body condition from declining severely due to high production, began resulting in acidosis as detected by protein inversion in the October milk test (protein inversion is more protein than butterfat and is often a marker of acidosis). I felt the acidosis likely caused the mastitis. He agreed with my conclusions and stated that the mastitis was subclinical and appeared to be resolving (as the amount of gelling in the California milk test reagent was more consistent with a SCC of 1 million versus the 2.4 million a week prior). He said to dry her up and then infuse the udder with a half tube of Tomorrow. We had one last milk test on 12/11/17, mostly to just check her SCC, which had declined. On December 15th, she was milked for the last time, the Tomorrow went in, and she was moved from the barn to the pen.
The following pictures are the progression of Star's frost bite. Of course, I called the vet immediately. There was nothing that could be done aside getting her into a dry & warm (above freezing) environment and then controlling any infection that might arise. My milk parlor became a stall for TWO, as I couldn’t leave her sleeping buddy in the cold nor Star alone in the barn. It is/was crazy how the tissue damage progressed. We were hopeful with the bleeding, as bleeding indicated the vascular system wasn’t damaged beyond hope. Ultimately, she lost all the frozen tissue with no complications requiring tissue removal.
Star is due to kid on 3/19/18. It is unclear if she will always leak or if that will cease after the last bit of tissue is healed. At this point, the leaking is good as it indicates the duct is open, which is better than healed shut. As for her kids ability to nurse kids, well, she has never fed one in her life so that changes nothing.
Some time last year, I had a gut feeling Star’s time on top was coming to an end. I hope to get these 2018 kids dry and standing because after that, she owes me nothing.
UPDATE: Star kidded without complication, crashed 12 hours later with milk fever or pneumonia, and then improved. She is doing well now. Due to the amount of leakage, I will be working with my veterinarian to kill off that half of Star’s udder. I can’t imagine things fairing well in fly season
UPDATE: On 5/1/18, the wonderful Dr. Chris was out to 'kill' the damaged half of Star's udder. The leaking has not subsided and will clearly be a fly-strike issue this summer. A solution of chlorhexide and iodine was infused into the udder and then the teat was plugged. The plug did not stay in but an hour before she pulled or kicked it out. I re-infused the udder, re-plugged, and tied Star comfortably in the barn so that she could lay down, eat and drink, but could not reach her hind end. This morning the plug had once again been removed, probably via kicking, but the infusion seems to be doing its job. The half is hot, hard, and swollen. Banamine is keeping Star comfortable and we are hoping for the best. While Dr. Chris has done this many times on cattle, this is the first goat he has done this with. While I feel bad intentionally subjecting an animal to this procedure, it is clearly in Star's best interest to not leak milk everywhere.
UPDATE: Attempts to kill that side of the udder were NOT successful despite multiple attempts. We were able to slow production to the point that it did not leak substantially... really only when she jumped on the stand and I milked the other side.