# Goaty flavored milk



## Nana (May 12, 2010)

Help! My milk is getting goaty flavored. It was wonderful two weeks ago when I chilled it in an ice bath. I clean the udders, sanitize them, squirt the first squirts into a cup to check for any changes (there haven't been any), put the milk in a clean kettle, filter them milk through a coffee filter and chill it in an ice bath right away. I haven't change the feed that I know of. I just think it tastes funny. I wonder if it is the hay. Anyone have any advice. My 2 1/2 year old can only drink goats milk and he notice the change also. He doesn't want to drink it when it tastes funny. It almost makes you feel like you have bad breath after you drink it. We have been drinking it raw. After I thaw it it I think it spoils faster than it should. This is the first spring I have milked. I have to find out how to test for mastitis. One of the does is no longer feeding her babies. She chases them away and they are 12 weeks. I noticed after one jumped up on the milk stand and tried to drink that she had a scratch from the baby on her udder. I think they are very rough.


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## hyamiranda (Jul 24, 2009)

I don't have an answer for you, but I'm curious about what others say.


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## prairie nights (Jan 16, 2009)

Wendy, 

this is not milk that is two weeks old, correct? It just tasted fine two weeks ago and now the new milk has a goaty flavor??

Jana


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## Nana (May 12, 2010)

Yes it is fresh milk. It has been happening for about two weeks but getting worse


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## Nana (May 12, 2010)

One jar I took out of the freezer and put it in the refrigerator. I drank a glass after a few hours and it tasted alright. After a few more hours it was already tasting spoiled in a cold refrigerator with ice crystals still in it. It was frozen right after the ice bath. My freezer is working and the refrigerator temperature is good.


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## Hollybrook (Jul 17, 2009)

Test for mastits?


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## Rose (Oct 26, 2007)

So, you are using it from the frozen state, not the fresh, chilled milk, correct? One thing we learned is that if you are going to freeze milk, it *must* be frozen IMMEDIATELY after filtering (like you are doing), and in small enough containers that it freezes quickly. 

I don't like frozen/defrosted milk at all, but that's me.

Did you change hay?


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## cariboujaguar (Feb 9, 2009)

If your hay is from a different field that the hay you have been feeding you can taste it in the milk sometimes... for instance if there is a shrug or weed in the bale, it could take awhile to flush the flavor out of the doe... but usually I can distinguish 'they got into the pine trees' or w/e, if she's just giving 'goaty' milk I'd check sanitation, is your barn clean? Are they lacking minerals which may lead to them nibbling things they usually wouldn't, even boredom can change their milk because they're like children and will get into all sorts of mischeif if they can... I would introduce them to as much grassy pasture as I could, that always freshens my milk...


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## hsmomof4 (Oct 31, 2008)

Definitely check for mastitis. What is your milking routine?


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## Lynn_Theesfeld (Feb 21, 2010)

:yeahthat ??


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## Nana (May 12, 2010)

I am checking for mastitis when I milk tonight. I bought some tests. It is both the frozen and fresh milk that taste like this. I do quickly put it in smaller quart containers in the freezer surrounded by ice packs. I was using a new bale of hay but it is the same person I have always gotten hay from. I suppose it could be the hay because that is about when I started this bale. The bale is out now and I am going onto a new one. I don't have a lot of pasture here. I have a smaller field but haven't gotten out to get rid of bad weeds yet. I wouldn't want them eating those. I wonder if I can test the milk that is in the refrigerator?


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## Rose (Oct 26, 2007)

Most of the mastitis test kits for cattle are not very reliable for goats. Vicki can explain why. :/


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

I would milk each goat and each teat into a seperate container. Few goats get mastitis in both halves at the same time unless overtly ill. Staph usually strikes one half and most of the symptoms are exactly as you are stating, poor keeping quality and eventually uneven halves. Label the jars you milk into and cool them quickly, then taste and see if you can see if it is nutritonal from both jars tasteing nasty...or is mastitis or injury in one side. Vicki


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## Nana (May 12, 2010)

Both tests sides of each goat came out negative. I will do the taste test today of each side. I will let you know what I find later. 
So far the milk has been fairly even. One udder on one goat is scratched from the baby biting when it eats. It has been scratched
several times from that baby. The goat doesn't seem uncomfortable when being milked.


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## Nana (May 12, 2010)

I did the taste test. The goat that had the scratches on her teat tasted good on both sides even warm. The other goat Nana tasted goaty even though hers was chilled first. The mastitis test was negative for both sides. And suggestions what I should do. Both the goats get the same hay. The one that tastes funny has a buckling eating but he has been castrated at an early age and I know it went right. She is also in a pen with a castrated fainting goat. The goat whos milk tastes good is in the pen with her daughters and another older yearling doe. They also get the same feed and would be out on the same grassy area for awhile each day. I did notice some burdock. Would that make milk taste bad. There is also a different weed that is near their bar that they could have grabbed on the way back in. It has has some brown stripes on the leaves which are pointy and longer.


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## doublebowgoats (Mar 6, 2008)

Good that you found out which goat has the goaty milk. When you say the tests were negative, is this a culture you had done?


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## Ozark Lady (Mar 21, 2010)

I was going to ask about the grains you are feeding. If I overfeed corn, I get milk that has oil floating on top and tastes...greasy?
I noticed, the goat that you said has the goaty taste is in with male goats, the one without goaty taste is in with does... seems that could be the connection.
Even castrated they are still males, and they still pee different, perhaps they are contaminating the feed or water, and it is coming through?
Can you not move the doe that tastes goaty to the doe pen, and wait a few days, then taste test again? It might be the boys are spraying.


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## nightskyfarm (Sep 7, 2009)

Unless you did a CMT with fresh reagent or a sample to the lab for testing, any mastitis test can be inaccurate especially if it was developed for cattle. I suggest you do the CMT on all does and at that point if any come up slimy, take their samples from each half to the local lab for at minimum a SCC count and possibly a culture to see what grows. I doubt that it is the bucks' doing from my own personal experience. Since her milk did not taste bad before that tells me something in management has changed, the doe is cycling or you have a case of sub-clinical mastitis, mastitis under the radar as I call it. You will need to decide it you want to treat her or not.


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## Rose (Oct 26, 2007)

Simple test. Put all the milking does together. Give it a week or so to normalize. Test again.

Are the minerals different in each pen?


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## Nana (May 12, 2010)

I am going to separate them again. We will see. It started when I put one of the does and her buckling back in with the other whether.
That was exactly when it started. The minerals are the same in both. I only used a cattle test kit from Fleet Farm for testing for mastitis. Maybe she is cycling. I didn't think about that.


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## Nana (May 12, 2010)

What is a CMT? The milk was never slimy. I did get some air in it while milking I noticed. I Am not so good at my aim yet and it was bubbling up in the bucket. I do try to hit the sides but it is difficult with one of the FF as her teats are not as big as the other one. Its a good thing I have small hands. Would air in the milk make it spoil faster?


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## buckrun (Mar 7, 2008)

Neutered males do not affect the flavor of milk.
Full rut bucks do not affect the flavor of milk unless you touch them and then touch the milk.
In other words you have to have goat tar on your hands while milking.
I pasture breed milking does and the flavor of the milk does not change.
The buck sleeps with them and rubs on them to start them cycling and my milk stays the same. 
My milk customers would scream about that and it has never happened. 
It is usually sanitation or illness. 

Rough handling of the milk can cause the deterioration of the fats which are the flavor carrier.
SO yes- Foam while milking is breaking down your milk and more so in the heat of summer.


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## Nana (May 12, 2010)

Do you think it could be that I am milking outside quite a bit. I do filter the milk and cover it right when I am done milking. I clean the udder before and teat dip with an iodine solution afterward. The udders have also been shaved. I really don't have a proper milkhouse yet. My husband is going to put walls up on my back porch for winter milking.


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

If it was cleanliness or milk handling than all your milk would be affected. Vicki


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## Nana (May 12, 2010)

That is true. I handle all my milk the same way. There must be something wrong with her or she ate something that the others didn't eat.


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## Kris (Mar 28, 2010)

I didn't see where you did the teat test Vicki suggested. Did I miss it where you milked out both teats of the yucky tasting doe's milk into separate containers and then did the taste test on both sides?


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## Nana (May 12, 2010)

Yes, I did taste both sides separately. They are the same. I found out something though that may be part of the problem. My husband usually feeds after I milk. Well he is gone with the kids to boyscout camp for the week and when I went to feed this afternoon the feed smelled like molasses. I think he did not buy goat feed and just thought he could feed the llama/sheep food combination to them instead. I only see llama/sheep feed bags as well. I know that just over two weeks ago they had goat feed. Would the molasses in the feed make the milk taste bad? After refrigerating the milk from this morning both does milk on both sides tastes goaty. Would this make it taste unbearable after 2 days? :/


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## Kris (Mar 28, 2010)

Oh I hope it is the different feed!


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## nightskyfarm (Sep 7, 2009)

CMT is the California Mastitis Test available through all dairy supply houses. There is a four cup platter and reagent that you mix up with water. Place the correct amount of milk in the cups and add the correct amount of reagent and then swirl to see the reaction. Dawn dish detergent will give a similar reaction. If you leave a small amount of her milk in a glass jar and add a squirt of blue Dawn and wash with sponge, note the reaction. If the sponge is slimey and dripping when you pull it out of the jar, better get a sample and have the lab test it. There is a high SCC count from someone. Again, as I said before it is not the wethers or bucks causing yout off flavor.


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## Nana (May 12, 2010)

Oh ok. I saw that at Fleet farm and they also had this other test with 4 sections and yellow circles. It is called Dr. Naylor mastitis indicator. that is what I used. Is this different? This was basically what seemed to be a ph test. I will get that test as soon as I can. Thanks for your patience. I have a lot to learn.


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## Squires (Jul 23, 2010)

Kris said:


> Oh I hope it is the different feed!


I would bet on it! Absolutely! You can change the flavor of milk by what you feed. NEVER feed cabbage or onions to goats until after milking. Some cheese-makers alter the taste of the milk and cheese by feeding herbs to their milkers or grazing them on fields spiked with plots of herbs.

I was about to ask if the one with the bad tasting milk feeds in a different pasture or different areas of the pasture.

The Alpaca/Sheep feed could do it. Sometimes inferior or stale feed is mixed with molasses to sell it. I don't know if the molasses taints the milk, but stale or rancid feed ingredients might.

Chris


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## Nana (May 12, 2010)

I don't know how old the feed is as my husband just bought it this week. It does smell rather strong though. The goat that's milk tastes bad may be getting more of it as she seems to eat more. I did the test with the dawn dish soap and it didn't turn slimy on the sponge at all. It was just like regular milk with a few bubbles from the soap. It was not slimy at all.


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## buckrun (Mar 7, 2008)

I have to disagree with the feed flavoring the milk unless it is aromatic herbs. 
Perhaps in some lines in some breeds the effects are there but our Nubians have a highly varied diet- multi species browse- mixed grass graze-hay- whole grain- alfalfa pellets- garden extras including cole crops- garlic and onions and what ever is spent or cycling out of production- cleanup from orchard pruning -fruit peels and spoiled fruit-right now it is melons and cukes daily and the shells for zipper cream peas. Their intake varies seasonally as well as daily yet their milk is the same day in and day out. Always the same.
The only thing that has changed milk here is rise is bacteria.

MOST commercial feeds are at least 10 percent molasses if that was causing off flavor there would be NO feed sales to dairy stock. I know bulk feeds are often far more than that because it lays the dust while it is piped from truck to silo and again into the troughs. 
It IS used to disguise unpalatable feeds but the flavor is not transferred to the milk- it would not be commercial practice to add molasses if it did.

Some people say that any change affects flavor. This is not my experience. Our milkers are subject to much change yet the milk remains the same.


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## Nana (May 12, 2010)

The milk from all the goats left over from yesterday morning. It is now off white and not white like a gallon of cows milk. Is this bacteria? I am a bit worried because that is what I was feeding my 2 1/2 year old up until today. The bacteria must be rising fast even though it is refrigerated. I will see what it is like by morning. Wouldn't it just be good to treat the goat with something?


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## nightskyfarm (Sep 7, 2009)

I still think the doe is sub-clinical, take a sample to the lab tomorrow. It's the only way to rule out bacteria.


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## Nana (May 12, 2010)

do I take a fresh sample? Or what is in the refrigerator? Must it be chilled or room temperature? I really am new to this.


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## nightskyfarm (Sep 7, 2009)

Take a sample from each side while you are milking. Be sure to clean the udder and teats, pre-dip and dry well, also strip out the first squirts of milk (those squirts contain the highest amount of bacteria and shed somatic cells) before taking your sample. The lab needs around 2 ounces per sample. Sterilized baby food jars (jar and lid)work well for samples. Try not to contaminate the samples. Sterilize extra jar and lid in case of a foot or manure etc. Place the fresh samples in the fridge until you are ready to leave. Transport in a cooler with gel packs or ice.


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## hsmomof4 (Oct 31, 2008)

Wendy, you should ask your vet if there is a local lab that will test for mastitis. If there isn't, you can send the milk to the LSU Mastitis Clinic to be tested...they will test it for free, but you have to pay for shipping (overnight!)....costs us about $60 from here in KS. Here are their instructions:

When sending milk samples to the Hill Farm for testing please follow these directions:



Please call the lab at 318-927-9654, 24 hours before sending samples. This will allow the lab to have media prepared for testing.



Collection Procedure:



1. Brush away any loose dirt from the quarter that is going to be sampled.

2. Discard a few streams of milk.

3. Clean the teat end with a cotton ball soaked in 70% alcohol.

4. Collect a milk sample in a sterile container preferably a sterile test tube.

5. Be sure the sample is labeled with the animal number and quarter. Include a note stating what test you would like done. Please include contact info: e-mail or phone number.

6. The sample must be kept cold and brought directly to the lab.

7. When shipping milk samples to the Hill Farm please send the milk samples FROZEN. They should be in a STYROFOAM BOX with multiple COOL PACKS or DRY ICE and shipped NEXT DAY AIR.



Shipping address:

LSU Agricultural Center

Mastitis Research Lab

3380 Hwy. 79

Homer, LA 71040


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## Squires (Jul 23, 2010)

hsmomof4 said:


> you can send the milk to the LSU Mastitis Clinic to be tested...they will test it for free, but you have to pay for shipping (overnight!)....costs us about $60 from here in KS.


I wanted to ask if they would take test samples from NYS -- these are the experts in mastitis testing? Just wondering. I really need to find out more about what is available at Cornell, but even Cornell's labs send some tests to other states where specialized tests are done (for instance, copper testing done in Colorado).

Is it that they do special tests, or just have more experience in interpreting results? Just wondering.

Chris


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## hsmomof4 (Oct 31, 2008)

They will take tests from anywhere. They are the mastitis experts...that's pretty much all they do at this particular place. They will do actual identification of the bacteria, plus sensitivity tests (so you know what antibiotic will work).


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## nightskyfarm (Sep 7, 2009)

Most state veterinary labs will do that kind of testing ( culturing and sensitivity ). What is specific to goat milk is testing for SCC and BF. The equipment and procedures used to test for those two things in cow milk is not accurate for goat milk. Goat milk requires either a hand count of cells for SCC or a the green stain test and the BF testing equipment for cow's milk , if goat's milk is run through it, the result will be off by as much as 30%. Only certain labs can test goat milk for those things and be accurate. Our lab in Lynchburg, VA can, but Blacksburg, VA can not. Cornell more than likely can -they are the preferred lab to do testing for DHIA in New England or Raleigh NC can.


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## Nana (May 12, 2010)

The first vet I called told me to call the DHIA office in Waldo, WI. There is no DHIA listing. I don't even know what DHIA stands for and the secretary at the vet wasn't helpful either. She didn't have the phone number or know what it stands for. The DHIA office supposedly does somatic cell counts. The second vet I called said he cultures it instead for 15.00 per goat. I hope this guy knows what he is doing. I also asked to purchase some Potomac vaccine for my horses and his prices were outrages. Double of what other vets charge to do the shots myself. I could have paid a vet to come out and do the vaccine for less than what he was charging for me to just buy the shots. I decided to get those somewhere else. The secretary said they would know in a day or so. I will let you all know how things are proceeding as I find out.


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## nightskyfarm (Sep 7, 2009)

DHIA stands for Dairy Herd Improvement Association and most states have one. It is an organization that keeps records for farms with registered or non-registered milking livestock; cows or goats. The monthly records for individual milk weights, breeding, calving or freshening dates and feed analysis information are obtained by the milk tester. If you participate in DHIR your records on your animals are official and sent to the appropriate breed association. Most of this lab testing began because of the DHIA programs. It was begun, primarily for the Holstein Association to proof out their bulls. A male is only as good as his daughters for all species of dairy animal. DHIA was expanded to include dairy goats for the same reason; to proof their registered bucks and keep production record on the does. Since then, it has become a relied upon service for the average dairy farmer to keep regular production records on his herd for a mostly reasonable cost. Do an internet search and you will find your state organization.


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## Rose (Oct 26, 2007)

http://www.dhia.org/members.asp


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## Nana (May 12, 2010)

Thank you so much. There is so much to learn but I am surprised how much I have learned already


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## Nana (May 12, 2010)

Check this out. You can get DNA tests for all of this from the Debuqe, IA DHIA.
this is the full Panel Assay

Identifies the following bacterial species and groups:

•Staphylococcus aureus
• Enterococcus sp. (including E. faecalis and E. faecium)
• Corynebacterium bovis
•Staphylococcal fi-lactamase gene (the gene responsible for penicillin resistance in staphylococci)
•Escherichia coli
•Streptococcus dysgalactiae
• Staphylococcus sp. (including staphylococcus aureus and all relevant coagulase-negative staphylococci)
• Streptococcus agalactiae
• Streptococcus uberis
•Klebsiella sp. (including K oxytoca and K pneumoniae)
•Serratia marcescens
•Arcanobacterium pyogenes and/or Peptoniphilus indolicus
I have to call for a price. This is their website
http://www.dairylab.com/


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## cstafford (May 30, 2010)

Hello Chris,
This may very well have been addressed. When milking a goat everything is important. Your container can have built up milkstone which causes off flavored milk. Not allowing your warm milk to 'breathe' as it is cooling can cause off flavored milk. Goat milk does indeed pick up flavors from the air so a dirty freezer and an open jar=off flavored milk as does a manure filled barn. I cool my milk in a ice water bath with an open jar, and i stir it a bit from time to time. I do hope this helps you in some way. Take care, Carol


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## hsmomof4 (Oct 31, 2008)

> Not allowing your warm milk to 'breathe' as it is cooling can cause off flavored milk.


Hmmm. Well, I always cool my milk in a tightly closed 1/2 gallon glass canning jar (in an ice water bath in the fridge) and I don't have off flavored milk. On average, our milk tastes great for at least 2 weeks.


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## cariboujaguar (Feb 9, 2009)

Nana said:


> Would the molasses in the feed make the milk taste bad?


I have heard MANY times that high molasses feeds will make some goats milk taste 'goaty', a handful of dairies specifically use low molasses/corn containing grains to avoid this...

If you can find some MSM lotion from a local source, this is the ONLY treatment I use for mastitis cases, at the first sign I massage the udder during each milking with the MSM (it will make the milk taste odd if it's flavored though). I had a doe years ago who came to me so congested and miserable! Her udder was hard as a rock on one side and getting there on the other, I was advised to massage her with peppermint lotion and all I had was the MSM which had a bit of Peppermint in it... I massaged her _gently_ as I couldn't bring myself to do it roughly as I'd been instructed. 30 min later both sides were milking out, it was clumpy and yuck but it totally loosened the udder up, 3 days later she was mlking clean tasty fresh milk... a dairy friend of mine was losing does to mastitis a few yrs ago, some had to have bags removed, it had spread from one doe to all of them through their inflations. Does were dropping left and right and the vet had tried everything! I gave her a bottle and told her to try it, 5 days later the whole herd was cleared up... It must work, it can't hurt to try it...


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## Squires (Jul 23, 2010)

What does MSM stand for, and does it only come in "peppermint flavor" ?


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## Nana (May 12, 2010)

Interesting. The udders are not hard at all and the milk looks good. It just tastes goaty and seems that it was spoiling fast. Since I have put some in the refrigerator after cooling it in an ice bath and it looks like it is getting creamy on the top and may have a higher percent of butterfat in it. It is off white in color. It still smells like milk after several days. I will taste it later. The frozen milk I had been thawing in the refrigerator was what was tasting very bad after one day in the refrigerator.


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## cariboujaguar (Feb 9, 2009)

Squires said:


> What does MSM stand for, and does it only come in "peppermint flavor" ?


MSM stands for http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methylsulfonylmethane
I'm no expert, but I sold the stuff and watched it instantly resolve rashes, ecsema and many other issues, took tons of enthusiastic testimonials and when I had a mastitis case i used it in a pinch and it cleared it right up! Maybe it's just coincidence? I really couldn't tell you quite why, but I saw the how and the results and I use it at every possible 'iffy' milking. I used it for all sorts of skin conditions(it seems to grow hair back faster too) I use it on my mare as well and my husband and myself... it's pretty nifty stuff.


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## nightskyfarm (Sep 7, 2009)

cstafford said:


> Hello Chris,
> This may very well have been addressed. When milking a goat everything is important. Your container can have built up milkstone which causes off flavored milk. Not allowing your warm milk to 'breathe' as it is cooling can cause off flavored milk. Goat milk does indeed pick up flavors from the air so a dirty freezer and an open jar=off flavored milk as does a manure filled barn. I cool my milk in a ice water bath with an open jar, and i stir it a bit from time to time. I do hope this helps you in some way. Take care, Carol


I am sorry, but I do not understand the logic in this one. I am a Grade A dairy and no way would I even consider allowing my cooling milk to "breathe" and be open to the air. In the next sentence you say 'Goat milk does indeed pick up flavors from the air so a dirty freezer and an open jar=off flavored milk as does a manure filled barn.' Makes no sense to me. I think her doe is a case of sub-clinical mastitis with nothing to do with cooling or storage. She seems to have a handle on that end.


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## Nana (May 12, 2010)

The only thing in my freezer is quart jars of milk. It is clean. I don't allow the milk to breathe in the freezer or out of it beyond when I am milking. I don't want all kinds of mold or airborne stuff in there. I am not in a manure filled area. My husband was feeding the goats llama and sheep feed. Hopefully I will find out if it is mastitis by tomorrow as they are culturing the milk samples. 

Those milk samples were difficult because my usually well behaved goats decided to act up and kept trying to step in the bag, biting at the flies. I had to redo the samples several times to be sure it was right. They were not used to the routine apparently and didn't appreciate the alcohol wipe.


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## hsmomof4 (Oct 31, 2008)

Ah, well, goats never do like a change in their routine!


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## Holly Govero (Mar 26, 2009)

I am wondering did u copper bolused your goats? I am just wondering. Because my experince with my friend that she was going thru like u did. And she said the milk taste goaty. So I gave her goats the copper bolus and within a week or so the milk went back normal and taste soooo good. My friend was soo pleased about it.. Just a thought.


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## cstafford (May 30, 2010)

Jennifer, I am nt a grade A dairy. I am a home milker who has read a few books including Goats Produce Too! By Mary Jane Toth. I in no way meant to offend nor confuse anyone. I am trying to help. I am sorry for any confusion or offence I caused. Please excuse me.
Carol


nightskyfarm said:


> cstafford said:
> 
> 
> > Hello Chris,
> ...


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## Nana (May 12, 2010)

I know everyone is trying to help. I didn't take offense. I have not copper bolused any of the goats. I saw those were for sale on here somewhere. The newer milk that I put in the refrigerator about 4 days ago looks like buttermilk and tastes absolutely rotten. I let my husband have the pleasure of the taste test. :lol
He nearly lost it. I am still waiting for the vet to call back. I did keep both goats milk separate when I milked today. I ice bathed them and will put them in the refrigerator to see what happens. I wish I knew what goat it was. My youngest really wants his goat milk. He will settle for rice milk though.


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## Nana (May 12, 2010)

I forgot to tell you that since I have done the test one of the does really has a rash on her teats. I think maybe the different soap and alcohol irritated her skin. The mosquitoes are really bad here and really bothering my goats. I did notice a few lice. If I give them ivomec will this help with mosquitoes or just the lice? How long would you withhold the milk for human consumption? What do you do to control the flies and mosquitoes?


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## Squires (Jul 23, 2010)

If the milk is curdling and rotting, something is very wrong. Do you brush your goat before milking? Dry the udder real well after washing? Filter the milk immediately after milking? Filtering makes a huge difference in catching dust and hairs and "stuff" that fall into the milk. 

I don't know anything about lice -- I hope I never see one (((shudder!))). Now I'm itching just thinking about them! I'm actually a dairy-sheep person just starting out with a goat, and I use ivermectin twice a year - -spring and fall, when livestock change housing, and so far havn't seen any, but this year there are a lot of sparrows squatting in the barn -- have to remove them before they bring in a problem. Ivermectin is SUPPOSED to wipe out skin-parasites.

I use the least expensive horse-spray with citronella and permetrins or whatever that I find at Tractor supply. A little around the ears, legs and belly. More on the top-line if they seem exposed. That limits fly and mosquito bites. I wouldn't put it on the udder, because it could affect milk flavor, technically. Unless the goat is really suffering.

Do you have time to wash and shave your goat before the next milking? That might help.

Chris


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## Nana (May 12, 2010)

The vet called when I was at work. Belle has mastitis in one side. I have to call back tomorrow for details and treatment. I will update you as I know something. Its the goat that had the scratch on her udder. If that is true it should be her right udder that has the mastitis. We will see. I will let you know what he wants to prescribe before I pick it up. I think this guy is too expensive and may go somewhere else for the treatment. One vet I know in the area lets you get the supplies from him rather than a service call. I also may have a problem with my refrigerator I am finding out. It was wet on the top in the freezer and is now getting frost in a frost-less freezer. I am using the deep freeze from now on.


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## doublebowgoats (Mar 6, 2008)

Sorry to hear that! At least you know what you're dealing with now. Mastitis and a broken refrigerator. Hope you can get them both fixed soon!


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## Nana (May 12, 2010)

It is always something lately. Well the culprit is staphaureus and the vet wants me to treat both sides with Persue. It is a treatment in which you infuse a tube into both sides at night after milking. He said to withhold a little longer than it says on the box. You have to treat for 6 days. He wants me to retest her in 1 month to be sure it is wiped out. He thinks we caught it real early because there were no lumps. I think I am going to keep the goat milk separate from now on because than I can taste to see if there are problems going on. As for the refrigerator, I am going shopping. I have been wanting a new one for awhile. This one is too small for my family and goats. 

My goats have been shaved. At that time one had lice and I am treating them for that. I got some fly spray that I am going to hit the barn with when the animals are out.


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## nightskyfarm (Sep 7, 2009)

Good that is has been figured out. If I were you, I would pick up a CMT kit to have on hand to test this doe in a week and then again a week later. Being on the antibiotic should kill all the bacteria and give you a neg. test. If you get a pos. while the doe is full of Pirsue, it is not the right drug for the bug. Waiting a month to test is too long in my book.


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## Squires (Jul 23, 2010)

Is this the type of infection (Staph. aureus) that can be vaccinated against?


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## prairie nights (Jan 16, 2009)

Is this the type of infection (Staph. aureus) that can be vaccinated against?

Yes, vaccinate with Lysigin.


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## mamatomany (Aug 7, 2008)

I know I have dealt with mastitis for the first time this year. Vicki has some great advice and I know past posts will help too. I know for me, I did persue/gent infusions and gave banamine and excenel for a period too. She is out of the milkstring until her next lactation, but it rotorooted her very well.


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## Poverty Knob Goats (Apr 13, 2010)

but this year there are a lot of sparrows squatting in the barn -- have to remove them before they bring in a problem. Ivermectin is SUPPOSED to wipe out skin-parasites.

Just a note, not trying to hi-jack. Lice are species specific. Bird Lice will not infest goats or horses or humans or any other mamal. They can get on other species BUT they can not live on other species.


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## Nana (May 12, 2010)

Well he wanted me to treat both sides as my kids eat from the mother and may infect the other side. I am contemplating doing both goats because they trade off babies all the time. What do you all think. The milk still is tasting bad from the other goat. Even with a fixed refrigerator. Could it be the start of mastitis with such a low count that it didn't show up with the sample?


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## buckrun (Mar 7, 2008)

You do realize you will have to pull the kids?
There is no way to treat with them nursing.
You must leave the meds in there.


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## Nana (May 12, 2010)

I have frozen milk for them. I will put the kids in another pen. I was just going to ask that. Thank you for reading my mind. I really don't know how much milk they should be getting now. They are 3 months old.


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## prairie nights (Jan 16, 2009)

Wendy, 

at three months old we feed 20oz twice a day minimum, in lambar they would probably be getting more. If the kids are small you can feed three bottles a day.


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## Tim Pruitt (Oct 26, 2007)

If they are 3 months old you can wean them They will probably wean themselves as they won't take the bottle. This is one of the drawbacks to dam raising. However, it your case it might have been your saving grace by keeping the udder drained.

Staph Aureus is a killer or at the very least can ruin the goat's udder for life - treat aggressively.


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

And I would not be expecting a good outcome with just infusions. Naxcel given systemically and banamine to keep inflammation at bay. When dealing with vets you have to make them understand that just clearing the infection is not your goal, you want the udder cleared AND an udder you can milk. Cow vets are happy to save the cow, a quarter lost is no biggy in a cow. 

This is one of a very small group of diagnosis of mastitis that would make me think very hard on putting the animal down, she would have to be a doe I couldn't live without. I also would not keep her daughters that nursed. I have just seen this so many times, it appears to be gone, then comes back when the doe is dry to blow and abscess through the udder...you will infect other does if you keep her in the main pen, if you haven't already if her kids nursed other does ever since she has come down with this, it is harbored in the udder, stress brings this on as problems, you are catching this super early, your only saving grace. It is also the percursor for malignant edema, you could check this out on saanendoah.com...infact if this was my doe and I wanted her bloodline, I would have her udder removed. We vaccinate for staph because of this. Lysigin should be part of your vaccination protocol from now on, especially in these doe kids, now. Vicki


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## Laverne (Apr 4, 2010)

Since staph mastitis is a precursor to malignant edema would it be prudent to use Covexin 8 as mentioned in 101 as prevention?


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## Nana (May 12, 2010)

I called another vet and he didn't think it was unreasonable to be aggressive and treat both goats right away. I hope all goes well.


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## Nana (May 12, 2010)

Can you tell from just a culture of the milk that it is Staph. aureus. That is how the vet diagnosed it.


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## hsmomof4 (Oct 31, 2008)

Yes...you culture the milk, isolate the bacteria, and then there are various tests that you can do to identify which bacteria it is. You can tell that it's staph of some sort by looking at it under the microscope...staph is short for staphylococcus. Coccus means that the bacteria are shaped like little balls, and staphylo means that they form little clusters. (Streptococcus, on the other hand, are little balls that form chains.) Then they can narrow down things more specifically by doing other tests on the bacteria.


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## Nana (May 12, 2010)

Well now that the milk is drinkable again it tastes wonderful. I am still following up on testing it again to be sure. The vet thinks I caught it real early.


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## sherrie (Jul 22, 2008)

My friend also has 'goaty' milk recently. Her baby grandson was the first to notice. He had been drinking it for about a month, then a few days ago he wouldn't drink it. My friend says the milk tastes fine when she drank it,but there was a 'bucky' aftertaste. And there are no bucks on her place. She has a few wethers, but they are in a different area than the does. Everything is the same as before -feed, hay, minerals, milk management, etc. Not sure what to do.


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## Nana (May 12, 2010)

I would call a vet and see how much it is to test for mastitis. Clean each teat very well and milk about 1 oz into a bag held out to the side of the goat so as not to contaminate it with anything that can drop in it. I think it was about 15 dollars for both sides of the goat to be tested and I went to a vet that was very expensive. The vet will call you with the results in a little over a day. Keep the milk cool with an ice pack on the way to the vet. Good luck. So far my milk tastes good since I treated. I did treat both though even though one came out clean with the test. I just felt it had a weird taste and gave me bad breath when I drank it. They baby knew. We have to listen to the little ones. Good luck. Keep me updated. I also stopped feeding feed with so much molasses. We also started feeding a 1/2 cup of black oil sunflower seeds at each milking and increased the goats intake of fresh grass and apple leaves.


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## buckrun (Mar 7, 2008)

Perhaps her does are cycling. 
Some breeds- most notably Toggs often have off flavored milk during heat cycles. 
If she has no buck one of the does will take the role of dominant doe and become more buckish in behavior- this is your likely suspect for off flavored milk in breeding season.
But it will never hurt to do a CMT during any flavor changes.
She should milk each animal individually and taste with clean palate to determine who is causing the flavor change.


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## Nana (May 12, 2010)

Does the milk volume cut back a bit when they cycle? I saw tails a wagging and then noticed it was less about a week ago.


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## buckrun (Mar 7, 2008)

It depends on the goat. Mine jump. It is hormones talking but some goats don't eat as well and also spend more energy pacing and calling for bucks etc. so they do drop in production. Mine always jump a bit.


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