I am seeing a few tiny clear to whitish flecks on my strip cup screen and quite a bit on my milk filters. No signs of mastitis, and the cmt was tough for me to read. I ordered a portacheck test, and hope it will be here soon. What it really looks like is the dead skin cells that float on bath water after exfoliating - sorry for the gross comparison, but that is exactly what it is like; they are so tiny but will also clump or smear together, like a film of cells. Could udder congestion that is clearing up be sloughing mammary cell tissue into the milk? She had a "meaty" or congested udder that has been steadily softening/ clearing up, and now the milk is seeming gunked up with tissue type debris, it is so strange. I am really confused about this, especially since it will probably read as high scc even if it isn't infection because all body cells (not just white blood cells) will read as somatic cells, right?
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Since I asked the question I have given her a second BoSe shot. Each time I give the shot within 2 days her milk is totally clear. It lasts a week or so before I get any more stuff on the filter. Then it gradually starts to show up randomly. It seems like it might be a deficiency. A breeder on my other list said he now gives the BoSe every 3 months and his goats are doing much better overall.
I never did figure it out. It still happens every now and then. The scc tests (I use the porta check tests for goats... SO much easier to use than cmt) always come back fine. I'm thinking either something in diet/graze or possibly if they have some trauma to udder from running, jumping, or ramming. It's still a mystery, but it doesn't seem to be an issue and isn't happening as frequently or intensely as it was last summer. I'm glad to hear it isn't just my doe(s). Maybe it is a mini "thing", since I've only seen it in one or two (?) of my mini Nubians. Definitely let me know of you figure it out!
Did you ever figure out what is going on with stuff on the filters? I think I have the same problem with a mini Saanen doe. The strip cup will be clean but when filtering the milk I get this soft white stuff-tiny like you describe. Some days nothing and some more and some a lot. Her CMT has always shown normal. No symptoms other than this. I am trying to save some to take to the vet. Every time it is bad it is a holiday. I had her milk tested by the dairy test people with two different tests (they skipped somatic since I did CMT) and they said everything is fine. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Ok... This is SO weird! So one of my does (both in question are mini nubian) has a high count in her right half (which is "meaty" and has been since she got here). My other mini nubian doe and my nigerian dwarf in milk are both reading very low (strips are still totally white with 10 min to go). Even with this test I'm questioning operator error - I had the samples in the fridge for about a half hour before the package came... Maybe I didn't let them warm all the way to room temp, but the one sample is definitely reading properly and high.
The doe's milk who I was originally posting about (whose udder and production have improved since she came) filtered MUCH faster today and had fewer floaties/ blobs, but I still saw some.
What in the HECK are these tiny blobs?! Are they possibly fat globules or something?? Even if they were mammary tissue sloughing, that would still read as high SCC on the portacheck, right?
I am beyond confused now. I'm relieved in one sense that they aren't all off the charts on SCC,
Did you ever figure out what is going on with stuff on the filters? I think I have the same problem with a mini Saanen doe. The strip cup will be clean but when filtering the milk I get this white stuff-tiny like you describe. Some days nothing and some more and some a lot. Her CMT has always shown normal. No symptoms other than this. I am trying to save some to take to the vet. Every time it is bad it is a holiday. I had her milk tested by the dairy test people and they said everything is fine. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
And, as a postscript, isn't it pretty odd that the strips on 5 of the 6 tests are stark white after 45 minutes?? Oh boy, maybe I messed them up somehow. Looks like I will be re-testing tomorrow for sure.
Ok... This is SO weird! So one of my does (both in question are mini nubian) has a high count in her right half (which is "meaty" and has been since she got here). My other mini nubian doe and my nigerian dwarf in milk are both reading very low (strips are still totally white with 10 min to go). Even with this test I'm questioning operator error - I had the samples in the fridge for about a half hour before the package came... Maybe I didn't let them warm all the way to room temp, but the one sample is definitely reading properly and high.
The doe's milk who I was originally posting about (whose udder and production have improved since she came) filtered MUCH faster today and had fewer floaties/ blobs, but I still saw some.
What in the HECK are these tiny blobs?! Are they possibly fat globules or something?? Even if they were mammary tissue sloughing, that would still read as high SCC on the portacheck, right?
I am beyond confused now. I'm relieved in one sense that they aren't all off the charts on SCC, but I will probably test again tomorrow with milk that never went in the fridge. Should the milk be filtered before testing? I assumed not, as the filter catches a lot - though not all - of these tiny blobs. Good thing I got the 40 pack, because knowing myself I'm going to rip through these tests!
These goats and their milk have gotten my borderline OCD tendencies triggered big time.... Maybe they can help me work through it. lol!
Well, this doe is a mini Nubian (I don't think I mentioned that in this particular thread)... She is a first freshener, so it's still pretty impressive and I'm really excited to see what she does next year. I do also have a 4 year old ND (Castle Rock) doe due in a few weeks who is supposed to put out 6+ cups at each milking before she hits the top of her milking curve. We are looking forward to seeing what she does for us on the stand... but it looks like she is going to have 4 or 5 kids, so we probably won't be taking any of her milk until they wean. She will be my first kidding experience, so I'm a little nervous about quads or quints!
I wish these tests were more common / widely known... I would have loved to have had them from day 1. I'm also suddenly wondering if this strange phenomenon could be due to overeating acorns?? She has been hunting for them like kids for candy at easter, and she's found the motherload under a huge oak in the pasture. It is just so strange to have a case of mastitis where production continues to increase and there's also no heat or swelling. I get that low grade infections might not be obvious, but I thought that even subclinical mastitis always decreased production. No?
In any event, I will definitely post updates about the test and anything else I can figure out. This forum has definitely been one of the most helpful online resources I've found! :)
Yeah, I really wish I had it already because I suspect that the salve combined with the 3x/day garlic infusion drench will be very effective, so I will probably never know just high the count was at its peak. Her production continues to climb (up to 6 1/2 cups this morning from 6 cups the past week or 2, and up from 4 1/2 when she arrived)... It's a very peculiar situation. I will definitely post updates about the garlic tea and the test results!
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Since I asked the question I have given her a second BoSe shot. Each time I give the shot within 2 days her milk is totally clear. It lasts a week or so before I get any more stuff on the filter. Then it gradually starts to show up randomly. It seems like it might be a deficiency. A breeder on my other list said he now gives the BoSe every 3 months and his goats are doing much better overall.
Did you ever figure out what is going on with stuff on the filters? I think I have the same problem with a mini Saanen doe. The strip cup will be clean but when filtering the milk I get this soft white stuff-tiny like you describe. Some days nothing and some more and some a lot. Her CMT has always shown normal. No symptoms other than this. I am trying to save some to take to the vet. Every time it is bad it is a holiday. I had her milk tested by the dairy test people with two different tests (they skipped somatic since I did CMT) and they said everything is fine. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Rebekah said:
The doe's milk who I was originally posting about (whose udder and production have improved since she came) filtered MUCH faster today and had fewer floaties/ blobs, but I still saw some.
What in the HECK are these tiny blobs?! Are they possibly fat globules or something?? Even if they were mammary tissue sloughing, that would still read as high SCC on the portacheck, right?
I am beyond confused now. I'm relieved in one sense that they aren't all off the charts on SCC, but I will probably test again tomorrow with milk that never went in the fridge. Should the milk be filtered before testing? I assumed not, as the filter catches a lot - though not all - of these tiny blobs. Good thing I got the 40 pack, because knowing myself I'm going to rip through these tests!
These goats and their milk have gotten my borderline OCD tendencies triggered big time.... Maybe they can help me work through it. lol!
I wish these tests were more common / widely known... I would have loved to have had them from day 1. I'm also suddenly wondering if this strange phenomenon could be due to overeating acorns?? She has been hunting for them like kids for candy at easter, and she's found the motherload under a huge oak in the pasture. It is just so strange to have a case of mastitis where production continues to increase and there's also no heat or swelling. I get that low grade infections might not be obvious, but I thought that even subclinical mastitis always decreased production. No?
In any event, I will definitely post updates about the test and anything else I can figure out. This forum has definitely been one of the most helpful online resources I've found! :)
Wow! That's excellent production! :) I bet you're right about the salve and garlic tea. At least you'll have the tests for the future now.
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