Weird tasting milk

I'm glad you might have figured yours out, mhoward. I have not figured mine out! The yeast is having no discernable effect. Also, the woman at TSC told my hubby that they had the cobalt blocks and even how much they cost. When we went last night, another woman said they don't and never have had them! Grrrrr.

This morning, I poured quite a few quart jars of milk into a pot so I could make ricotta, and one of them had blood that had settled to the bottom of the jar. Is that a sign of mastitis? If so, now what?

I went by TSC on my way home from work yesterday because of what you'd said, and they didn't have it, either. They gave me a copy of their complete catalogue, but I haven't had time to look through it from cover to cover. There is this option: http://www.doitbest.com/Ice+and+snow...sku-759250.dib, I'm just trying to avoid paying freight on a 50 lb. item if I can. :-)

Blood in the milk can be a sign of mastitis. If I saw it I would definitely pursue that train of thought. However, I have read about goats who just have a little bit of blood in their milk all the time, with no infection present.

I drank a big glass of yesterday's milk this morning, and it warmed before I finished it. The warmer it got the more goaty it tasted. I'm wondering if lipase is the problem.

I would have both of them tested for subclinical mastitis. Often an off taste is the only symptom. Especially if there is blood in the milk. Since you have good free choice mineral out you shouldn't have to be adding this and that trying to make it better. Also try keeping them off pasture and just give them their normal hay and grain. It could be something they are eating out there.

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Amanda
Twin-Reflection Nubians
http://trnubians.weebly.com

There is a website called doitbest.com. They have the cobalt blocks and will ship them free to a participating store. They have a locator to find one near you. A local lumber company and home improvement store here receives orders from them. The block was 9.99 I think.

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Karen

Did you check the refrigerator temperature? How quickly are you chilling the milk?

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Alice
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"No great thing is created suddenly." ~Epictitus

Fridge is 40 degrees. I keep glass canning jars in the freezer. As soon as I'm done milking, I bring the milk to the house, strain it into the jars, and put it into the freezer for 50 minutes. I don't know if I need to keep it in there for that long, but I always do. Snicket's milk tastes worse than Mudge's, so I don't think it is my handling that is causing the problem. My process is exactly the same as it was last year, and the milk was wonderful then. Actually, I dried Mudge off last fall, so all we were drinking was Snicket's all winter and it was yummy.

One thing I thought of when I was mowing the yard a little while ago, is that last year, I was feeding them a "dairy mix" that I bought from the Amish feed store down the road. This year, I am feeding them oats and BOSS. I'm about out of oats, so maybe I should get a bag of the dairy mix to see if it helps at all. Sigh...

Oh, they would rebel if I made them stay inside! How long do you think it would take to notice a difference in taste if that is the probelm?

Hey mommabooth..I've been following this thread. I had some milk smell goaty for the last week. I think I know my problem. I was using the dish washer to wash my jars/bottles because it has a sanitizer feature. It dawned on me that if a film gets left on my glasses in there..the milk utensils were no different. I think between soap film and milk stone..the jars have a problem. Pour milk in them and the milk has a problem.

I just hand washed, scrubbed and rinsed my half gallon jars. My favorites..the quart glass jars..have small mouths so I can't get my hand in them. I have one soaking with a little bleach water to see if the milk stone stuff will come off. If not..guess I'll pitch them and stay with something large mouthed.

I don't know..but I would guess that 40 degrees is a tad warm. I ice bath my milk after straining and stick it in the fridge. I think I read somewhere that you should get er cooled in a half hour.

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It could be your different feed mix but I would lean more toward what they are eating outside or mastitis. I would think you would be able to tell a difference in taste after 2 or 3 days of them being inside if that is what the problem actually is.

And yes, 40 is a bit warm but if that is what you had it set at last year then it shouldn't make a difference. How big of a jar of milk are you cooling at one time?

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Amanda
Twin-Reflection Nubians
http://trnubians.weebly.com

I put it in the freezer in quart jars, but I don't fill them all the way up. The milk tastes bad right away, so it's not the fridge (although I do believe I'll change the setting anyway).

It is supposed to rain Sunday through Tuesday of next week, so maybe I can keep them inside then...I just can't do it to them when it's sunny and 70 degrees!

Sherry, bleach will not remove milk stone.

Here's what I use:
http://hoeggerfarmyard.com/xcart/Foa...Detergent.html

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Alice
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"No great thing is created suddenly." ~Epictitus

I placed my order today! I'm so excited that I can have it delivered site to store without having to pay shipping. :-)

Thanks Alice. I don't think our hard water is helping either.

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I just ordered some of that, and some dolomite. I will be so happy if either of those things helps!

Our refrigerator started dying a few years ago and our milk went goaty, Learned that you are supposed to keep it at least at 38 degrees. Test this by putting a glass of water in the fridge with a thermometer in the water. A thermometer on the shelf doesn't work.

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Jennifer
Nigerian Dwarfs and Mini Saanens
capellaviadairygoats.weebly.com

When I was a kid I drank lots of milk and I always hated "spring" milk because it all tasted bad from the wild garlic in the pasture.... I realize that its not what the OP is fighting here, but does wild garlic cause goat milk to taste? Do the goats even eat the stuff?

I just read a study that said that supplementing the goats with vegetable oil or feeding grass increases linoleic fatty acid production in the milk and inhibits lipase activity. Feeding BOSS doesn't do this.

"Goat milk lipolysis and LPL activity vary considerably and in parallel across goat breeds or genotypes, and are low during early and late lactation,
as well as when animals are underfed or receive a diet supplemented with protected or unprotected vegetable oils. "

http://videosdigitals.uab.es/cr-vet/...al03_jds86.pdf

Well, it COULD be that...it just seems weird that Snicket's tastes worse than Mudge's does, but maybe Snicket eats more of the wild onions than does Mudge.

I got some of the dairy mix this afternoon and will slowly transition them over to that. I have been feeding the yeast since Monday, and I think it tastes just the slightest bit better (but, I HAVE been accused of being Petunia Positive). I still haven't been able to locate the cobalt blocks. I'll have to look at that doitbest website and see if there is a participating store near me. I know there is a do it best over where near Hubby works (an hour from here), so maybe he can pick it up for me.

Poo...it's not available for ship to store anywhere around here...might just have to bite the bullet and pay the Amazon shipping. I have one last hope...called a local cargill dealer and they are checking to see if they can order just one block for me.

Here's another cobalt option so you don't have to pay shipping on heavy salt:
http://www.jollygerman.com/livestock...tsulfate.shtml

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Alice
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"No great thing is created suddenly." ~Epictitus