Gangrenous mastitis, commonly called "blue bag," is a severe, life-threatening bacterial infection of the udder in goats. It results in tissue death (gangrene) and often leads to the loss of the affected teat or udder half. The condition is typically caused by Staphylococcus aureus or Mannheimia haemolytica bacteria.
Causes & Risk Factors:
Bacterial infection enters through the teat canal, especially during milking, injury, or poor hygiene.
Damaged teats or udder trauma (biting kids, rough milking, frostbite).
Dirty bedding, contaminated milking equipment, or poor sanitation.
Stress, poor nutrition, or weakened immune system.
Symptoms:
Sudden swelling, heat, and extreme pain in the udder.
The affected udder turns dark blue or black due to lack of blood flow.
Hardening of the udder and loss of milk production.
Milk may become watery, bloody, or contain clots and pus.
Fever, depression, loss of appetite, and overall lethargy.
In severe cases, toxins from the infection can cause shock and death.
We unfortunately experienced this a couple of years ago with a Lamancha doe names Kat.
I had milked that morning and didn't notice anything amiss, several hours later - Gracie noticed that she was walking funny. We put her in the milk room on the stand and as soon as we touched her udder, we realized it was COLD. NEVER a good sign!
I have learned that there is nothing we can do once it turns cold and loses the blood flow. Just keep her comfortable with pain meds and antibiotics.
This is something, I hope to never go through again. Once you notice the udder is cold then start with strong antibiotics and pain meds. Keep the doe comfortable and don't mess with udder. There is nothing you can do with udder. They will loose the affected teat.
Good news - the remaining teat and half of udder will still produce what the doe was producing previously.
If you are the Linar Appraisal then the appraiser will basically envision what the other half would look like and they are scored accordingly.
We have not ideal how Kat ended up with this. I was terrified it was my milk machine, but it was checked over closely and that wasn't the issue.
It was during a wet season, so we think she got mud on hooves and laying down, managed to get some in teat orifices.
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