[lockewood_lady]

We took one of our goats to be bred but she wasn't quite receptive to the buck so we left her there for about 4 days. Since then her milk production has dropped significantly and the milk is very thick but smells and tastes fine. They said that they milked her but as I was not there and do not know of their practices I cant say what happened during that time. As it is late in the season and her production is pretty low I will begin to dry her off.

My question is why would her milk be thick and is that indicative of a problem? I've never noticed the milk being thick during the drying up before.

 

[ksalvagno]

I would be testing her for mastitis.

 

[lockewood_lady]

I haven't had to deal with mastitis yet thank goodness. I do not have a test kit but just ordered one, of course it will take awhile to get here. Is there anything I can do in the meantime. Also the reading that I have done doesn't mention thick milk for mastitis. My gut feeling is that it is not mastitis but that is probably just wishful thinking. Are there any other causes of thick milk that anyone knows of?

 

[Scottyhorse]

Try this mastitis test.

http://www.thegoatspot.net/forum/f183/cheapest-mastitis-test-you-will-ever-find-107021/

 

[liz]

If I start to dry mine off and do a final milkout to empty udders, the milk is slightly thicker, it's entirely possible that she wasn't milked in those 4 days away.

 

[lockewood_lady]

Thank you Liz that does help.

I did the quick mastitis test from the previous test and was negative. Will repeat when I get CMT that I ordered.

Also to clarify thick milk: It is not chunky or off in color or flavor. It is just thick enough to make it take much longer to filter and I can see that it leaves a much thicker layer on the side of the milk bucket than milk of my other goats.

 

[mjs500doo]

When they decrease in milk, their milk is thicker in general. Reason being is that fat content remains the same throughout the duration of lactation. So when they go down in milk, it essentially condenses.