# home made teat dip



## goatskeeper (May 14, 2010)

hello,
do you suggest a home made teat dip?

for now i dont uses any thing before/after milking.


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## FunnyRiverFarm (Sep 13, 2008)

*Re: home made tit dip*

1 part bleach / 10 parts water works fine and is inexpensive. Mix a small amount fresh each day. Dip the teat and let the mixture dry on the teat...don't wipe or rinse it off.

If the doe is still nursing babies then you don't really need to dip the teats.


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## glenolam (Jul 20, 2010)

*Re: home made tit dip*

I have a non-home made teat dip....baby wipes! Yes, it's not the most inexpensive treatment, but it works for me!


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## goatskeeper (May 14, 2010)

*Re: home made tit dip*



FunnyRiverFarm said:


> 1 part bleach / 10 parts water works fine and is inexpensive. Mix a small amount fresh each day. Dip the teat and let the mixture dry on the teat...don't wipe or rinse it off.


is "bleach" the same as "javel water==sodium hypochlorite" ?



FunnyRiverFarm said:


> If the doe is still nursing babies then you don't really need to dip the teats.


my doe does not nurse kids, i bought her without her two kids.


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## elchivito (Apr 18, 2010)

I bought a gallon of Iodophor concentrated dairy teat sanitizer at least 5 years ago. It is laboratory tested to kill all the nasties including EColi and Listeria. I mix according to directions, 1/2 teaspoon per quart of warm water. We use it in a spray bottle. Heavy spray to wash, paper towel dry, one towel per teat, milk, respray, drip dry. It cost 36 dollars for the gallon, but I still have at least 2 thirds of the gallon left and we milk about 4 goats a year. Mastitis is your only concern if you're not keeping your milk, but if you're drinking it or worse, selling it or giving it to others, homemade teat dips or baby wipes are asking for trouble in my opinion. Bleach is very drying, and if you're using enough of it to do any good you're drying out your milkers' teats and may end up with cracked or split teats. Baby wipes are just wishful thinking. "I've never had a problem" is like flipping heads 50 times in a row, doesn't increase your odds of flipping heads again the 51st time. My 2 cents. Take it or leave it.


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## maple hill farm tina (Mar 14, 2010)

I do use the recipe for homemade teat dip on FiasCo Farm's website. It also has bleach in it. In the winter time here, though, I really have to coat my girls with bag balm afterward or they do dry out and get chapped. Bag Balm is also antiseptic, too, so I feel like they're getting a double dose of germ killer that way.
-Tina


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

Yes, goatskeeper...sodium hypochlorite is bleach,

:wink: Remember all, goatskeeper is in Algeria, not alot of "common" things we use are available to him by the name we know them by :wink: 

Diluting it the way FRF suggested is good, and better than nothing if you don't have access to the commercial teat dips. Once the solution is dry though be sure and keep watch of your girls udder for irritation and dryness, if that happens, just stop using it and wash her down with a mild antibacterial soap solution.


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## PznIvyFarm (Jul 25, 2010)

elchivito said:


> I bought a gallon of Iodophor concentrated dairy teat sanitizer at least 5 years ago.


Did you buy it online, or did your feed store carry it?

I have never special ordered stuff as much from my feed store as i have done lately with the goats - they sure are needy :laugh:


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## goatskeeper (May 14, 2010)

liz said:


> :wink: Remember all, goatskeeper is in Algeria, not alot of "common" things we use are available to him by the name we know them by :wink:


thank you Liz for the note. :greengrin:


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## Lexibot (Jul 27, 2010)

liz said:


> Diluting it the way FRF suggested is good, and better than nothing if you don't have access to the commercial teat dips. Once the solution is dry though be sure and keep watch of your girls udder for irritation and dryness, if that happens, just stop using it and wash her down with a mild antibacterial soap solution.


I thought about using antibacterial soak anyway, instead of bleach.


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## elchivito (Apr 18, 2010)

I ordered the Iodophor online, but it's been so long I don't remember where. I can't get any special items at my feed stores. Beyond hay, minerals, penicillin and maybe Red Cell they're hopeless. This really isn't goat country.


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## PznIvyFarm (Jul 25, 2010)

Thanks Elchivito.

I didn't think goatskeeper was really in Algeria.........I thought it was just something to put down to keep his/her location hidden  I must hang out at the wrong boards if that was my first thought :laugh:


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## goatskeeper (May 14, 2010)

i am from south algeria, the temperature these days is +40 degree celcuis :laugh:


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## farmergal (Jun 19, 2009)

I didn't really like the idea of using bleach on my goats so I searched and searched until I found a recipe that didn't involve harsh chemicals. What I found was 1/2 water, 1/2 apple cider vinegar, mixed in a spray bottle with 20-30 drops of tea tree oil or lavender oil. (I use tea tree.) You have to shake the bottle each time you use it because the oil separates out. I spray each teat and let them air dry. It has worked for me so far... no mastitis yet, knock on wood. 

Since I share milk with kids and they attack mom's udders right after they jump off the milk stand, I didn't really want the kids to be sucking on bleach-y or chemical-y teats... this way it's all safe for the kids. :thumb:


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## goatskeeper (May 14, 2010)

farmergal said:


> I didn't really like the idea of using bleach on my goats so I searched and searched until I found a recipe that didn't involve harsh chemicals. What I found was 1/2 water, 1/2 apple cider vinegar, mixed in a spray bottle with 20-30 drops of tea tree oil or lavender oil. (I use tea tree.) You have to shake the bottle each time you use it because the oil separates out. I spray each teat and let them air dry. It has worked for me so far... no mastitis yet, knock on wood.
> 
> Since I share milk with kids and they attack mom's udders right after they jump off the milk stand, I didn't really want the kids to be sucking on bleach-y or chemical-y teats... this way it's all safe for the kids. :thumb:


ok , you dont want harm the kids with chemicals, i like this, but does the recipe you had mentioned kill bacterias? i like natural recipes.


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## elchivito (Apr 18, 2010)

farmergal said:


> I didn't really like the idea of using bleach on my goats so I searched and searched until I found a recipe that didn't involve harsh chemicals. What I found was 1/2 water, 1/2 apple cider vinegar, mixed in a spray bottle with 20-30 drops of tea tree oil or lavender oil. (I use tea tree.) You have to shake the bottle each time you use it because the oil separates out. I spray each teat and let them air dry. It has worked for me so far... no mastitis yet, knock on wood.
> 
> Since I share milk with kids and they attack mom's udders right after they jump off the milk stand, I didn't really want the kids to be sucking on bleach-y or chemical-y teats... this way it's all safe for the kids. :thumb:


Sounds like an interesting recipe. Tea tree oil is a fairly strong anti bacterial agent in pure form, but I'd want to make sure that that dilution would still kill serious bugs consistently. Mastitis isn't your only concern. If YOU are drinking the milk, three little words:
E-Coli
Salmonella
Listeria

These bugs are NOT your friends and they're everywhere in the environment. Very common lactation related bacteria.


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## goatskeeper (May 14, 2010)

elchivito said:


> Mastitis isn't your only concern. If YOU are drinking the milk, three little words:
> E-Coli
> Salmonella
> Listeria
> ...


do those bugs come from the milk it self or from not cleaning the udder before milking (from envirement)?


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## Realfoodmama (Apr 13, 2010)

Those bugs MOSTLY come from the environment. (read: Fecal contamination)

However, it should be noted that small quantities are present in all guts, including humans, and will also be present in milk. The problem occurs when they multiply and overwhelm all the other stuff in there.

I drink my milk raw and use a warm clean cloth to clean the udder - I never use a teat dip on my girls.

I keep the milking station clean, use sanitized containers and dump any milk that has been contaminated (read: stepped in by my goat)

I also milk by hand and make sure that MY hands are clean and shiny before I milk which will also minimize contamination.


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

I am with you on that Realfoodmama....I don't use any of those "milking neccessities" either, my girls udders are kept trimmed, wiped with a gentle baby wipe, milked with clean hands into clean containers, wiped with a clean wipie, sent on their way..milk strained into a mason jar and refridgerated. I've been using raw milk from my girls taken this way for the last 8 years and NEVER had an issue with being sick or my girls being sick. The key is to be clean, and not allowing them to lay in manure...ever if possible. If they are milked then given hay, they are standing long enough to allow the teat to seal naturally. In all honesty, there is such a thing as being "too clean"...you certainly don't want contaminated milk but I do think that a natural resistance to the bugs that cause problems is capable with all milking does that are milked appropriately. I'm not saying that the use of teat dips etc, shouldn't be used, it's just my personal preference and I'm sure there are others that milk in the same manner.


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