Larva in my freshly milked milk?

[natyvidal]

Hi everyone! This posting should probably be posted in the goat blog but for the life of me I can’t figure out finding where to post it! But, I urgently need help.

Problem. I have one ND DOE, that only had one baby! The baby has been favoring only one tit leaving the other one to accumulate the milk. This has been a recurrent problem with same tit for each kidding. Last kidding she had two kids and we didn’t have issues once the milk was flowing.

So, we’ve been milking her on the unpreferred tit everyday until this past weekend. I can’t do it aloneand the farmhand was away. So we skipped Saturday and Sunday and we did it today.

At first the milk would not go out. But, after some massaging and squeezing of the tit, the milk started to come out no problem. We use a pulsing milking machine.

So far so good. But when I am taking a good look at the milking receptacle I see tiny movement! They are larva! Tiny. Moving around on the side of the transparent receptacle.

I’ve never seen them before! But, I simply might not have noticed it! Since they are white like the milk. What is going on? Should I treat her for that? Should I worry? Could it be affecting both tits and her baby is drinking these larva’s. Are they toxic to the kid? I am baffled. Never seen that before and I’ve been milking for a while.

Note: also what about my other does with kids. The kids are two months old. Is this contagious? Also, I know these pictures don't say much, but I tried to download short videos and the system did not accept them. What you see is what it is.

 

[Ryebi]

Since you appear to live in Florida too, these look a lot like Vinegar Fly larvae to me (very small fruit flies). They hatch out and reproduce EXTREMELY quickly and the timelines given make perfect sense that they were laid in the two-day window of nonuse and hatched (they hatch into maggots 24 hrs after being laid). I strongly suggest different storage methods. These flies can survive more heat and cold than most other insects (they will survive being cooked in a microwave and will also survive life in your fridge). If there's no way of storing the equipment where they can't reach them, then also clean before each use, and not just after.

Also based on your photos it looks like you store the cleaned equipment in your kitchen/near your sink. These are the preferred locations for Vinegar Flies to hang out and reproduce (they seek out any moisture for their eggs), the sink drain is especially their favorite right after the trash can. I guarantee they laid the eggs while your equipment was hanging to dry (still moist and attractive to momma fly), hatched out during nonuse, and got flushed out with the milk.

 

[citymeetscountry]

I’m not quite sure what I’m looking at and I am *not* an expert nor have I ever milked a goat (I have wethers). If I had to guess (based off googling) it may be some sort of parasite (roundworm?), mixed info about whether it can be trans mammary or not. Has the doe been worked recently?

 

[Jory]

Looks like maggots. I'd think that they were probably in your milking machine not the goat.

 

[natyvidal]

I am going to milk her again now. I will check again for larva and anything not normal. Take pictures and post them.

 

[natyvidal]

Worked? Not sure what that means.

 

[citymeetscountry]

Worked? Not sure what that means.

I meant wormed* sorry

also as @Jory said, could be maggots. Being in your bucket would make more since then coming out when milked

 

[cassie]

Whatever it is, it didn't come out of the goat's udder. Clean the milking machine thoroughly and examine it. I'll be the maggots were inside it.

 

[lomine]

I'd agree that it's probably the milking machine. How are you cleaning it? I also use a milking machine. After each milking I run warm soapy water and then hot bleach water through the lines. Then each week the parts are broken down, scrubbed with pipe cleaners, and soaked in bleach water overnight.

 

[natyvidal]

I have a brand new milking machine. Bought to milk this doe. It’s a simple pulsating machine. For small farms. Hand held. I clean it thorouly every time it’s used. It doesn’t have filters to clean or complicated lines. I use the brush often and as soon as the doe is milked i rinse it under the faucet with cold and then hot water until I see the lines are clear. I am including pictures. I am including pictures of the set up now.