My toggenberg birthed twin girls on 3/25. She's up to a gallon/day already and for the first time in her 8 year life I am finding traces of blood in the bottom of the glass jars of milk after they have sat for 8 hour or more. It's a small amount and nothing shows up on the screen during the first squirts. One book I read said to cut down on her milking to try to speed up healing and also get a blood clotting agent from the vet. In the "Goat Barn" on this forum the advice has been to milk her more. I've cut her grain to almost nothing, but she's still giving a gallon on just hay, grass, and butternut squash.

Any tips or advice?

-- Kathy (redfernfarm@lisco.com), April 03, 2000

Answers

Hi Kathy. Traces of blood as you have found aren't uncommon in a heavy milker or even one just beginning lactation as your doe is. Years ago, when I first noticed it, a knowledgable-about-goats vet at the University of Missouri told me to milk her out as much as possible because the tiny capillaries in the udder were leaking from the heavy production. Also when the pressure of the milk in the udder began to equal the doe's blood pressure, it became worse. He said to milk her even 3 times a day if possible, use hot compresses and gentle massage to milk her out completely. It doesn't really do anything to the milk except add a little protein but it isn't too appetizing, is it, especially if you have guests for dinner who aren't too keen on goat milk. Good luck and pat her for being such a good milker for me.

-- marilyn (rainbow@ktis.net), April 03, 2000.

How long has this been going on for? It may be too that she could have injured her udder or teats and the blood is a result of that. Mastitus is also another concern here... but lets not worry about that right away. I would not recommend cutting the grain as that might hurt her even more. I would apply warm compresses to bag or teats and milk as gently as possible. Are there any other specific symptoms you can see?

-- Bernice (geminigoats@yahoo.com), April 03, 2000.

Marylin had a great answer for you, and you should be warned that the milk can even have alot more than just a residue in it at the bottom of a jar after setting. It can come out pink! You would not want to cut the feed, grain, back in her diet, because then you are asking for milk fever from not enough protein and energy. You have a great milker there! Just keep the udder empty! Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), April 03, 2000.

Thanks for the pointers. I'll get her back on full grain and start milking her three times a day. Who knows, she might go up to 1 1/2 gallons. She is a great homestead goat. Gentle with human and goat kids. She has no other symptoms though did show a reluctance to get up on the milkstand before this all started. Maybe she injured a teat back then.

Thanks again.

-- Kathy (redfernfarm@lisco.com), April 03, 2000.

Kathy, allthe advice is the same as mine, you have a nice little Togg there, and by now the blood should be gone cause it usually takes a week or so for it to heal itself. Glad you put her back on her feed. I have found that most vets do not know squat about dairygoats. Hopefully that will change with a lot of the younger vets getting interested in them. Around here the vets would get offended if you brought your goat into them. Sure wish I had a good vet like the one I had in Tennesse. karen

-- Karen Mauk (dairygoatmama@hotmail.com), April 04, 2000.

My Oberhasli had traces of blood in her milk, too. I was not the most regular of milkers, and if she had to go an hour or so past time, it would happen. Also, if I fed her something like beets that increased her production, I would get the traces again. They all came out in the filter, though, so I didn't have anything on the bottom of the milk jar to gross out my family and guests. Also, I got a California Mastitis Test that they use with cows. Goats will typically show a slight positive, and hers was never more than that, but the mastitis test gave me great peace of mind.

-- Laura Jensen (lrjensen@nwlink.com), April 06, 2000.

Laura the sugar beets you feed are actually a trick used to increase butterfat for tests. You can purchase dried beat pulp at the feed store, (it is sort of ugly, grey dried up stuff) but the girls love it, you can feed it dry or you can put it in a bucket and add water, sort of rehydrating it. Works like a charm, especially for just fresh does, in lieu of giving molassas water to increase their blood sugar. Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), April 06, 2000.