Mastitis

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mystang89

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Sorry to make a new topic on this as I know somewhere in this forum there is something on mastitis but I couldn't find any remedies for it. My doe who just kindled has mastitis...on all 8 nipples. What can I give her to help it. I know I can massage and put compresses on but is there anything I can feed her that won't dry up the milk or increase her milk?
 
I had a doe in the early stages of mastitis (lumpy feeling but no heat of infection) and I gave her small sprigs of mint and catnip. I think they were about 4" long- hard to remember, since this happened 2 years ago, lol. It slowed her milk production down just enough that the kits were able to nurse the congested milk out and it never recurred.

Interestingly, none of my rabbits would touch catnip normally, but she gobbled it right up!

I don't know if you have any Borage, but it helps increase milk production, and I gave about half a leaf a day for a few days after the mint treatment.
 
Hmm, I don't have any mint plants...that's hopefully in the works for next year but I do have mint that you buy from the store. I wonder if that will help if I give it to her with some "wet" food. (So the mint will stick or I suppose I can sprinkle it on her food. Maybe a little at a time until the infection clears? :?)
 
They sell dried mint at the store? Really? How odd. For baking maybe, or tea? :?

If it is dried, I'm thinking maybe 1/4 teaspoon or less. Maybe you could give her a slice of apple with the mint sprinkled on it.

You don't want to give her too much or for too long, because it is used to help dry up milk. You just want to slow it down a bit. :)

Since you have kept your wife in a near constant state of pregnancy for the past several years, :twisted: :pokeeye: :twisted: , you probably know that a hot shower will cause the milk to let down when the breasts are engorged. I would suggest getting a towel wet with very warm (almost hot) water and see if that will stimulate milk flow.
 
You can get mint in the form of peppermint horse treats. It does not kill an infection but may reduce the milk enough you can unclog the nipples and keep the nasty stuff coming out. You can push some of the milk out yourself with a little practice. Doing it after heat treatment works best. Tetracycline from the feed store works on mastitis but slowly. Depending how bad the infection is it will take several weeks. Manual treatment is just as effective so long as you catch early while you can still get milk out. There are probably stronger antibiotics that work but things like penicillin only come in injectable form and most of the rest need a prescription.
 
I had completely forgot about being able to milk the doe myself for some reason, thanks akane.

And yes, we use the mint for tea.
 
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