Treating Mastitis with Today or Tomorrow

Treating Mastitis can vary from breeder to breeder but usually requires antibiotics and sometimes teat infusions of medications to apply into the treat and worked up into the udder-The common choice for a doe in milk is a product called "Today" (dry does would use a product called "Tomorrow")

This is made for cows and comes in a tube much like a plastic syringe ready with a cannula tip to place into the teat opening. This can also be found at feed stores or at online vet supply houses. Because it is made for cows there is actually too much medication in one tube for a goat- so use half of the contents- and because you cannot properly clean the inside of the tip- rather than to "reintroduce" the infection into the teat- breeders throw away the second half of the tube contents and treat with a new tube each time. Never use the second half of the tube in either the same side of the udder or the other die as this will reinfect the udder.

NOTE: You can empty out the contents of the tube of medication into a large syringe and using a teat cannula to administer half of the contents one day and change the teat cannula to use the second half therefore not wasting the second half of the medication.

Before you infuse the teat, the udder half should be thoroughly cleaned and dried and milked out as completely as possible and the milk thrown away. Apply the tip of the cannula just inside the teat opening or at least right up to it before applying the medication. Pinching the teat end with one hand, press the plunger and make sure the meds are going into the teat. Now pinch the teat end shut, and strip the meds up into the teat and up into the udder as far as you can. The treated side should be massaged after treating to work the medication as far up into the udder as possible- holding the tip of the teat closed after application and during massage.

Udder Balm can be applied to the outside of the udder to make massaging more comfortable for the doe. Warm towels can also be applied to the udder before massage to help break up any congestion. Make sure you clean the teat with alcohol before and after applying the teat infusion. This treatment should be applied twice a day for at least 3 days - some breeders treat for 5 days depending on the severity of the case. At the same time, an antibiotic should be used as an injection twice a day- either Penicillin Procane G or Bio-Mycin, either of them used at the rate of 1cc/25lbs is what is the common dose. (If you use PennG Please remember to draw back on the syringe plunger before you inject as this can be a fatal situation if gotten into the blood stream. ) One other choice is to get a teat cannula (also found at some feed stores or supply houses) and use a regular syringe for injections, using the cannula in place of the needle and infuse the teat with PennG, the same way as you would use the Today or Tomorrow medication which is what people did before these products were available.