Milking must be done with the strictest cleanliness and sanitation possible to ensure udder health and high quality milk. After talking to many local  professionals (experienced goat breeders, cow dairy workers, and veterinarians) over the years, we have adopted the following milking procedures. Since adopting these procedures we have had extremely low Somatic Cell Counts in all of our does, and have had no cases of clinical or subclinical mastitis.

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A. Pre-Milking Procedures

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1. Gloves- We wear gloves to guarantee any bacteria on our hands does not make contact with the doe's udder. Did you know? Staph can be found on most people's hands and can cause serious problems for a dairy animal.

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2.Milk Check Teat Wipes- One wipe is used per doe to wipe debris and fine dirt off the teats. Teats are wiped in a downward motion.

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3. Dairyland Iodine with Glycerin Teat Dip- Teats are dipped completely in the teat dip, and the iodine drips off for a minimum of 30 seconds. Iodine must be given at least 30 seconds to sterilize the surface of the skin. Added glycerin ensures the teat skin does not become dry and cracked, which can lead to infection. 

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4. Paper Towel Wipe- One paper towel per doe is used to wipe off the teat dip, no longer than 60 seconds after the iodine teat dip is applied. Teats are wiped in a downward motion.

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5. Inflations ON!- Within 15 seconds of the iodine teat dip being wiped off, the inflations of the automatic milker must be attached to the teat. This guarantees pathogens in the air or any dusty conditions do not re-contaminate the teat surface.

 

 

B. Milking Procedures​​​

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1. Full Milk Out- The Automatic Milker is watched and does are never left unattended on the stand. Any unusual noises/air introductions into the lines must be avoided to guarantee the milk in the inflations is removed away from the teat orifice. The addition of air around the top of the inflation will cause microscopic milk droplets to spray back up towards the orifice and may cause subclinical mastitis.

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2. Inflation Removal- Once the machine removes all milk from the udder that it can, the suction is turned off of the milker immediately. Machines that are left on teats for an unnecessary length of time increase the possibility of burst blood vessels in the teat or mastitis. Inflations are left alone until they de-tach from the teat naturally. Inflations are NEVER forcibly removed! Any removal of the inflation while there is still a slight suction will cause microscopic milk droplets to re-enter the teat orifice and may cause subclinical mastitis.

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C. Post-Milking Procedures

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1. Fight Bac Teat Spray- Within 15 seconds of the inflations being removed from the teat end, Fight Bac Teat Spray is sprayed liberally and forcibly onto the end of the teat. Full teat tip coverage must be obtained to guarantee excess milk is sprayed off of the teat, and any remaining is dripped off the teat in the spray. Fight Bac uses chlorohexidine which kills both gram positive and gram negative bacteria. With the help of the aerosol spray, it also quickly cools the teat orifice which encourages the orifice to close after milking, reducing infection from external contaminants. Goats are kept on the milk stand for a minimum of 60 seconds after the application of Fight Bac to allow the orifice time to close before being put back into their pen.

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D. Automatic Milker Sanitation

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1. Inflations are first flushed with water to remove remaining milk from the lines.

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2. Inflations are attached to a recirculating pump that is placed in a 1 gallon bucket of hot soapy water. We use high quality dish soap and allow the soapy water to run through the lines for a minimum of 5 minutes to help remove milk fat particles from the lines. At the end of 5 minutes, a large brush is used to scrub the inside of the inflations.

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3. Inflations, pump, and bucket are rinsed of soapy water.

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4. Inflations are re-attached to the pump that is placed in a 1 gallon bucket of cool bleach water (1/4 cup per gallon of water for sanitation). Bleach water is ran through the lines for a minimum of 6 minutes to guarantee the bleach has enough time to steralize the lines.

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5. Lines are hung to dry.

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NOTE: "It's not clean until it is dry" is a saying in the dairy industry that we follow. Bacteria such as pseudomonas lives in water, and so our inflations are not used until they are thoroughly dry. We have purchased multiple sets of inflations and lines so that we always have a sanitized, dry set to use for each milking session.

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