G-Grainyness on milk filter

[Cricket]

???I can't figure it out. Grace seems to be dropping in production and when I strain the milk there is a grainey textured stuff, just a very little bit, on the filter. I am using a new box of filters and find they are much finer than the ones I've used before. Of a different sort of fiber I think. But lately the milk will strain fine for about a half gallon then almost stop. I've tried stiring the milk and that doesn't help it to strain any better. I usually have to use two different filters to get all the milk filtered. The stuff left on the filter is usually golden in color with just a few flecks of slightly thickened milk, so slight that when it is touched it dissapears so I can't call them clots. It's just another puzzle for me to try to figure out as this morning I decided to do the CMT again with negative responce. I did the test after the first stripping of the foremilk and then again after I took the milker off her. Both times the results was negative. Now what? It sure seems as if she has more milk to give. Before I start clean up on her the upper portion of her udder is very firm but then when I wash her and massage a bit it seems to soften up but then when I'm finished milking there seems to still be someth ing in the upper area of the udder.

My DH has said I could get a calf to put on her if that would help clear up any mastitus, but now with this test results I don't know if that's what I dealing with. She has a think about holding back for whatever calf may be wanting to nurse her. Do you think putting a new calf on her would only make matters worse? I'm thinking it would help clean out any gunk she may have in her udder? What do you all think?

Also, as we have goats here I have a question about that. Is it okay to give a goat colostrum from a cow?
We don't have any milking goats yet but will surely have questions when we get some.

Thanks all.

Johnnie T.

[Joann]

I hope others will chime in who may have experienced the slow filtering problem you describe. Your own observations seem astute. It is not impossible that the new type of filter is more readily clogged.

Something I hve noticed which may or may not apply to your situation is that in very cold weather, and if the milk has already chilled beyond a certain point, there are creamy bits on the filter and the milk filters more slowly.

Any chance you could get some of the old style filters for comparison?

You may use cow colostrum for any species so far as I know. It may not be as perfectly suited as that from their own dam would have been, but in my experience it works fine on any other animals including kittens.

[Claire]

I had this problem a year or two ago and it was very frustrating because it took forever to filter all the milk- I was left with this sheen of yellow stuff on the filter. I think it may have been some sort of mastitis, but the udder felt normal and the cow was fine. It just cleared up after a while.

[Cricket]

:)Thank you all so much. This is such a relief knowing others have been through this also. I tasted Graces warm milk this afternoon and it tastes great so I think I'll order some of the type filters I had been using and stop worrying! It's so great to have you all to rely on for counsel. Somewhere in the scripture it is written "in a multitude of counsel is great wisdom."

Thanks again.