# The cheapest mastitis test you will ever find



## keren

Found this in one of my old old old goat books. 

"To test milk for bacteria, take 1/2 glass of warm water, add a few drops of detergent or a little soap powder, mix, then take 1/2 glass of fresh milk, mix together and if the mixture becomes thick and slimy there is infection. The same reaction will occur if there is still colostrum in the milk".

I've never tried it personally, so I dont know how good it is.


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## sweetgoats

Several years ago I had a doe that I thought had mastitis. My FIL was here visiting, he was a BIG dairy cow farmer and I showed him some of the milk. He did that exact same test and told me no she did not have mastitis. I thought he was on drugs, when he mixed that stuff together. I did not think he really knew what he was doing so I took her to the vet and he said she did NOT have it either.

WOW I should of listened to my FIL, I could of saved some money. :hammer:


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## keren

wow great to hear that it actually works, Lori!

I think this recipe is great for people who might have meat or fibre animals, not dairy animals, and so dont have the mastitis test stuff lying around, and who might need to test the odd animal here and there. 

I am going to try it out on maddie's precocious udder, she has been a little off lately and I think its just the heat but I want to make sure all that 'milk' sitting there isnt causing an infection


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## toth boer goats

wow that is really interesting....


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## Laurel_Haven

I too found this to be interesting. I saved this "recipe" and would like to try it in the future. Although I do hope I never need to. But thanks for sharing this bit of info. :thumbup:


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## prairiewolf

Thanks for the helpful tip! :thumb:


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## jhanger

This as everyone has pointed out DOES work.... what I want to point out is the scientific aspect of it.... 
I looked up the product for a california mastitis test kit... I don't have one because I just got started with goats and dairy et al.
Well lo and behold the primary active ingredient in california mastitis test kits is: 
Ingredients: 1. ) Alkyl Benzene Sulfonate 2. ) Ph Indicating Dye. 
Well i gotta be honest, I had to look up what Alkyl Benzene Sulfonate is - I guess right in that it's an alkaline sulfure but what I found also surprised me:
Linear alkylbenzene is a family of organic compounds with the formula C6H5CnH2n+1. Typically, n lies between 10 and 16, although generally supplied as a tighter cut, such as C12-C15, C12-C13 and C10-C13, for detergent use. - Wikipedia

Interesting... It's a detergent, of the same purpose and formulation as you can find for dish detergent, then the kits just use a ph dye to flag if there is bacteria present or not... 

So essentially.. it's the exact same thing as adding dish detergent (note the close relation to soap as soap is made from lye a highly alkyline concentration) .... 

Amazing no need for science or fancy kits can do it all the old fashioned way .... so hope y'all enjoyed the science lesson - save money use detergent, haha


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## milkmaid

Thanks, jhanger! That is very interesting...and by the way, that's the method I use too.  Pat Coleby mentions it in her book, so of course I had to try it!


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## crocee

Just wanted to add this little tidbit. In order for this test to work you need to make sure your soap/soap powder is NOT of the antibacterial type. Go to the dollar store and find a cheap bottle of non antibacterial hand/dish/laundry detergent. That bottle will last a very long time.


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## NyGoatMom

This should be a sticky!


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## RebelRunFarm

Ok, I'm a little ashamed to admit this but I was goatspot lurking while soaking in the bath tub and I jump out to run and try this lol! My husband now has proof I'm insane


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## terri9630

Does it matter what type of soap/detergent? Powder, liquid, dish, dishwasher, hand, laundry? I've got a doe whos milk is tasting bitter and want to check her.


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## Little-Bits-N-Pieces

Liquid dish soap, like Dawn, Palmolive, etc.


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## OwnedByTheGoats

I did this with my Alpine doe. It "said" no, but I didn't test afterwards so I can't promise you anything. It really did seem to work though. I dripped 3 drops of DAWN dish detergent in a dish, milked 3 squirts in in and waited. Didn't turn slimy so figured I was good to go.


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## Little-Bits-N-Pieces

Well looking at this thread completely, my way is quicker.

Strip a few squirts out of one teat, discard, now into a clean cup squirt 2-3 squirts of milk into the cup, add 3 drops of dish soap, mix well, if it turns thick infection is present, if it stays at milk consistency the milk is fine.


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## terri9630

Thank you. Goats are so funny but no one around here has dairy animals. Just boares so they have no clue.


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## Kaneel

Wow nice! Will keep this info handy in case I need it  May I ask what old old old goat book you used? It sounds very useful!


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## lauraanimal1

So I have 4 milk goats right now, one that has a side that's not producing as much as the other, decided to try this test on them all, ( the one with the few squirts of milk and 3 drop dish soap, guess what, 3 goats are fine, the one with the udder I was concerned about showed she had it.


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## lottsagoats1

I used just drops of Dawn in the milk, I don't mix it with water. I put maybe an ounce of fresh milk in a bowl and add a few drops of Dawn.


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## bushes1172

Has anyone been able to verify for sure this works?? I have a goat that the milk looks white but after is sits for a while it looks like heavy cream. It’s not stringy, lumpy or anything. Her teats look great and not hot. But I tried the milk and it’s just funny tasting to me. I am a resent goat owner. I did do the California test and it looked positive, but someone said it could be a false positive result for that test is for cows.. if this soap deal works that would be great. If not I will call the vet to do a culture.. She just seems to be perfect.. Thanks so much


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## ksalvagno

The soap test doesn't work well. This is also a very old thread. She could have mastitis or mineral deficiency. I'd have the vet test the milk and then go from there.


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## bushes1172

Ok thank you so much! I did try the soap tear tonight and it didn’t show any clumps or anything, it seem to be good. But I should have it tested for sure. Thanks again!!


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## i like my goats

so helpful even in 2021


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