You don’t actually know if the milk that is squirting out is colostrum or not.
You can get an idea by using Equine-repro’s
trick of using an antifreeze tester from the hardware store. Here is a discussion on that by Jos from their forum from many years ago.
<smile>…As I said in my previous post, using the
antifreeze tester gives one an indication, not an absolute reading. The specific gravity recommended for antifreeze to protect from 0 to -50 degrees fahrenheit is 1.15-1.30. As you know, the desired level of specific gravity for colostrum is a minimum of 1.06. The simple, eyedropper type of
antifreeze testers available at most hardware stores will indicate various levels of protection by the number and color of balls that are suspended in the antifreeze. If all the balls are suspended (suspended, NOT necessarily floating to the top, although higher is better) in the colostrum, the better
the quality. It is NOT an absolute, but assists breeders in realizing that vthere “may” be a problem and to watch that foal, make sure that an IgG test is done, and if the reading is low, early oral interevention might be a REALLY good idea!
Personally, I wouldn’t be milking her at all unless I knew that was actual colostrum. You want your foal to be ingesting real colostrum from the first, as once they start ingesting anything, gut process that allows the passive transfer of antibodies begins to close.
Why don’t you PM Kathy and see if she’ll post her ideas.