Does this milk look ok?

[Moody]

I know it isn't a good pic but hopefully shows what I'm talking about.

It seems oily? And the tiny bits on the side of the container.....

I pasteurized this right after milking this morning. And I did a mastitis test strip last night and no color change.

 

[Moody]

I guess it could be from having it sit in ice bath in stainless steel.... Maybe it is simply cold?

 

[Ridgetop]

I would redo the mastitis test. I would also toss the milk. Chilling in stainless container in ice bath would not cause oiliness or clumping. Clumping in milk is usually a sign of mastitis. Why did you test her? Was she showing signs of mastitis? It could be you caught it early and it didn't show up as positive on the test but the clumps showed up in the milk when you pasteurized.

If this was first milking after a mastitis treatment, it could be leftover meds from udder. I would definitely do another test. Let us know what happens.

 

[babsbag]

I know that with the CMT the results don't always show up the first time you suspect that there is a problem. You have been milking her for a while now so if the milk looks different all of a sudden I would be suspicious.

 

[Moody]

It didn't look any different in the strip cup. I have the aluminum strip cup with a mesh lid.

Hopefully I can find some pics of mastitis milk online. And I will redo the test. I also must look up treatment.

 

[babsbag]

Did you test her after you saw this milk or was there something else that made you question her milk?

 

[Moody]

I have tested her milk to make sure the tests work.

I tested this time because I see the twirlers in the milk and it seems to be chunking up. That could be cause it could be nearly frozen.

 

[Ridgetop]

Did you test her milk when you milked her? I don't know if the CMT will work on frozen milk. If she tests positive you will to do udder infusions. There are several types of medications. The test kit I always used had a double paddle - one side for each teat. If the test was positive the milk got thick and in bad cases separated into stringy clumps. If her milk is stringy and chunky when you milk her, then don't use the milk and test again.

 

[Moody]

The first tests I always did right before I milked into my Pail.

I did one test on refrigerated cold milk.

I did another test last night. I have 4 spots on my test cards. One for each quadrant of a cow. But it says will work for goats too. I strip out a few squirts then put a squirt into the black area and let it run to the yellow/orange dot which turns blue when mastitis bacteria is detected. It is yellow with slight greenish tint which is negative. Black area shows no flakes.

Her udder is neither warmer than normal nor does she have any lumps. Just the clumps on the glass. And it looks swirly/oily (maybe that is just normal cream??). She eats heartily and does not seem to be in pain. The milk is not clumpy in my bucket, just on the jar....and in my glass I drink.

 

[Southern by choice]

Are you using the California Mastitis Test or the little cards from Dr Naylors? If they are the little Dr Naylor cards they are useless.