# How to prevent Mastitis



## Bella Star (Oct 27, 2007)

My does dont have mastitis but since this can ruin their udders......... I know bacteria causes this but what can be done to prevent mastitis ? vaccines ?


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## Odeon (Oct 26, 2007)

following clean milking practices, wash udders before milking, pre-dip, post dip, not over-uddering, routine milking schedules, and cleaning milking equipment. Cleanliness is the SURE way to prevent mastitis!

Ken


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

Adding to Kens post. 
High quality minerals. 
Never letting does udder up to leaking, if your does are leaking they are at risk.
A good immune system and a healthy rumen.
Not letting doelings nurse dams with subclinical staph.

Vicki


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## Gabe (Nov 16, 2007)

All the above and I always let my does stay on the milk stand until the teats are dry.


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## goatmom (Oct 26, 2007)

It's always good if the does can go eat hay after milking because this gives the teat orifice time to close.


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## LynninTX (Oct 25, 2007)

all ours are clipped to their individual feeders after milking... so no one lays down right after....


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## wheytogosaanens (Oct 26, 2007)

Lynn, 

Even seasoned goat breeders with very clean technique have does get mastitis. (Heck, even Kaye had a doe get mastitis. You would think she could just give them "the look". :rofl ) There are definitely other factors involved here.

I guess this thread could more correctly termed "How to minimize mastitis occurrence".

Think about it....this is your first case. That has got to be saying something about how many things you all are doing right!

Camille


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## Kaye White (Oct 25, 2007)

:biggrin Yeah, even I get mastitis...but I attributed it to my fluctuation in the old vacuum pump I had and milking with too slow a pulsation. Fixed all that and am OC about cleanliness with the milkers.
Too funny, Camille. 
Kaye


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## LynninTX (Oct 25, 2007)

Well I AM trying to figure out where it came from so this thread is helpful.... 

assuming either a child got sloppy... though to go 3 yrs with none seems to mean we are doing pretty good...

or... 

I think our bedding in the one shelter needs changing so that just became a priority for this week...

Just trying to think it through ... I really do not want to do this again.


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## Guest (Dec 2, 2007)

Interesting that the information that you all gave left out the MOST important part. Kaye, knows that I am a FREAK when it comes to milking and getting quality milk. But, left out some important facts.

Yes, you do need to either wash the udder or use a pre-dip. You can use whatever solution that you want. I just a fan of iodine. The label says to mix the water to 25ppm of iodine. That is 1 oz of 1% iodine to 5 gallons of water. But, there has been studies to where that is not enough iodine for a kill rate. It is recommonded that you mix atleast to the level of 100ppm of iodine to water(1oz to a gallon of water). I know somepeople use a bleach water solution, that is fine as long as you prepare a fresh solution at every milking and dont let it set for over 30 minutes. The big problem that I have seen with beach water prep is brunt teat ends. That one was not careful when mixing the water.

Also, with the perfered method, you need to work the sanitizer onto the teats. That does not just mean dip the teat then come back 60 seconds later and wipe off. There is BIG debates over this, should you dip....strip...wipe.... OR....strip....dip...wipe. There has not been enough studies to show that either way is the best. But, the fact is to get the sanitzier worked onto the teat....MAINLY the teat end. That little muscle is the guard with any masitisis prevention. 

Look at the teat ends...should do at every milking...but we all know how that goes. You can feel them with you thumb and get idea of the condition that they are in. SCRUB the teat end also with the solution. That is where the majority of the dirt ends on up on the teat. I sat in on a class once that this little excerise was AMAZING to see really how bad people prep the teats.

Take a marker and place a dot on the end of a finger. Then use what ever method you would use to begin milking with....washing or pre-dipping. Then use the finger as a teat and prep it the same way you do your does teats. The majority of the class still had the dot on the end of the finger. That is the dirt that is shoved up into the udder at the beginning of milking. It was suprising just how you did not think of it being dirt. So, the best thing is to make sure that those teat ends are CLEAN. A healthy teat end should just be a little white cirlce at the orfice.

Also, after you have prepped you doe for milking....DONT waste time putting the milkers of her. The milkers should be attached in 60 to 90 seconds from the first time you touched the udder. Time yourself sometime and see how long it takes. I use to do that in the parlor and it was AMAZING to see that 90 seconds goes by FAST.

Then at the end of milking use a GOOD quailty teat dip. Again, I like my iodine teat dips. Should be atleast 1/2% iodine or if you dont want to use iodine then get a Cholohexidine dip. The best cholohexidine dip is one with a killing agent of Cholohexdine Acidate(sp) not Glunate(sp). They have found that bacteria can grow in the Glunate dips....mainly staph. That is one you DONT want to mess with. Dip it on....dont spray it on the teat. If you spray most of the time you only get one side of the teat and use more dip then if you dip. If you dip get a Non-return dipper, you can use the dip in the cup for more than one doe, just be SURE you wash it out after each milking. Never let teat dip sit out between milkings without a cover on it.

The last thing, make sure YOU are clean when you start milking. Most people think that is not that important but, it really is. Alot of people now are wearing gloves when milking(me being one of them). It just makes keeping things clean alot better. They say dont reuse gloves, but I will admitt I have before if they are just not nasty, but most of the time after milking 250 i just throw them in the trash.

Hope this helps

ken


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## ellie (Nov 17, 2007)

No one has mentioned minerals so far. Low copper (or some other mineral) levels depresses immune system which plays a big role in fighting infections--including mastitis. A herd with low copper levels will have more cases of mastitis.

I suspect if mineral levels are optimal, you might never see a case of mastitis (or a lot of other things, too.) Getting minerals optimal is the biggie, of course.

Ellie


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## Guest (Dec 2, 2007)

Thank you so much for your very informative post Ken. You just described (in wonderful detail BTW) exactly how my milking routine works. If you don't mind I'd like to put this info in Goat Keeping 101. 

And remember, for those who go to shows, please follow your same routine when milking away from home! I get a lot of heat and get teased endlessly for the whole, pre-dip, milking gloves routine at a show. But with all the new and numerous germs and bacteria that the girls are exposed to at a show it is THE place to follow your strict at-home milking routine. Please, do not use the Fight Bac spray for convenience... it is worthless!

Thanks again,
Sara


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## Kaye White (Oct 25, 2007)

Thanks Ken. This is WHY I go to this guy for detailed information on problems that arise. I like information from a person "that's been there,done that" not some pencil pusher that's never seen the working side of a cow or goat, little own stepped in cow S***, as much as Ken.

:lol I hope ya' took your long johns with ya' to the dairy!!! Been thinking of you with all the cold you guys are getting. 
Kaye


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## Bella Star (Oct 27, 2007)

THANKS , this post was enlightening and informational and I hope I never have to deal with mastitis in my herd.


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## Tricia (Oct 26, 2007)

Besides good udder care, a clean environment is a must. Udder care is much easier when you start with clean goats. I clean and rebed the goats' loafing area before each milking.


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## LMonty (Oct 25, 2007)

Kaye, I noticed you mentioned the Fight Bac spray. I was under the impression that the spray encourages the teat orifice to close pretty quickly, as well as having some antibacterial qualities. I used to use it AFTER post milking dips, for that reason. Is it a waste of time or money to do that, or is it a good step to include, just because it seals up the end of the teat? It was on my purchase list for when I get ready to milk later this spring, but I'll happily cross it off if its just a waste of money. TYVM


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## Guest (Dec 3, 2007)

The issue with FightBac has raised some eye brows in the dairy cattle world just here lately. If you look at the research that the company has put out...look at the herd that was used. It was the Univ of Conn herd. Hence...where did the vet that invented this worked....Univ of Conn. It was researched on 20 cows...10 control and 10 experiment. Well the Univ milks right around 200, and it stated that cows was SELECTED!!!! Well I have managed farms that milked around the 200 mark and I can tell you I could selected 10 cows with VERY VERY low SCC. Then have a control group of VERY high SCC. Its funny to me that many people over looked the research in the amount of number. In theory it is a GREAT product, but in the real world....use canned air. Also if you read what the killing agent in the spray is....I can not remember off the top of my head...it is not even on the National Mastisis Broad killing agent list. So makes me really wonder what the benifit of it is....but you look like you have money.

Sara, as far as you gloving up at shows....I would love to see more people doing that. You are not only showing off your animals but you are showing the general public that you take pride in the product that you are producing. A couple of years ago at World Dairy Expo, Jody from IA was teased about wearing gloves while milking. We stopped a person walking and asked if they would drink milk from Her show string or the people across from her(that did not wash or pre-dip). The person just looked at how they was being milked and said Jody's hands down. You are setting a standard that people show try to live up to.

Yes, Kaye...I have packed my long johns and all the carhartts that I could get in my truck!

Ken


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## Kaye White (Oct 25, 2007)

Laura, that was Sara. AND no I don't use it. I have a pretty black/white can in my milk room...but it's full. :lol Can't even remember where I got it....probably a door prize. 
Kaye


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## Tricia (Oct 26, 2007)

Well, geez. I've been troubled by the tone of this thread. 

There is more than one approach to maintaining udder health and producing high quality milk. If you can't keep your hands clean and can't milk without getting it all over your hands, gloves probably help unless you can't keep those clean either. 

So here it is from a small dairy person who is "real" in the sense that I make part of our family's living making cheese.

I milk bare-handed, I use Fight Bac, I don't dairy clip. According to my dairy inspector, I produce some of the cleanest milk in the state. The herd has and has had no mastitis.

I wipe each udder with a hot damp wash cloth soaked in a mild mixture of Dr. Bronner's peppermint soap and rosemary oil. After the udder is wiped, I wipe down / dust the doe's back, flanks, and stomach to remove any dust, alfalfa leaves, loose hair. Teats are wiped with a Milk Check wipe that contains chlorhexidine gluconate and glycerin. My hands are also wiped with an udder wipe. In winter time, I apply a small dab of herbal salve in the crotch between my thumb and index finger and rub my finger tips along there: that eliminates cracked fingertips in the wintertime. I like chlorhexidine because it has a strong antibacterial residual. We finish up with FightBac (and no, it's not because I have money as Ken wrote of someone else): I place my hand behind the teat and spray away. Oh, I also milk in a set of clothes that's only used for milking. 

When I milk, I don't touch the teat orifice, and I don't get milk on my hands. The milk goes from the streak canal into a bucket that has only been sanitized with boiling water and then filtered into a tote, all equipment similarly sanitized. Milking equipment is stored down in my cheesehouse, a building a ways from the barn. That's it for me, simple and effective.

And do everything the same way every time.


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

I also don't use Fight bac and of all places I would never use it at a show (the one place of all you should be using cement, not fluff). The amount of chlorhexiderm once sprayed is not the percentage on the can, and I know it is Texas A&M I believe Prarie View who gave our club this info, or perhaps it was Scott Horner (runs Prarie Views herd) who shared this with us.

I don't use iodine based products, or acid washes or or or because of my asthma. I also have milked for 21 years with other than one purchased case of mastitis and one in which I brougt on myself with milkfever and she is clear now 5 years later, we don't have mastitis and even were clear last year on all milkers for staph (LSU tested).

But it is routine, it is doing the same thing the same way daily and teat dipping or spraying to saturation, and doing something so that the girls do not lay down with open orifice right after milking. If your routine is expensive can you really keep it up each month the whole lactation? If your routine is to many steps are the kids really doing all of it when you aren't watching? The answer to that is no by the way even if your children are angles...wait until they grow up and admit to you some of the stuff they have done!!! And my two girls were excellent kids who showed and were very very responsible!

I machine milk and I think it is cleaner than hand milking, especialy when selling milk...if and it's a huge if the way some machine milk, you clean inflations between does and clean inflations after milking.

With my success with the old Chlorox dilution rate from Hoards back in the late 80's when I started milking, I simply don't want to change now. It's cheap and works for me. I did try for about a month the 30$ a gallon jug of molassas per dip and post dip, thick molassas messy and stained my brand new concrete!  

But then I am tiny potatoes, and if I milked for a living like Ken or even the amounts of does Sara does yep I would have to change my old ways. Vicki


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## Gabe (Nov 16, 2007)

Trisha my milking procedure sounds very much like yours. The only difference is, I use a hand sanitizer between the milking. I guess, I could use the teat wipes as well, didn't even think about that.
None of my here freshened milker had mastitis, and only the does i bought in milk, got uneven shortly after they came or already were uneven when they came. I have a very clean milk room, that is separated from the pens. My milk is also very clean or it would not last more than a week in the fridge without a change in taste.
I'm using Fightbac too because it is convenient, never thought it is not affective since I did not see a problem.


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

Gabe test the lopsided does, if staph they will eventually give all the rest of your milkers it also. Treating it during the dry period works wonderful so you can use gentamycin both infused and systemically without the huge milk withdrawal periods.

How long you been milking? Vicki


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## Guest (Dec 3, 2007)

So sorry to hear you are troubled by the tone this topic has taken Tricia. I haven't figured out what exactly is troubling you yet, but I will go over the posts one more time to see if I can find out what it is. :rolleyes

It is wonderful to hear about the mastitis debate from all different aspects of the dairy goat industry. We all may do things slightly different, but in the end, large or small scale, we all have the same goal... to prevent mastitis. 

What may work for a very small herd of milkers (5-8) will probably not work for a larger or even commercial herd of 25+, or for those herds that show their animals who in turn are exposed to so many different bugs.

I have always taken a no nonsense approach when it comes to milking my herd of show does. Not only do I have to keep their udders even to be competitive in the show ring but they are also Top Ten milkers who need to perform in the milk parlour as well. Like you Tricia, I also make a living from my herd, only it's from selling breeding stock, milk and soap.

I am very thankful for Ken's post and like him, I also read the studies on the effectiveness of teat dip, udder wipes, etc. Just because it's worked for you thus far, doesn't mean it's effective. I would never recommend Fight Bac and stand by my statement. It has been PROVEN to be ineffective.

Oh, and I'm not a messy milker either. Not sure what you meant by getting milk on the gloves? Anyway, I wear gloves to protect my does from the germs that can hide in the tiny cracks and crevices on my hands which can harbor bacteria that cannot be seen. Gloves can be disinfected whereas bare hands cannot. 

I love the udder wipes that some mention, but I don't have a local source for the good ones. They are so convenient, but I have found them to be too cost prohibitive for the size of my herd. We have had excellent success with using a proven pre-dip, individual paper towels, and an effective iodine post dip. Inflations are also disinfected between each doe.

This is the program that has worked for us for years. We also keep our milk machine maintenance up to date and clean it throughly after each milking with a proven dairy cleaner. Our equipment is stored in our milk parlour with is separate from the milkroom and where the goats are housed.

One more thing, we DO clip all our does' udders before they freshen and all during the year while they are being milked. I will not milk a hairy udder! :rofl

Sara


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## Gabe (Nov 16, 2007)

Vicki I milk them as long as possible. I treated the loop sided does with Albadry Plus (novobiocin sodium plus pennecillin G procainr)three times after i dried them off, and it looks like this helped. Two does freshend even and only one is still loop sided because I might have waited too long before I treated her :/ I always milked those does last and so far, no other doe infected.

Sara that is a good idea to wear gloves because they can be better desinfected between does. I have not thought about it but I will try that. 

What do you all use tor disinfect the inflations?


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## Sondra (Oct 25, 2007)

1/4 cup clorox to 1 gal milk


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## Agape Oaks (Oct 30, 2007)

I've been using Fight Bac all along, thinking I was using the best I possibly could! The dips concerned me with dipping one goat after another, so I thought with the spray there was less chance of spreading stuff between goats. My routine has been to clean udders (& my hands) with chlorox wipes & to spary with Fight Bac after. I haven't had anyone with mastitis.....& never wnat to! Are the teat dips better? I've been milking by hand, but have no doubt that I'll be using the machine in the spring with 23 freshening! When I used the machine before, I dipped the inflations in Clean by eNasco.com.


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## baileybunch (Oct 26, 2007)

Vicki said "With my success with the old Chlorox dilution rate from Hoards..." Is this as udder wash or teat dip and what is the dilution rate? Do you use just bleach and water or add anything else to it? Curious minds want to know!


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## Gabe (Nov 16, 2007)

Sondra said:


> 1/4 cup clorox to 1 gal milk


 Sondra this makes me wonder if you had something else in mind? Surly you meant water right


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## baileybunch (Oct 26, 2007)

1/4 cup bleach to gallon of milk, eh? :biggrin Use it as a dip or wash? Or do I drink it as "clean" milk? :rofl

I know you are talking about water...is this as an udder wash AND teat dip?


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## Keeperofmany (Oct 27, 2007)

Vickie. I too would like to know about your clorox dilution. I'm new at this stuff. :help2


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## Sondra (Oct 25, 2007)

OH gosh there I went again DUH
yes 1/4 cup clorox to 1 gal water 
I got this from Vicki quite a few years ago and use it to wash teats and udders prior to milking then spraying till soaking and dripping after milking. 
Use water and electric dish washing liquid in one bucket and the clorox solution in another bucket for disaffecting inflations between does.


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

Yes what Sondra said....not the milk dilution, never used that  LOL! 

This 1/4 cup clorox to 1 gallon clean water used to be on the inside of your clorox brand bleach listed under all the uses, it used to list Dairy uses. There is also info on this dilution in Hoards Dairyman where I originally learned about it. I prewash with wetones the pop up out of the container kind of wallmart in which I add about 1/2 cup alcohol, (totally agree with Ken here that it's cleaning and not wipeing) and if I could afford to use them all the time I would use the dairyones at TSC...milk...then then use an up-sprayer with the dilution of clorox and water. If someone does come into the milkroom with a dirty udder, and honestly it doesn't happen very much than yes they do get a clean washrag gone over them with particular attention made that this dirty soapy water does not go down onto the teat. I also dip inflations (back in the day hands also) in dishwashing machine liquid (so it's low suds) to sheet off the milk and then dip into the same dilution of clorox and water to disenfect inflations. I never like the whole idea of having milk residue in the inflations from one doe, or on your hands, as you put them on another doe.

But biggy is cleanliness, would you eat off your milkstand without a plate? If not than clean it! Wooden platform milkstands are fine for housemilk, but they harbor soo much bacteria and just inches away from your hands and orifices. It should be your first upgrade. You don't have to have a real milk room, I don't, I can't be in an inclosed room with goats with my asthma, but you can be clean. Trimming udders is a biggy for milk cleanliness. I have alwasy wanted to try the singeing method they use on cows, but never had the nerve and my goats thank me for that  Vicki

Vicki


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## Agape Oaks (Oct 30, 2007)

Do you use any kind of teat dip after milking? Or just the chlorox/ water (or in Sondra's case- chlorox/milk<G>). I guess the 8 cans of FightBac that I have are pretty well useless


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

Yes same thing as I use for inflations and general cleaning of my milk equipment or to wash udders if I need to wash with soap and water if the udder is nasty. 1 gallon of water 1/4 cup clorox. I use a quart up sprayer and it saturates the teat without having to touch it, I finish milking the other two up on the stand (machine milk 4 at a time) let them finish their grain and then they stand in the holding pen where hay is or where they only have acess to pasture, not the barn where the older girls will go and lay down if given that option. Vicki


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## Halo-M Nubians (Oct 26, 2007)

I hate the smell of bleach so I'm always looking for alternative ways of disinfecting. I have found a few research papers online comparing hyd peroxide to iodine for teat dip and cleaning milk lines. It is shown to be as effective as some of the iodine mixes. I was putting the regular 3% in my udder wipes and it makes their skin nice and soft. I just got a bottle of the 35% and it comes with directions for diluting-including for dairy facilities and teat dip. Just wondered if anyone else was using it.


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## Tricia (Oct 26, 2007)

Mishael -- I also have heard of people using a mix of vinegar, hydrogen peroxide, and water. Don't know the dilution for vinegar, though, but I've been looking for itand will post if I come across it. What's your final peroxide dilution?


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## Halo-M Nubians (Oct 26, 2007)

> Farmers have begun to take advantage of the antiseptic properties of hydrogen peroxide by using it as an udder wash and teat dip. Harry Elsinga of Breadalbane, PEI has experience with both uses. "We use about 30 ml /4 litres of water as an udder wash and 60 ml /4 litres of water for the teat dip. You can have irritation problems if you use it at higher levels" says Elsinga. His hydrogen peroxide teat dip is sprayed on using a teat dip squirter.
> 
> Elsinga isn't alone in using hydrogen peroxide for teat dip. Kleanzade has been marketing a new teat dip product called Oxy-gard since March in the U.S. It contains hydrogen peroxide and lactic acid as active ingredients. Oxy-gard was developed for pre- and post-dipping. It contains 0.5% H202 which is the same level of H202 as Elsinga is using (i.e. 60 ml divided by 4000 ml X 35 % H202 = .5% H202).
> 
> ...


From another site, lots of info floating around out there about it...


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## Sondra (Oct 25, 2007)

I did use hydrogen peroxide the 35% when I could get it and like it very much along with vinegar can't remember now the dilution but used it everywhere even in my kitchen and bath


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## Liberty Alpines (Nov 14, 2007)

I have a question...I've been using Fight Bac for a little over a year now, and I'm wondering if it's doing what I want it to do. I'm not trying to use it as a disinfectent, as I dip and wip with iodine before and after I milk. Then I spray with Fight Bac just to chill the teat so the orfice closes up quickly. Is Fight Bac successful for this? Just chilling the teat to close it? Thanks.


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## Tim Pruitt (Oct 26, 2007)

Another important step in controlling mastitis is fly control. LSU mastitis lab reported that flies carry bacteria on their bodies and will spred them from teat to teat.


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## Qvrfullmidwife (Oct 25, 2007)

"d if I milked for a living like Ken or even the amounts of does Sara does yep I would have to change my old ways. "

Why? I would imagine if it is cost effective and disease prevention effective and straightforward to do for 10 it will be the same for 40 or am I just dullwitted here?


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## Qvrfullmidwife (Oct 25, 2007)

"I wear gloves to protect my does from the germs that can hide in the tiny cracks and crevices on my hands which can harbor bacteria that cannot be seen. "

We are going to start wearing gloved here because I have children who are so compulsive about handwashing when they are milking that their skin is all dry and cracked. While we are working on the dry skin angle, it seems prudent to have them glove up.

Now when y'all are using gloves, what kind are you talking about? The first (and pretty much only) thing that comes to my mind are the boxes of nonsterile latex gloves that I carry in my midwifery bag and use for blooddraws, etc...


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## Guest (Dec 7, 2007)

I use Nitrile milking gloves. They are much stronger than latex and more resistant to any chemicals that you may be using (bleach water, dairy utensil cleaner, etc.). You can purchase these gloves pretty much anywhere; Jeffers, Hamby, other supply houses. Our local Wal-Mart even carries them (although at a higher price).

Promise, once you start using gloves you'll never go back to bare hands again. You'll feel naked without them on. :lol

Sara


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## Tricia (Oct 26, 2007)

LeeAnne -

For me, I think the big jump that would make me change my ways is from hand milking to machine milking rather than absolute numbers. With hand-milking I feel that I just need to be working with very clean teats and hands in a clean environment with sanitized equipment. With machine milking, I think Ken's post shows how important it is to really disinfect the teats before the inflations are attached both for udder health as well as milk quality.

I think our post procedures are similar with the exception of choice of teat dip. I've read in a couple places that it can take two to four hours after machine milking for the teat ends to seal, dependent on the equipment. I have no idea whether this is the same for hand milking or how it varies with teat sphincter health or anatomical variations. But, it sure makes me follow post procedures.

I've been reading Hue Karreman's _Treating Dairy Cows Naturally_ in my ever-so-slow quest to transition to organic (and, yes, finally Banamine and MuSe (and I assume BoSe) are going to be allowed under the National Organic Program partly thanks to Hue and his efforts to get some conventional medicines allowed). He suggests that teat dips can range from a saline-water or calendula tincture all the way to the commercial products and reminds that glycerin has mild antiseptic as well as moisturizing properties. Here's his recipe for a teat dip:

4 liters water
5 cc lavender oil
5 cc pine oil
2 cc eucalyptus oil
12 cc cottonseed oil
5 cc methylene blue

Smells good, too, eh?

I can hand milk seven easily with some concerns about the amount of time I'm spending -- that's my limit. But I have cheesemaking friends north of Boston who in a team of two hand milk 20-25 with procedures more likely Vicki's than mine.

When I have used a glove on a cut or badly chapped hand, I usually just grab a few of my food-grade, non-powdered, non-sterile latex gloves from the cheesehouse. I clean the gloved hand just like the bare. Since I use them rarely, the does think they are very bizarre. I'd go to nitrile for regular use like Sara particularly if latex bothers your skin.


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## Qvrfullmidwife (Oct 25, 2007)

Well, plus you run the (albeit small) risk of developing a latex allergy by the frequent exposure to latex...


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## Agape Oaks (Oct 30, 2007)

BlissBerry said:


> I use Nitrile milking gloves. They are much stronger than latex and more resistant to any chemicals that you may be using (bleach water, dairy utensil cleaner, etc.). You can purchase these gloves pretty much anywhere; Jeffers, Hamby, other supply houses. Our local Wal-Mart even carries them (although at a higher price).
> 
> Promise, once you start using gloves you'll never go back to bare hands again. You'll feel naked without them on. :lol
> 
> Sara


I use the latex gloves over the top of those stretchy warm gloves on cold days. Maybe it's the fact that I have 2 gloves on, but I much prefer milking with naked hands over milking with gloves!


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## Guest (Dec 7, 2007)

> I use the latex gloves over the top of those stretchy warm gloves on cold days. Maybe it's the fact that I have 2 gloves on, but I much prefer milking with naked hands over milking with gloves!


Ummm, yep. I think that's why you prefer milking without gloves on. :lol I couldn't even milk one doe with 2 pairs of gloves on... my fingers would be in the way of each other. 

Have you ever tried the nitrile gloves? They are surprisingly warm. If my hands are cold I leave the nitrile gloves on even when I am finished milking and they keep me from freezing my fingertips, even in cold, frigid Minnesota.

Sara


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## Agape Oaks (Oct 30, 2007)

BlissBerry said:


> > I use the latex gloves over the top of those stretchy warm gloves on cold days. Maybe it's the fact that I have 2 gloves on, but I much prefer milking with naked hands over milking with gloves!
> 
> 
> Ummm, yep. I think that's why you prefer milking without gloves on. :lol I couldn't even milk one doe with 2 pairs of gloves on... my fingers would be in the way of each other.
> ...


If I lived in cold frigid MN, I doubt I could milk even with 2 pair of gloves on . The stretchy gloves are not thick & bulky at all. I'll have to try some of the nutrile gloves & see if they're an improvement.....of course what I'd like is a heated air conditioned milk room


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

I think those who only milk a few don't get the difference in plain ole filth you have to deal with when moving to 25 or our 35...the horrors of over 100, you would have to have fulltime cleaning help, or be of the bobcat set. Right now with just 21 it's just laziness that my barn isn't always tidy in with the girls, when you put more does than that in the barn in production, it goes way more than having to be tidy, udder health becomes so much more important because of the massive amounts of manure and shear number of animals.

To keep 35 does on the milkstring we had 3 pens of 20 does, kidding, milk or dry and pregnant, 365 days a year for 8 years. No way can you not have milking practices that are ultra clean and not use barrier type disenfectants before and after. The wetones I use wouldn't be enough to pre-clean, there isn't enough time to let does finish eating while their teat dip dries, the last goats are milked and the group goes down, barrier products like the thick iodine bases would be a must. That many animals gives you mud, multiply out your mud you have now by that many more goats, it's pea soup unless you have inside facilites clean that can handle that many does after milking. Why I prefer the all in all out stalls I told you about. Rather than the holding alleys before milking and holding pens after milking. Vicki


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## Qvrfullmidwife (Oct 25, 2007)

"I think those who only milk a few don't get the difference in plain ole filth you have to deal with when moving to 25 or our 35."

ah, ah, ah gotcha. See this is why I ask stupid questions. Even tho my questions are dumb the answers are always excellent.


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

Please! 10 kids, one on the way, family living with you, and starting a dairy? Your going to overlook things that are obvious to maybe someone who has done it before. It's mind boggling what you are trying to do, 1000 details. Far from dumb. Vicki


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## Qvrfullmidwife (Oct 25, 2007)

There is no WAY we would even consider the dairy if not for the help of mentors like you, Vicki. You are helping make the impossible, possible.


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## Guest (Dec 9, 2007)

Midwife you are thinking of starting a Dairy?


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## Good Goats (Oct 26, 2007)

When I milk with gloves I use Nitrile gloves. . . I totally agree with Sara, they are the BEST gloves to milk with (if you are going to milk with gloves). They are warm and easy to milk with. . . I was told that they were warm before I got them and thought "no, how could a glove like that be warm?", but they sure are! But I still like to milk bare handed, much more comfy for me...

Suriyah


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## Qvrfullmidwife (Oct 25, 2007)

Yes, it is what we are working towards. We would have never considered it, without the encouragement of several on here and the total agreement and excitement of everyone here at home, including both parents and the adult children. We probably won't have it up and running before kids start hitting the ground in Feb, but God willing we will by the time I have my baby in mid April so we are in the middle of plans and contractors and other such gobbledygook...


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## Katarina (Oct 25, 2007)

Good Goats said:


> They are warm and easy to milk with. . .


What about when it is in the 80s or higher? Will there be a problem with them being to warm?


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