I have a 3 yo Nubian that I can't get to dry up. She's a good milker (3000 lbs. in 10 months), but she developed mastitis in one side and I can't get it cleared up. Vet thinks I should dry her off, but after 2 months of trying everything I know, she is not slowing down any. Even with the one side producing less, and milking once a day, she's still producing 6 lbs. a day. And she's been milking almost 15 months. When I go to every other day milkings, her good side is so full she is in real pain, and the mastitis in the bad side seems to really start taking hold again. Anyone know of any medications, herbal or otherwise, (or any other suggestions) that might help stop production? I don't want to rebreed her this year as the vet says sometimes they need to stay dry a long time to put a stop to the mastitis, so I'd like to keep her dry a year or so.

-- Lenette (kigervixen@webtv.net), February 26, 2001

Answers

I heard somewhere that feeding sage herb (the regular culinary variety) would help this - certainly works in humans. Check to make sure this herb is not poison to ruminents. I have never tried it before. I know my goats have consumed small quantities of sage, but not in the quantity necessary to dry up milk.

-- Tiffani Cappello (cappello@alltel.net), February 26, 2001.

You have to stop milking period. The pressure of a full udder with less grain and a grass hay will make her body stop producing the milk. Relieveing her once a day is only stimulating her to continue producing the 6 pounds per day. I know that this looks uncomfortable, but you will notice after 4 or 5 days and about 24 hours of a tight shiny udder, that you can go in and relieve perhaps a cup or two. Then in a couple of weeks you will see her starting to absorb the milk, this is the point that I go in, milk the udder out completly and infuse the halves with mastitis infusions. What diagnosis did you get on the mastitis? Most mastitis is only killed with dry off, infusing the udder and systemic antibiotics. I do have a tried and true mastitis killer for dry does if you have a vet that will write you a script for a non-food producing animal. Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh TX (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), February 26, 2001.

I agree with Vicki. As long as you're milking, she's going to keep producing. I usually just quit, period. I have never had any trouble doing it that way.

-- Wendy (weiskids@yahoo.com), February 26, 2001.