When does colostrum stop being colostrum?

[Jcran]

My boer doe kidded sometime between Wednesday evening and Thursday morning. Dead to exposure buck kid; saved doe kid(another thread), got her well fed, etc. Mom has a tight, tight, tight udder so milked out a pint on Thursday afternoon-marked it colostrum, dated and froze it. Then Friday, estimated about 40 hours post-freshening milked about 10 oz. more out just to keep udder from exploding since little doe kid isn't sucking it all down yet...now, can I mark THAT milk as colostrum? None of her milk, from hour one on, seemed THAT yellow or thick like some does get. But would 40 hours out still have antibodies in it? I wrote "40 hours" and doe's name on container before freezing it, but am just curious.

[Patty0315]

I would not save it pats the 40 hours. The first 24 are the best then it starts going down hill. Better than nothing in an emergency.

Patty

[HazyDay]

Only about 12 hours costrum is at it's fullest after that it slowly goes away. But her milk will look like it is costrum; but after the 12 hours most of the anitbodies are gone. You can save it but it's just milk mixed with costrum good if you fed all the full costrum the feeding before. My doe only milked costrum for the first 24 hours and then it went away after that but if you wanted to drink it wait atleast 2 weeks so she is milking good milk and there is not 1 chance of costrum in it.

[Vicki McGaugh TX Nubians]

Yes we only save to use the first 12 hours colostrum....I do save 12 to 24 but it is forsale (I have this group of body builders who buy my colostrum in cute little 1/2 pints) or for other goat folks. I also only save first 12 hour colostrum from older does for the use in my and my partners farm. Transitional milk...24 to 36 can be pasteurised for use if you are in a pinch, but it will turn whatever colostrum in it into erasers just strain them out. You can tell quickly if milk is milk, put a cup of it in the microwave, if it just boils with no erasers in it than the colostrum is out. I hand milk a doe into a coffee cup at 48 hours, and if the milk is clear than I put her inflations on to be machine milked for sale milk, otherwise all her milk only goes to feed kids. Vicki

[DocM]

If I'm saving for later use, I only save first milkings. And only from my older does - the ones that milk out like guernseys the first milking.