Colostrom?milk question

My mare is so ready to foal. She’s started to squirt milk as she walks so I drew off 100mls from each side

  1. How long will it stay fresh in the fridge or should I freeze it asap?

  2. How much can/should I draw down while making sure there is enough for baby when it finally arrives?

  3. How much does baby need for OK transfer and should I just draw that amount and no more?

  4. How long in between milkings should I wait? (I don’t want to encourage her to produce, but I don’t want to waste it!)

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.

True.

Damned if I do, damned if I don’t LOL

How many days pregnant is your mare? Is your only reason for milking her the fact that she was dripping milk? How long has she been doing this?

  1. This is her 5th foal for me - usually she waxes up the night she foals. She had wax yesterday morning and this afternoon she was squirting profusely as she moved. So I thought the smart thing to do was freeze some in case she just kept leaking. I can’t believe she hasn’t had it yet what with full moons and storms and the state of her.

Has she waxed yet? If it is her fifth foal for you, you obviously know her habits, etc. Is she consistant as to the length of her pregnancies? I understand your concern as to not having enough colostrom when the foal arrives. Have you tested the pH in the milk you got from her. Some people don’t, it has been helpful for us and perhaps it would help you see where the mare is at this point.

Just a thought. Mares just do this stuff to keep us from getting sleep!:wink:

It’s a girl :slight_smile:

Ha! Too funny.

Congratulation MollyMalone! Was pleased to see this this morning.

pics??