Hi Donna,
TB and Brucelosis are what I test for before I bring anyone home. Brucelosis is nonexistent in TX, according to my vet, but I still test to make sure.
Most people are extremely uneducated/brainwashed when it comes to the safety of raw milk. We have been drinking raw milk for years and have never had a negative side effect, and have seen numerous benefits! If milked cleanly, and strained and chilled properlly, raw milk is one of the most nutritious things you can put in your body.
Here are some recommended links to read up on:
www.raw-milk-facts.com/www.realmilk.com/Here is our milking routine and how I keep our milk clean and up to the highest safety standards. This is from the milking class handout that I teach.
Our Milking Routine For Cows:
„« Make sure the stanchion is clean, we rake it out every day after milking.
„« Put 1 clip of alfalfa in the feed trough.
„« Bring in our cow. I lock her head in the head gate and she goes to town munching.
„« Spray her with a homemade fly spray and udder wash.
„« Spray her whole bag with this and then her legs and belly. Brush her down and wipe down her udder with a clean towel
„« Start milking. First couple squirts from each teat do not go into the milk bucket.
„« This ensures that any bacteria that could have gotten in the teat are expelled.
„« Then start milking into a clean stainless steel bucket. We bought ours at Tractor Supply in the dog food isle (Much cheaper than the stainless steel milking buckets, but the same thing).
„« When I¡¦m finished milking, let my cow out of the stanchion. We have a pretty good system, where she finishes eating, right about the time I am done milking. She backs out and goes out in the barn yard.
„« Clean out the stanchion, grab the milk and head to the house.
„« In the house, strain the milk into a milk strainer/filter. There will be some hairs and the occasional piece of dirt/flake of skin in the milk. The filters are great for getting rid of all that.
„« These strainers can be purchased from many home dairy web sites such as Hoegger Goat Supply:
www.hoeggergoatsupply.com/xcart/home.php?cat=„« Strain the milk straight into clean 1/2 gallon glass Mason jars, or what ever you wish to store your milk in. Wide mouth glass is preferable, as it is easy to clean and does not hold odor like plastic can.
„« Fill the jar, leaving about a 1 inch head space, screw the lid on, and put it in the freezer for about an hour. This helps the sweetness of the milk to come out. The sooner it gets cold the better. Then take it out, stick it in the fridge and it's ready to drink!
Dexter milk will take about 12-24 hours for the cream to rise to the top. You can skim this off for skimmed milk and use it for cooking, making butter, sour cream and all kinds of wonderful things. Or you can just shake it into your milk and drink.
Hope this helps you some. Can't wait to hear about your milking!
