ldawntaylor
Loving the herd life
at first I thought these should go in the milking section. But then, they have as much to do with handling as with the use of milk. Anyway, sorry if this is the wrong section. Yes, the post is a bit long. And yes, many may already know this stuff - it is just common sense after all. But, there are those who haven't milked at all or in a long time. And these reminders don't hurt the experienced people either. Perhaps, this is an inservice for goatkeepers as well as other dairy animals.
The time spent milking is a perfect opportunity to observe your goat for anything out of the ordinary. Seeing these changes can help you catch problems a little earlier.
Simple things like "is the udder warmer than usual?" Or, "is one of the teats warmer than the other?" It is possible the goat was just laying on that side or laying down just moments before you started milking...but it may be the beginings of mastitis too.
Another thing to observe..do the hooves need trimmed? Just like people a goats hooves grow at different rates and are worn down at different rates - think of your own finger nails. So, trimming at set intervals may not work for that animal.
One important question to ask yourself "Is this goat eating like normal?" If not she may just be full of browse/hay or she may just be distracted by something. But, being off her feed may be a symptom of a problem.
For example, in looking over my doe this morning. Her coat is getting shiny and the winter coat is mostly shed so that is good. I do need to trim her hooves soon especially one of the back ones. But, she did not eat very much - it is possible her kid was distracting her. Add the not eating to her breathing not sounding normal and I know I need to watch this goat closely. It is possible she has simply caught a cold or something but if she starts running a fever too it may be the beginings of an infection. I will have to check on her later today.
One of the most important things about milking or just feeding your animals. Wash your hands especially if you are around other people during the day. Washing before helps protect your animals from you and others. Washing after helps to protect you from them and the germs they carry.
A few years ago I was having regular issues with mastitis. I tried every thing I could think of and then I made the connection. Sure it takes time to change clothes and wash properly after work. But, staph infections are common in my work place and one way staph shows up in goats is as mastitis. Everyone has staph on their hands but contact with other people means you have their staph on you as well. Your does are used to the staph from you but not the strains from others. Too much of the germ is a problem anyway.
And just so you know. There have been a few studies now that indicate those hand sanitizing gels only work if they are on your hands long enough to dry completely before touching anything else. Also, with frequent use of hand sanitizing gels the incidence of MRSA goes up. I'm not sure I got the spelling right but it basically means the staph infection can't be killed by common antibiotics and maybe not the stronger ones either.
So over all plain ol' handwashing is the best. At least that is what I believe.
I just wanted to share this because I believe these things to be important.
Lisa
The time spent milking is a perfect opportunity to observe your goat for anything out of the ordinary. Seeing these changes can help you catch problems a little earlier.
Simple things like "is the udder warmer than usual?" Or, "is one of the teats warmer than the other?" It is possible the goat was just laying on that side or laying down just moments before you started milking...but it may be the beginings of mastitis too.
Another thing to observe..do the hooves need trimmed? Just like people a goats hooves grow at different rates and are worn down at different rates - think of your own finger nails. So, trimming at set intervals may not work for that animal.
One important question to ask yourself "Is this goat eating like normal?" If not she may just be full of browse/hay or she may just be distracted by something. But, being off her feed may be a symptom of a problem.
For example, in looking over my doe this morning. Her coat is getting shiny and the winter coat is mostly shed so that is good. I do need to trim her hooves soon especially one of the back ones. But, she did not eat very much - it is possible her kid was distracting her. Add the not eating to her breathing not sounding normal and I know I need to watch this goat closely. It is possible she has simply caught a cold or something but if she starts running a fever too it may be the beginings of an infection. I will have to check on her later today.
One of the most important things about milking or just feeding your animals. Wash your hands especially if you are around other people during the day. Washing before helps protect your animals from you and others. Washing after helps to protect you from them and the germs they carry.
A few years ago I was having regular issues with mastitis. I tried every thing I could think of and then I made the connection. Sure it takes time to change clothes and wash properly after work. But, staph infections are common in my work place and one way staph shows up in goats is as mastitis. Everyone has staph on their hands but contact with other people means you have their staph on you as well. Your does are used to the staph from you but not the strains from others. Too much of the germ is a problem anyway.
And just so you know. There have been a few studies now that indicate those hand sanitizing gels only work if they are on your hands long enough to dry completely before touching anything else. Also, with frequent use of hand sanitizing gels the incidence of MRSA goes up. I'm not sure I got the spelling right but it basically means the staph infection can't be killed by common antibiotics and maybe not the stronger ones either.
So over all plain ol' handwashing is the best. At least that is what I believe.
I just wanted to share this because I believe these things to be important.
Lisa