What are thoughts on teat dip? I have been using a wipe before milking and nothing after. Do people generally use a teat dip and if so what do you use?
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What are thoughts on teat dip? I have been using a wipe before milking and nothing after. Do people generally use a teat dip and if so what do you use?
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I use two clean washcloths on each goat, the first wet to clean and the second dry to dry. Then I do the pre-strip to clear the teat. After milking, I clean and dry again then dip the teat in iodine but only if there are no kids nursing. Someone here suggested a small aspirin bottle for dipping - it works great.
(Yes, I go through a lot of washcloths but this is a good use for old towels, etc. They can be any terrycloth fabric in washcloth sizes.)
Do I see a video in our future!?
We just use a wet washcloth, but we use a clean quarter of the cloth for each goat. I initially was using a washcloth for every goat, but after a few goats, that creates a lot of washing, so my daughter (who is now an engineer) came up with a method of folding the washcloth so that we'd know which quarter(s) had been used. It's complicated to explain in person, so I'm sorry I can't even begin to explain it here. LOL!
I have a little Tupperware type bowl that I put my soapy water in, and have cut flour sack cloths into small, "wipe" sized pieces. I have enough for a fresh wash cloth for each doe, so no doe uses the same wipe as another. I put warm, soapy water and the cloths into the bowl with a lid before I head out to milk. When I'm done, I scrub the washcloths with hot soapy water back in the kitchen. I also bleach them occasionally. (but never put bleach in my teat wash) Hang to dry.
While I'm milking, I place the used washcloths to the side of the teat wash solution tub (I don't put the dirty ones back in the clean water) until I'm done milking everyone. That way, I don't cross contaminate dirty wash clothes with the clean ones, or the clean soap water mix. Once I'm totally done, THEN I put all the cloths back into the soap water, but only to take it all back into the house for washing.
Bev Sieminski, Winding Rvr Farm said:
If you use a wash cloth - wouldn't it get pretty dirty after a couple of does? I really like the idea of a clean wipe for each animal and I don't have to bother with bowls of wash water. I also keep paper towels at the stand so I can wipe their udder dry if it should be pretty wet from the wipe cloth.
It costs a little to buy the wipes and spray but is also very convenient and sanitary so that makes it worth it for me.
I use Dr Bronner's Peppermint castile liquid soap-- just a squirt in a wide mouth thermos of very warm water with a wash cloth in it. I wash the udder with the warm water and soap, strip the teat, and then milk. I have not used a teat dip. Two of my girls have kids on them but one does not. Wondering if I should dip hers? I would never use bleach on my girl's udders even in a heavily diluted solution. Their skin is so soft and supple I would be concerned about drying them out. The Dr Bronner's doesn't dry the skin at all and the peppermint is great for helping with milk let-down.
I use the udder wipes that come in a roll that go into the pail -you pull one at a time. I think that it is clorahexadine that is on them. I also use the Fight Bac spray for the teats for after milking on does with no babies only. The girls that have a little one still nursing get no spray. I would not want to use any clorox or dawn on them, I would be concerned about drying out their skin like Rachel said. It sure drys my hands and causes my nails to crack. I use it for cleaning my bottles and the milking hoses. - I have not so far experienced any dry teats or mastitis problems, never had any cracking skin on my girls.
The only thing I get right now is a few catches on their bag from the blackberries they are going after. I make sure I wipe those well and if needed put a little healing salve on the scratch.
If you use a wash cloth - wouldn't it get pretty dirty after a couple of does? I really like the idea of a clean wipe for each animal and I don't have to bother with bowls of wash water. I also keep paper towels at the stand so I can wipe their udder dry if it should be pretty wet from the wipe cloth.
It costs a little to buy the wipes and spray but is also very convenient and sanitary so that makes it worth it for me.
Sometimes the cows were so muddy I WANTED to just hose them off. The dairy owners preferred to limit the use of water because splashing a lot of water around just splashes germs around. They had a point. We did our best with paper towels. Iodine dips were given before and after the milking. Some days I used a LOT of paper towels. This mostly kept dirty water from getting into the inflations. This particular diary was organic, but the milk was pasturized.
Great job. I've long since moved, but I still miss it.
Years ago I worked part time at a raw cow's milk dairy. The cows would come in covered with mud -Oregon rains for months. They would be up to their udders on the pathway in to the milk area -they were hosed off and the milker stuck on them. Turned my stomach. All that dripping cleaning water must have gone into the milk!! Never did know what was in the cleaning water - maybe bleach? Yum!!
I didn't work in that area - but could see thru a window to the milking circle. Had a goat then also -I knew better how to be clean about it. This was a certified raw milk dairy. Makes you wonder about the products we buy.
I am also not a big fan of Clorox, since it has come out that it is not even really good for our health. It is not even supposed to be used on septic systems.
I just recently came across a recipe for homemade bleach. In this link you will find a recipe for homemade bleach and disinfectant, among other things that can be made a home for cheaper: http://www.homemadehomeideas.com/35-things-you-should-be-making-not...
I also came across a recipe for a natural teat dip using essential oils, but I cannot find it. But I guess you could come up with your own recipe, it just a matter of figuring out what essential oils are natural disinfectants.
I bet it's a HUGE change from a commercial dairy, and cows too! Cows are kinda dirty beasts... lol Even on clean pasture. I can imagine how much worse they are in wet Winter conditions!! I don't really have pasture either, because the goats have eaten it all down.
I worried about Mastitis too, but this is my second year milking and breeding on my farm, and so far, we haven't had any issues without bleach. I just keep in mind that my conditions aren't as dirty as commercial dairies, and the studies that show over cleaning in the HOME with antibacterial soap, etc. isn't actually better for you... So along those lines, I maintain a clean barn, a clean milking station, and clean milking supplies, and try to remember that bacteria can also come in good forms. I figure by not killing EVERYTHING, I'm actually helping my goat's immune systems handle the little things. ;) At least that's what I tell myself. lol
Of course it's all what you're comfortable with, but that's how my thinking on the matter is. :)
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