Mastitis
- mastitis can develop rapidly
- may be an obvious cause (damage to udder, bruising, wire cuts, sore mouth scabs)
- various levels of severity (some cases are sub-clinical, but will still cause injury to the udder and decrease milk production)
- in the obvious cases, the udder becomes hot and painful (may cause fever)
- ewe carries one leg away from udder
- lamb may look hollow if milk decreased
- mastitis is a common sign of the Maedi-Visna virus, both sides of the udder are hard but not hot
Cause
- bacteria such as Staphylococcus spp. or Pasteurella spp causes infection of the udder
- maybe related to injury or unsanitary conditions
Treatment
- depends of severity of infection
- frequent stripping of milk out of udder (at least twice per day)
- intravenous or intramuscular antibiotics injections may be useful
Prevention
- unless lumps and abscesses are very small, the affected and recovered ewe should be culled from breeding flock.
- keep ewe housing areas clean and well bedded
- if you suspect Maedi-Visna, see Respiratory Disorders for details
Blue Bag Masitis
- very severe form of mastitis
- udder is very swollen, hard, and has a greenish colouration
- infection generally spreads through the body (systemic poisoning)
- the ewe becomes feverish, quite ill and may die in a day or two
- if ewe recovers, the affected half of the entire udder no longer produces milk
Cause
- as above, likely to have an udder injury
Treatment
- call your vet
- hot packs applied to udder using hot water and liniments
- intravenous or intramuscular antibiotic injections may be useful
- early treatment is essential
Prevention
- as above
Agalactia
(Lack of milk)
- ewe produce little or no milk.
- may be little udder development as the ewe nears lambing
- no fever, illness, pain, or oedema of udder
- there may be a hard fibrotic lump within the parenchyma of the udder with an extension from this fibrous mass descending down into the teat canal, causing an interruption of milk flow
- milk (if there is any) appears normal in colour and consistency, simply not enough of it
- occurs among first time lambing ewe lambs as well as older ewes.
- maternal behaviour may be normal, or ewes may be less willing to allow lambs to nurse (especially with young ewes)
Cause
- cause not known
- possible influencing factors:
- chilling of udders
- excessive barley feeding
- mastitis infection not cured
- mycoplasma infection
- early lambing (Dec-Jan).
Treatment
- none (some ewes are slow to start milking after lambing, and milk production may pick up after a few days)
Prevention
- cull affected ewes.
