Okay, this may be a ridiculous question but...can fat globules be disrupted and separated during milking from very strong milk streams?
I ask because I have had some issues with floaties/specks/tiny globs gunking up my filter and sticking to the sides of my filter strainer. I originally thought somatic cells from tissue ("meaty" udders softening) or from mastitis, but have used the porta scc tests and found that, although one doe does have a high count in one udder half, the other counts were well below 500,000... They stayed stark white so I'm assuming they are definitely below 250,000.
The only thing left that I can come up with is that maybe I'm milking too hard and fast? The does don't seem to mind it, I know I'm not hurting them.... In fact I started milking faster and harder to get them milked out before they ate too much and got antsy. I can milk out 6+ cups in somewhere around 5 minutes, which makes for lots of foam and also sounds pretty loud hitting the sides of the pail or the milk pool itself. Could I be disturbing the milk enough to be separating out fat globules? This is some seriously high butterfat milk, so it doesn't sound too far fetched to me - it doesn't take much shaking to make butter in a jar - but maybe I'm barking up the wrong tree again. It's driving me nuts, and I really need to solve this mystery of the slow straining milk that leaves clunks on the side of my strainer! It seems like maybe it started as I was starting to milk faster, but I don't keep detailed enough notes to know that for sure. I guess I could try going slow and have a lighter touch to see if it clears it up, and I am going to try that but it's hard to break my routine and I will also have a kicky doe on the stand by the end (& may lose a lot of the milk ;).
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Yeah, partly I just can't stand not being able to figure something out ;) ...it was SO easy to shake butter that I thought maybe some of the butterfat might be turning to butter just from the force of milking and foaming. I guess that might be a pretty far fetched theory, though.
I'm sorry you're not finding any real answers. Maybe your girl makes extra high fat milk? I'm just surmising with you now, so I don't really think this would be it. However, I have felt that the milk takes more time to filter as the lactation goes on, because it seems thicker with it's high fat content. I didn't know if I was imagining things or not. There's a gal on this forum, Glenna Rose, who has a doe who makes a ton of butter fat. Maybe ask her if she thinks the milk filters slower? Ask about seeing butterfat on the filter? Maybe she'll see this and chime in. Wish you were able to get more answers.
Well, this is driving me nuts! I'd be very curious to hear any theories... I guess I should post pictures. The scc tests were very low though (except one udder half in one doe, but the other doe's milk is doing it as well), so what on earth could these little globs be?! My only other theory is that they have been foraging on acorns... But I still don't know what they are, even if they are caused by the acorns. I really am going a bit nuts over this.
I feel like that wouldn't happen. I have a couple of does who make quite a bit of foam from the milk stream hitting the milk so hard, but I've never had anything like that happen. Of course, I haven't had an issue with the filter clogging, so I haven't looked that hard at the filter...
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I would def. like to see pictures!!
I'm sorry you're not finding any real answers. Maybe your girl makes extra high fat milk? I'm just surmising with you now, so I don't really think this would be it. However, I have felt that the milk takes more time to filter as the lactation goes on, because it seems thicker with it's high fat content. I didn't know if I was imagining things or not. There's a gal on this forum, Glenna Rose, who has a doe who makes a ton of butter fat. Maybe ask her if she thinks the milk filters slower? Ask about seeing butterfat on the filter? Maybe she'll see this and chime in. Wish you were able to get more answers.
Hi Rebekah,
I feel like that wouldn't happen. I have a couple of does who make quite a bit of foam from the milk stream hitting the milk so hard, but I've never had anything like that happen. Of course, I haven't had an issue with the filter clogging, so I haven't looked that hard at the filter...