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Post By andabigmac
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Post By Alice In TX/MO
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Post By Pony
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06/26/12, 11:10 PM
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Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: NM
Posts: 27
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Smelly Milk?
I have a Nubian Doe I'm currently milking who's milk has started smelling funny. I am sure it is clean; my hands are clean, bucket is scrupulously cleaned etc. however the milk just comes out smelling kind of like fish. Is this a bacteria? Something wrong with the goat? She seems perfectly healthy; but I've only got a bit of experience with this. Her amount has dropped by about 1 1/2 cups (she was giving 3 quarts a day); don't know if that's related. The milk hasn't made us sick either. Anyone have experience with this? 
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See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of the world rather than on Christ.
Colossians 2:8 
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06/26/12, 11:21 PM
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Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Utah
Posts: 2,164
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Offhand I'd say check her for mastitis. Make sure she has loose minerals. Are you milking into stainless steel or glass? Storing the milk in glass or stainless? Plastic harbors bacteria. Have you changed feed recently? Maybe added kelp, although mine eat a ton of kelp and I don't have that problem. My guess is mastitis because her production dropped too. It could be subclinical staph mastitis so it may not have clumps, etc.
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06/26/12, 11:32 PM
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Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: NM
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I use a stainless bucket, and store in glass jars. When I wash her udder I just use iodine diluted in water with a clean wash cloth. I looked at caprinesupply.com at the mastitis indicators. Are those what I use? There is a difference on their website between mastitis indicators, and California mastitis tests. Does that matter? Thank you for your help!
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See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of the world rather than on Christ.
Colossians 2:8
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06/26/12, 11:47 PM
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Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Utah
Posts: 2,164
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Yes, it matters. With the CMT you need to test often and look for a change. I use a test that tests for somatic cell counts.I use this one Hoegger Supply Co. :: Goat... If your girl has mastitis you may not want to wait for the test to come in the mail though. My vet sends samples out for testing a few times a week and lets me throw milk samples in. There is a sticky on the top of the forum on how to do mastitis sampling. Alice did it. I would call your vet and see if he/she would let you do the same. If you send a sample in they can do a test to see what antibiotic it would respond to.
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"Don't worry what people think, they don't do it very often" ~ Unknown
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06/27/12, 06:32 AM
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More dharma, less drama.
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Join Date: May 2002
Location: Texas Coastal Bend/S. Missouri
Posts: 30,482
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Don't bother with the CMT. Waste of time. You need to know WHAT bacteria, if any, is growing.
Also, the CMT is designed for cattle, and most goats have a higher somatic cell count than cattle normally. So, the CMT will indicate mastitis when your goat may not have it.
Read the sticky at the top of the page and send a good sample in for testing.
GOOD LUCK!
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Alice
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"No great thing is created suddenly." ~Epictitus
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06/27/12, 08:53 AM
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Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: middle GA
Posts: 16,654
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Is there a possibility she may be pregnant? I'm not as experienced with goats as most on here, but we had a doe that accidently got pregnant. We didn't know she was pregnant, so we kept milking her, but we noticed her milk started getting thicker and the production dropped.
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06/27/12, 10:14 AM
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Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: NM
Posts: 27
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No she's not pregnant; don't have any bucks. I've been calling around for a vet, which sounds like they will charge an arm and a leg, and am looking for a way to either take her to the vet or order the hoegger mastitis tests. Any other ideas as to what may be wrong would be appreciated. Thank you for your help!!!
__________________
See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of the world rather than on Christ.
Colossians 2:8
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06/27/12, 12:02 PM
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Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: kansas
Posts: 1,851
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How long has it smelled funny? How is the taste? We had a doe that her milk would go off when she cycled.
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Judy
Oat Bucket Farm
Central Kansas
The past is valuable as a guidepost, but not so if used as a hitching post.
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06/27/12, 12:32 PM
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More dharma, less drama.
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Join Date: May 2002
Location: Texas Coastal Bend/S. Missouri
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Do not take her to a vet. Do not order the CMT.
Read the sticky about sending off a sample. It's cheaper in the long run and gets you better results.
If you need the little sterile plastic bags for the sample, send me a private message with your mailing address, and I'll send some.
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Alice
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"No great thing is created suddenly." ~Epictitus
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06/27/12, 01:18 PM
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Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Utah
Posts: 2,164
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Becky- I don't use the SCC test as an "instead". I use the test weekly and if my goat shows signs of a blue color that concerns me I take a sample to my vet. He ships it off with whatever other specimens he has. My vet sells me the red topped specimen tubes for .10 each.
I like using the test weekly because if a goat shows a weak blue I can usually clear it up with herbs and homeopathics.
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06/27/12, 02:34 PM
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More dharma, less drama.
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That's exactly correct. The CMT and SSC count tests are to be used on a regular basis so you can spot a change. They are not diagnostic on one time use.
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Alice
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"No great thing is created suddenly." ~Epictitus
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06/27/12, 05:39 PM
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Ok. Still working on finding the most affordable test. Can't afford the overnight air. UPS said that would be $82.24, so trying to convince the local vet to send my sample in for testing without charging me for an exam. In the mean-time her milk doesn't smell fishy anymore. I don't know WHAT to think about that. Was it something bacterial that cleared itself up? Would you trust it raw now? ugh... so confused.
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See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of the world rather than on Christ.
Colossians 2:8
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06/27/12, 06:20 PM
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Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Utah
Posts: 2,164
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Do you have a college near you that does testing? Many of the colleges with vet programs do. A lot of people drive their tests in to save money.
Is there a website that tells you all of the testing labs?
As for the milk smell clearing up she could have kicked it on her own or could have been in heat like Prairiedog said. If she does it again in around 3 weeks then that's your problem.
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"Don't worry what people think, they don't do it very often" ~ Unknown
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06/27/12, 07:06 PM
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More dharma, less drama.
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Join Date: May 2002
Location: Texas Coastal Bend/S. Missouri
Posts: 30,482
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Ditto on calling the closest agricultural college.
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Alice
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"No great thing is created suddenly." ~Epictitus
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06/27/12, 09:21 PM
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Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 19,807
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Is it possible that she ate something (skunk cabbage?) that made the milk taste "off" but now has gone through her system? How long did the milk taste funny?
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Je ne suis pas Alice
http://homesteadingfamilies.proboards.com/
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06/27/12, 09:44 PM
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Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: N AL
Posts: 2,226
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I've also had off taste from plants they eat...
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06/28/12, 12:20 AM
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Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: OKlahhoma
Posts: 1,020
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Quote:
Originally Posted by andabigmac
. My vet sells me the red topped specimen tubes for .10 each.
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ENVY ---I had one of the vet supply places attempt to charge me 2.30 per tube a while back I laughed and walked out!!
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