Toggenburgs milk tasting bitter!

[Citychick]

I have a 2 1/2 year old Toggenburg on her 2 lactation, and her milk has been very bitter. I started milking her and my kids said it tasted awful. I coudn't taste anything, but today I noticed after they complained it is really bitter and leaves and awful after taste. She is on calf starter and kent goat ration, free choice minerals and prarie hay with some alfalfa hay mixed in. No adult buck around, I wash udder and use a madigans milker to milk into a jar. I chill imediatelly. I am baffled. Our Nubians milk was great last tyear and she is due in about two weeks. I have read other posts trying to find the remedy. Thanks

[Shazza]

What are you feeding different to last year? Is she eating any weeds etc in her paddock that werent there last year?

edited to add.... Personally I wouldnt feed a Goat Calf starter.

[Citychick]

The calf starter is a sweet feed all stock. The feed place recomended it.

[Shazza]

Ok must be different to our calf starter then.

[southerngurl]

Sweet feed really isn't good for goats. Too much sugar. You might also want to add some alfalfa pellets, to prevent metabolic disease from an inverted phosphorus to calcium ratio with your grain. I know your hay has some alfalfa, but doesn't sound like enough.

I know the worms can cause bad tasting milk, do a fecal/check eyelids.

Is it actually bitter? Not goaty, or sour, or funky, but truly bitter?

[cathleenc]

has it been hot lately? last year our togg's milk would taste quite 'off' when the weather was hot, during the fall/winter it was lovely. But 'off' enough that no one would drink it for months...... she now belongs to a small goat dairy and we've replaced her with a goat with some nubian in her. I've been told that togg's are the first of breeds to develop an 'off' taste due to the stronger milk (bred that way for specific cheese making) and lower fat.

gl!

[Ezekiel's Garde]

Our goats' milk tasted bitter about a week ago. DH and oldest DS first noticed it. Now both have mastitis and are going to get abx today from vet - a 4-day course of penicillin, plus Today infused in teats...

[Gailann Schrader]

there are particular weeds that can make the milk VERY bitter...

[Cannon_Farms]

Calf starter killed my togg baby.
I dont know the kent brand but make sure it doesnt contain amonium cloride or medication for coccidia. Some major brands have started putting one or both in and both will give milk an off taste

[betsy h.]

Ah yes, 'the Curse of the Togg Bitter Tasting Milk'!

It it well known that 'some' Toggs have a reputation for having horrible tasting milk- some bloodlines apparantly do have this problem and since such milk has usually been used for cheese making, it is not the problem it could be.

Not much you can do for it 'if' this is the problem, BUT if she has a sub-clinical mastitis problem, this could also cause the bad taste.

It does sound like she's got the bitter tasting milk from her bloodlines though.....

[Citychick]

She does get goat ration and the sweet feed is in small amounts. The goats were all wormed two months ago. So crud if it's the milk because of her bloodlines. She has a wonderful personality and has been really easy to handle while milking. They have no access to weeds they get hay and some alfalfa. Sigh....

[issylthesthlia]

Is it worth it to you to use her milk for cheese?

[Citychick]

Would the cheese taste bad too? I thought about doing soap as we wouldn't have to eat that. Lol!

[shiandpete.1]

I have asked questions about this because about two weeks ago I decided to taste a bit of our La Mancha/Tog cross does milk. AGH!!! It was bitter and left a terrible after taste. So I changed the grain, she gets top quality alfalfa etc. Tasted it this morning and it tasted a bit better but still a bit bitter (say that 10 times fast). So I think it is her bloodlines because where we got her, many people will not drink the breeders Tog millk straight because of the bitter taste. Evidentally it is bloodlines and nothing can be done with that. I was wondering baout cheese or mayb ice cream.

[Citychick]

I would like to know if anyone has experience making cheese from milk with this problem. I would hate to have to sell her. And will keep her if we can use the milk for something useful. Thanks

[Alice In TX/MO]

I think when you get the mastitis problem solved, you could be happy with her milk.

[AnnaS]

An actual Togg breeder here...

Based on what you are feeding, I would guess that this doe has low butterfat from rumen acidosis caused by the molasses in the sweet feed. If the butterfat in milk is equal to or less than the protein content, it can taste weird- anything from a chalky mineral taste to a dandelion sour. CathleenC, cow studies show that milk cows will get acidic in heat- don't know about goats tho.

Try switching her to a straight grain ration instead of a sweet feed. She should also have free choice baking soda or rumen buffer- that will help with the acidosis. If she is on pasture, give her a feed of hay before letting her out. Pasture, especially fine spring growth, will also cause slight acidosis and tip the BF/protein ratio.

Bad tasting milk can be caused by mastitis, but in this case I would try the diet change first for a few weeks and see if there is improvement.

All of the Swiss breeds have lower BF% than Nubians, LaManchas and Nigerians. A Nubian can have acidosis and drop 1.5% BF and still have good tasting milk because they are starting from a higher point. And an Alpine or Saanen will have the same bad tasting milk if fed the wrong diet.

20% of milk is genetics. There were a couple of Togg lines that were selected for high protein/low fat. These lines have been pretty much abandoned. There are a few show lines that have been selected solely on type and typically show a bad BF/Protein ratio in many herds. And there are lots of Togg lines with good BF that hold up under different management.

What is this doe's pedigree? does she or her parents/grandparents have DHIA records? That would tell us what she should be producing.

[Citychick]

What kind of grain ration would you suggest? I feed Kent pelleted goat ration and a small amount of the sweet feed. Hay free choice and a small amount of alfalfa hay. Free choice minerals are always available. I will offer the baking soda in the morning. As for pedigree I sent for her papers and I am still waiting. Thanks

[Citychick]

I think when you get the mastitis problem solved, you could be happy with her milk.

I don't think it's mastitis. No warmth, swelling, redness, and the strip test is good.

[Citychick]

"I think when you get the mastitis problem solved, you could be happy with her milk."

I don't think it's mastitis. No warmth, swelling, redness, and the strip test is good