Why goat milk smells unpleasant and how to quickly remove a fetid odor

Why does goat's milk sometimes smell like ammonia, drugs, mustiness or alcohol, although it shouldn't contain extraneous harsh aromas? The fact is that this product has the ability to quickly absorb all surrounding aromas, therefore, after a while, a similar shade acquires milk. The taste and smell of the product obtained from goats depend on the conditions in which the animals are kept, whether they have diseases and whether their diet is balanced.

Why does a goat smell like milk?

If milk has an unpleasant smell, then such a product should not be consumed until the cause is eliminated.

Ammonia smell

The strong smell of ammonia emanating from fresh milk is a consequence of the animal's illness:

1. Ketosis is a disease that occurs in the late pregnancy of a goat and during the first weeks of lactation, in which the animal loses weight, refuses food and water. The disease occurs due to malnutrition, in which metabolism is disturbed, and the concentration in the blood of ketone bodies in the form of acetoacetic acid or acetone increases. Ketosis is a threat to the health and life of the animal.
2. Acidosis is a disease that affects goats due to an improper diet with an excess of carbohydrates and crude fiber, or when the composition of the feed changes abruptly. In an acute form of acidosis, the animal may die.
3. Fascioliasis is an ailment provoked by fascioles, originating in the bile ducts of the liver. They can appear in the goat's body due to drinking water from stagnant bodies of water or eating grass in a wetland. The course of the disease has a detrimental effect on the health of the liver and the general condition of the body. With fascioliasis, the goat loses its appetite, becomes lethargic, and the body is depleted. These symptoms are often fatal.
4. Escherichia coli. When milked, contaminated milk will differ from normal milk by the amount of foam.

Take a look also

Description and characteristics of Kalakhara goats, rules of keeping

Drug

For prophylactic or therapeutic purposes, farmers often use drugs. Their presence in the goat's body affects the smell of milk. During the treatment of an animal, milk should not be consumed categorically.

Alcoholic

The main reason for the appearance of an alcoholic smell in goat milk is the high content of bacteria arising from non-observance of the daily hygiene of the animal or its keeping in unsanitary conditions, as well as when milk is stored in dirty collection containers at low temperatures.

Musty

The presence of an "old" smell, first of all, indicates that the milk was kept warm, and putrefactive bacteria began to form in it.

How to remove the smell of goat milk

To prevent a healthy drink from exuding an unpleasant aroma, you must follow simple rules:

1. It is important to stick to a goat milking schedule. The animal is milked three times in summer and twice in winter.
2. The goats should not be in the same room with the goat, because the pungent odor emanating from the male is transmitted to the goats and, as a result, to the milk.
3. Maintaining hygiene in the barn. The room must be ventilated and kept clean. In order to shorten the cleaning time, you can make an inclined floor, along the edge of which a gutter will run. With this option, it will be easy and quick to wash off the waste products of animals using a hose, and the stall will always be clean.
4. Hygiene during milking is equally important. To prevent the infection from leaking out, the udders should be washed with warm water before each milking.
5. Goat bedding should be changed daily.
6. Goats should be washed at least 2 times a week with warm water from a hose, once a month when bathing, use a specialized shampoo for animals.