Possible Mastitis?

I have a Californian doe that kindled 1/1/13. Her babies had some sort of issue with lots of diarrhea etc, and all were dead by 1/7/13. I rebred her 1/8, so now we're coming up to her due date pretty quickly.

She has a fairly hard, very large lump on her upper-left mammary region. I have tried expressing some milk but have never been able to get much out of it. Definitely some but nothing to shrink the size of the lump. Obviously must be uncomfortable for her.. I'm wondering if there is anything I can do? Also I hate to say this but I noticed a bit of a snotty nose- not a lot at all- on her today. I had just cleaned the rabbitry which involves raking out all the wasted hay and bunny berries (dirt floor) so I suppose it could have been from the dust? But I'm not sure... She was a good mama as far as feeding her kits, pulled lots of fur etc, and she is my only Cal doe so I would hate to cull her. Is there anything other than a bit of snot in the nose to look for in the case of the dreaded "P"? Or could she have some sort of secondary infection?

Hi Cali. Sorry to hear about your doe. If you haven't already, it would be a good idea to quarentine her just in case. I wish I could say more but with her being bred and due soon it would be better to let somebody more experieced than me chime in. Hope she feels better soon.

I hear mastitis might be a variation of P. If no kits make it from this next litter, cull her.

Normally I would say if she is still having milk come out and you want to stop the milk try feeding her some sage but with her getting ready to have more kits I can't say I'd recommend that. Maybe the kits will be able to empty that engorged gland.

No snotty nose this morning. Hrmm. She's still eating well, active, drinking water, etc. I will try to figure out a place to quarantine her. If the kits nurse the affected area, is it possible that some sort of infection/bacteria would pass to them?

Cali":2c7zuekn said:

If the kits nurse the affected area, is it possible that some sort of infection/bacteria would pass to them?

Click to expand...

Yes. But it would be the best thing for the doe unless you can express the milk fully yourself.

Try hot compresses before expressing the milk from the teat.

You can also use cabbage leaves to draw out the infection. If you have vet-wrap (elastic bandage), you could wrap her torso with the cabbage leaf over the affected teat.

From: http://voices.yahoo.com/cabbage-natural ... 71117.html

Fresh cabbage leaves have shown themselves to be a cheap, natural, reliable method of mastitis treatment for many women. Here's how to use cabbage to treat your mastitis:

- Place fresh cabbage leaves over your breast. They can be worn inside your bra or nursing shirt, or simply be laid over your breast while you are resting.

- Do not use the cabbage continuously, as constant exposure may have a negative effect on your milk supply. A regimen of two hours on, four hours off is recommended by midwives.

- In many cases, cabbage will draw out the infection within 24 hours.

MamaSheepdog":irwv9esn said:

Cali":irwv9esn said:

If the kits nurse the affected area, is it possible that some sort of infection/bacteria would pass to them?

Click to expand...

Yes. But it would be the best thing for the doe unless you can express the milk fully yourself.

Try hot compresses before expressing the milk from the teat.

You can also use cabbage leaves to draw out the infection. If you have vet-wrap (elastic bandage), you could wrap her torso with the cabbage leaf over the affected teat.

From: http://voices.yahoo.com/cabbage-natural ... 71117.html

Fresh cabbage leaves have shown themselves to be a cheap, natural, reliable method of mastitis treatment for many women. Here's how to use cabbage to treat your mastitis:

- Place fresh cabbage leaves over your breast. They can be worn inside your bra or nursing shirt, or simply be laid over your breast while you are resting.

- Do not use the cabbage continuously, as constant exposure may have a negative effect on your milk supply. A regimen of two hours on, four hours off is recommended by midwives.

- In many cases, cabbage will draw out the infection within 24 hours.

Click to expand...

Thank you MSD! Off to pick up some cabbage! I will try a hot compress as well and see if I can get any milk from her.

How did that work out? Would the mother not try to eat the cabbage? I thought I had cleared up my doe's mastitis after a predator got her 7 kits at once, because the swelling went down after 3 days of warm compresses, plus she perked up and ate more. Because we were making the rabbitry more predator proof, I haven't taken her out in the week since - but today, she leapt over my arm to get to her treat (BOSS) faster, and I felt a rock hard lump on her belly. It's storming out, so I just left her alone for today, but any recommendations? Is a week and a half too far gone to try warm compresses again?