Goats milk and antibiotics

Q- Could anyone tell me how long I have to wait after a goat has had antibiotics before we can drink the milk again? My goat is in her first milking season and has had mastitis three times now. The other goat, kept with her, has been OK so far. I milk them regularly, keep them in a barn at night and they are free in a meadow during the day. I give them fresh straw and clean the barn approximately once a week. I am living in France and our vet is not very helpful with preventative information.

A- The question is why should one goat have recurrent mastitis and not the other one? I suspect that her immune system is not quite up to scratch. You could try a feed supplement for this goat. As for withdrawal, do whatever the label said was the withdrawal time, but if you don't know, wait at least 10 days before drinking the milk. Both human and animal resistance to antibiotics is getting more common, it is a very serious matter and we all need to remember this.

Send Victoria your animal health queries. Email: vetsforum.csh@archant.co.uk

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