Posted by Brynne on May 18, 2001 at 17:53:32:
My six year old, sixth freshener, kidded on May 1st, with a single buck kid and no milk. She had been on echinacea and goldenseal for about 3 weeks. This was given to her so she wouldn't have problems with an uneven udder from subclinical mastitis that she had as a 4 year old.(We used it last year, and it worked fine.) I noticed about 2 weeks before kidding that her breath smelled like model kit glue. She was eating ok, and acting fine. After she kidded, she was given oxytocin to help her let down milk. It worked a little. She was producing about 1 qt. daily. I stopped the echinacea/goldenseal because I was afraid it may be causing the lack of milk or glue breath. She is still not milking any better. We treated her for mastitis - just in case. She improved very slightly on production. It has been almost 5 weeks since her breath started smelling that way, and it still does. Until today, she has been eating and drinking just fine. She is a large, big bodied (not fat) doe. She wouldn't eat her hay, and just seems to want to stand around. This is my favorite doe, and I need some suggestions. I'm not a beginner (19 yrs. in goats), but I can't figure this out. Can someone please help?