Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs

Troubleshooting Antibiotic Residues in Goat Milk

A) Milk from treated does enters bulk tank before end of withdrawal time

Causes	Solutions
Poor communication between person who treated and person who milks	Post treatment information on a message or bulletin board to ensure people milking are aware of the identification of treated does and the appropriate withdrawal time.
No permanent records of treatments	Make a permanent record of all treatments.
Forgetting doe was treated Poor identification of treated doe	Mark all treated goats in an easily recognised manner (such as spray marker or coloured tape) and segregate.
Treated dry does not separated from milking does	Use appropriate antibiotic tests. Separate dry does from milking does.
Separate milker unit not used for treated does	Milk treated does last or with separate equipment to ensure no contaminated milk can enter the milk supply.
Milker unit not cleaned properly between treated and untreated does	Thoroughly clean milker unit and all other potentially contaminated milk contact surfaces between milking treated and untreated does.
Milkline used as a vacuum source to milk treated doe when using bucket milker to withhold milk	Have equipment dealer install separate inlet into vacuum line.
Not keeping out all milk from both halves of the udder out of the bulk tank	Discard all milk from treated does.

B) Prolonged drug withdrawal time because antibiotics used in extra label fashion

Causes	Solutions
Using antibiotic drugs not approved for use in lactating does	Only use antibiotics according to veterinarian's prescription.
Livestock medicines administered by a route different from label recommendations	Use only approved livestock medicines, and only according to label instructions or according to a veterinarian's prescription.
Antibiotic drugs used at a higher dosage and/or more frequently than label instructions	Only use antibiotics according to label or veterinarian's prescription.
Feeding medicated feeds	Medicated feeds for non-lactating goats should be stored separate from the milking herd feeds. Remove all traces of medicated feed from storage and feed handling equipment.
Inadequate udder preparation of does treated with antibiotic ointments and salves	Use appropriate antibiotic tests before putting new does into milking line-up.
Early kidding of does that have been dry treated	Confirm date of dry-off treatment of freshened does to ensure whether or not adequate withdrawal time has been observed. Consult with your herd veterinarian. Use appropriate antibiotic tests.
Purchasing does that have been treated	Use only approved products. Follow a recommended practice of udder preparation.