Why does a goat give salted milk and what to do, how to prevent the problem
Various dietary products can be prepared from goat milk - cottage cheese, kefir, cheese. It is pleasant to drink fresh milk, which does not have unusual tastes or odors. Situations often occur when the steamed product has a strange color and consistency. Many housewives are worried about why a goat's milk is sometimes salty. This disadvantage can arise for various reasons.
Why does a goat have salty milk?
Various factors can influence the standard color and flavor of goat milk. The most common:
- animal disease. Most often, a salty taste occurs with mastitis. Symptoms of inflammation: enlargement of the mammary gland 2-3 times, the temperature rises in the affected half, and redness appears. A specific sweet-sugary aftertaste can also be a sign of illness;
- poor feeding ration - tree foliage, bush branches;
- inadequate living conditions - poorly ventilated room, dirty bedding and food containers.
The salinity of a fresh product is most often seen in older goats. An unusual taste of milk also appears after the lambing of females or in the first / last days of lactation, which is explained by an increase in salts in colostrum. Sometimes hormonal changes in animals caused by the dry period also provoke the appearance of salts in milk.
What to do in this case?
It is impossible to change the taste of milk by simple boiling. When a specific taste appears, you need to find out the reasons for its appearance. In order to detect mastitis in a timely manner, it is recommended to show the animal to a veterinarian. Otherwise, if you start the disease, you can lose the goat.
The appearance of salinity is often caused by the prenatal state of the goat - starting. Pregnancy lasts 5 months and a salty milk taste may appear about a month before giving birth. Salinity usually disappears naturally about a month after giving birth.
If the taste is not related to mastitis or pregnancy, then the diet should be reviewed. In summer it is recommended to graze the goat on the herbs. You can feed a whole grain mixture (barley, corn, wheat). Sprouted grain of barley, wheat, fruit drying (apples, pear) are used as additives. Of course, in this way the taste of the product cannot be changed in 2-3 days, but this is a sure way to improve its quality.
How to prevent a problem from arising?
Salty milk may appear if the goat has not been milked for 7-10 days. With such a break, milk stagnates in the goat's udder, which affects the taste. You need to solve the problem gradually. And in the future, you should not leave the goat for a long time without proper care.
If the appearance of salinity is associated with mastitis, then the causes of its occurrence must be eliminated. Inflammation of the mammary gland causes reduced immunity, endometritis. It is necessary to eliminate the risk of mechanical damage to the udder: cuts, bruises, lack of hygiene. Dirty litter, drafts, cold floors also provoke inflammation.
It's important to take the time to review your diet. Before lambing, straw is removed from the feed because of the low nutritional value, and the grain of wheat or barley is crushed. Digestion pathologies, changes in the taste of milk are caused by feeding animals a large amount of silage (especially sour), concentrates, rotten hay. To milk the goat after lambing, the diet is formed from meadow hay, vegetables (carrots, beets, turnips), barley straw, corn silage.
Goat milk is superior in quality to cow's milk and has medicinal properties. The taste of milk is determined by a number of factors: the breed of the animal, age, feeding and maintenance. The quality of the product can be corrected only by revising the diet, improving the conditions of detention.
