Reasons for the presence of hard seals in the udder of a goat, treatment and prevention

Goats have rather strong immunity, they rarely get sick, but their most sensitive organ is the udder. Goat nipples thicken, become painful when affected by infectious and non-infectious pathologies caused by illiterate care and maintenance of animals. Also, the reasons that hard seals have appeared in the udder of the goat are injuries. The farmer must find out the cause of the pathology in order to start proper treatment.

Udder structure in goats and lactation

To find out the cause of the compaction, you need to know how the goat udder works, how lactation takes place. The udder includes:

• connective tissue that gives the organ its shape;
• mammary gland;
• outflow ducts;
• drives;
• nipple canal.

Goats have a pair of mammary glands “packed” in a dermal pouch. The udder is divided into two parts. Each part synthesizes milk separately from the other. Nipples are made up of muscle tissue covered with multiple layers of skin. At the end there is a sphincter - an annular muscle that prevents the spontaneous flow of milk. Milk synthesis occurs in alveoli - bubbles with a diameter of 0.1-0.3 mm. Their inner surface is covered with secretory tissue. The cells of this tissue take vitamins, minerals, and nutrients from the blood, which are converted into casein and milk fat.

In the alveoli filled with secretion, pressure rises. The milk is squeezed out into the ducts, from which it flows into the hoppers. From there it enters the nipple canal. When the kid suckles the mother or when milking occurs, the sphincter is unclenched, milk flows out.

Possible Causes of Udder Compaction

The udder is a delicate and sensitive organ of the goat that is prone to a variety of diseases. A healthy udder is symmetrical, without ulcers, knots and seals, nipples are elastic. With pathologies, the milking organ is deformed and takes on an unattractive appearance. The amount of milk decreases, its taste deteriorates.

The most common abnormal lumps in goat udders are:

• bumps (cystic and tumor formations);
• mastitis;
• furunculosis;
• swelling;
• trauma (open and closed wounds, bruises, cracks).

Cones

Older goats are susceptible to the appearance of benign and malignant tumors, since the hormonal background in their body changes, and then the structure of the udder tissues.Benign cysts and malignant tumors look like bumps. However, other cone-shaped seals should be distinguished from tumors:

• milk stones - accumulation of phosphorus salts or lime hardening of casein in the ducts;
• petrification - saturation of abscesses with mineral salts.

The reasons for the appearance of milk stones are an inflammatory reaction in the udder or stagnation of milk. Seals are mobile, they are usually found in the storage glands, come out in the form of grains of sand with milk. Crystallized boils are formed in small numbers, they are always preceded by the appearance of a purulent rash.

Tumor formations are dense to the touch, causing pain and discomfort to the animal. Unlike milk stones, they are motionless. When the tumor grows, ulcers often appear on the surface of the body. Cysts are blisters filled with fluid. When they appear, the glandular tissue gradually turns into connective tissue.

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Mastitis

Goat udders often become inflamed. Seals are especially common in pregnant and giving birth goats, whose immunity is temporarily reduced. Less commonly, mastitis is a consequence of unsuitable conditions for keeping animals:

• dampness;
• draft;
• cold;
• unsanitary conditions.

Mastitis may appear due to incomplete milking. If milk is not completely milked, it stagnates in the alveoli, causing inflammation.

A goat sick with mastitis is nervous, as the seal in the udder is painful. The disease is accompanied by severe symptoms:

• swelling;
• organ seal;
• hot when touched by the skin of the udder;
• lethargic state of the animal;
• an increase in temperature;
• swelling of the lymph nodes;
• lack of appetite in a goat;
• the release of foul-smelling milk of a watery consistency with lumps.

If the lymph nodes of the giving birth goat become inflamed, but there are no other symptoms, then there is no need to worry. This is the body's reaction to the birth process.

Injury

Sometimes udder lumps are the result of injury. Young male goats are vigorous and playful, they can injure the mother's udder. Therefore, you should not keep the goat with the cubs. With a bruise, seals under the skin are bruises that outwardly look like bluish sores. The goat is in pain, the skin of the udder becomes hot, there are blood inclusions in the milk.

Edema

The swollen udder swells greatly. Causes of the pathological condition:

• impaired blood circulation;
• sedentary animal lifestyle;
• poor quality diet.

The swelling usually disappears a week after it appears. If not, you should call your veterinarian. Veterinary care is also required if the swelling worsens, the nipples become cold, and the milk has acquired a watery consistency.

Furunculosis

A purulent inflammatory process affects the sebaceous glands and hair follicles. Predisposed to inflammation of goats with dense hair covering the udder, and with weak immunity.

But the main provocateur of seals is illiterate animal care: non-observance of hygiene in the stable, a rare change of litter.

Boils are small pimples with a diameter of 0.5 cm, gradually enlarging to 4-5 cm. They cover the nipples, the base of the organ, the depression between the lobes. The rash is painful, the skin is irritated, reddened, swollen.

After maturation, the boils rupture, pus flows out. Sometimes papules appear - nodular seals filled not with pus, but with connective tissue. With extensive furunculosis, the goat resists milking, as it experiences severe pain.

Wounds

With a mechanical injury to the boobs of a goat, a lacerated wound is formed. An animal is injured when walking in a thorny bush, among heaps of solid debris or metal debris. Lacerated wounds heal slowly, but deeply penetrated and closed injuries are much more dangerous. The second ones look like black spots. The skin swells, becomes inflamed, abscesses form inside.

Cracked nipples

The nipples of goats crack due to mechanical stress, illiterate care, the development of a bacterial disease or hypovitaminosis. The cracks are painful, the animal resists milking.

Treatment methods

Having identified pathological seals in the udder of a goat, you need to immediately provide first aid, then call a veterinarian to make a diagnosis. A sick animal requires careful care, feeding with high-quality juicy feed and concentrates, keeping it in a clean, dry and comfortable barn. Each udder pathology requires a specific method of therapy.

Mastitis in goats cannot be treated with ointments and hot compresses, because of this, the disease becomes chronic. The animal is given tetracycline antibiotics, injections are placed in the udder after milking. The seal is treated with Lysol or Creolin.

If the inflammation is provoked by pathogenic bacteria, then bactericidal external agents are used. The goat drinker should always have clean, warm water.

Furunculosis is treated like this:

1. The hair is shaved off the udder.
2. The skin is treated with a manganese or other antiseptic solution.
3. Unexploded acne is lubricated with iodine tincture (opened boils cannot be lubricated).
4. Ichthyol ointment or "Syntomycin" is used to accelerate the ripening of acne and tighten the breaks.
5. Large boils are opened by making a crosswise incision.

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Antibiotics for furunculosis are not required. It is strictly forbidden to apply hot compresses to the seal.

The wound is treated as follows:

1. An injection of novocaine is given.
2. Clean out the wound. Remove dead tissue, purulent exudate.
3. Treat the injured area with manganese solution or hydrogen peroxide.
4. The purulent wound is partially sutured, leaving an opening for exudate to exit.
5. Treat with an antiseptic ointment or powder, for example, streptocide.
6. A systemic antibiotic is administered to the animal.
7. When purulent discharge stops, they clean the edges of the wound, apply a suture.

For bruises, apply a cold compress. An intravenous injection of calcium gluconate is given to increase blood clotting. 3-4 days after the injury, the seal is lubricated with iodine or ichthyol ointment. The bruise usually lasts no more than 10 days.

To keep the swelling down, the goat is often walked, properly fed. With cracks in the nipples, streptocide, ichthyol ointment, balsamic liniment are used. It is forbidden to use iodine tincture and other aggressive substances.

There is no cure for tumor seals. Surgical removal of tumors is possible, but on farms it is economically impractical. Therefore, a sick goat is slaughtered.

Possible consequences

With most of these pathologies, serious consequences do not occur. With proper treatment, the animal quickly returns to normal. The only danger is mastitis and furunculosis. In the acute form of mastitis, ulcerative and necrotic processes begin in the tissues. Milk becomes purulent, smells rotten. A goat that does not receive timely treatment dies.

Launched furunculosis captures the entire udder, which complicates treatment. If the goat has weak immunity, then the disease can develop into phlegmon - an acute inflammatory process with the accumulation of pus in the subcutaneous fatty tissue, which has a vague border, spreading to adjacent tissues.

Disease prevention

The goat's udder should be checked daily before milking. If suspicious symptoms are found, you should immediately call your veterinarian.

Goat udder care includes 3 procedures:

1. The washing up. The udders are wiped off with a towel soaked in warm water and wiped dry.
2. Lubrication with baby cream or vegetable oil. The procedure is carried out after milking, as well as on cold days. When acne and cracks appear, an antibiotic ointment is used.
3. Massage before milking. First gently knead with greased hands, then pat both lobes of the udder.

The farmer should have potassium permanganate, iodine, hydrogen peroxide, ointments for disinfection and wound healing on hand to help the animal if necessary. It is necessary to maintain cleanliness and order in the barn, regularly change the litter, and avoid drafts and a drop in temperature.