LSU MASTITIS LAB

[Tim Pruitt]

We are getting ready for the Nationals and so I dropped off milk samples at LSU in Homer - 8 miles from where I live.   We are not having problems but wanted to make certain we had no bugs before the stress of the trip and "uddering" them up at the National Show.   

Corrine at the Lab told me that some of my goat friends are sending in "warm" milk samples.  The problem lies in that they are using a couple ice packs in a card board container and they are arriving hot and are unusable. 

When mailing a milk sample, be sure and use a styrofoam container - plus your ice packs to ensure they arrive in usable condition.  Otherwise, you are wasting your money mailing the samples and also lab supplies.   

[Vicki McGaugh Tx Nubians]

I try to hit as many sites as I can, with people complaining about LSU after they do this..... when if you call them or email them before you waste your money on one day mail, that if it does not get there cold, they CAN'T run it, not won't, CAN'T.  Thanks Tim for the reminder again.  Vicki

[Fiberaddict]

I posted this on another thread - but this one is better suited.  Sorry for the double post - but it IS important!

Yes - and if you're going to send to LSU, you need to *freeze* the sample first.  They're in the same heat wave we are, and they - well, here's the email they sent me:

To all goat producers:

 

We enjoy working with all the goat producers that send us milk samples for culture work.  We are having a problem with the samples we receive arriving to us warm.  The weather is really hot and if the samples don’t stay cold they usually grow up with contamination.  We usually go ahead and plate the cultures out to see if the sample is contaminated.  We are wasting too many of our supplies checking the warm samples that usually end up unusable. To be able to continue with the free culture services; starting June 14th if the samples are received in warm condition we will not culture the samples.  We don’t want to see the producers spending money to ship us samples that are unusable, so please follow the below shipping directions.

When sending milk samples to the Hill Farm for testing please follow these directions:

 

Please call the lab at 318-927-9654, 24 hours before sending samples.  This will allow the lab to have media prepared for testing.

 

Collection Procedure:

 

1.               Brush away any loose dirt from the quarter that is going to be sampled.

2.               Discard a few streams of milk.

3.               Clean the teat end with a cotton ball soaked in 70% alcohol.

4.               Collect a milk sample in a sterile container preferably a sterile test tube.

5.               Be sure the sample is labeled with the animal number and quarter.  Include a note stating what test you would like done.  Please include contact info: e-mail or phone number.

6.               The sample must be kept cold and brought directly to the lab.

7.               When shipping milk samples to the Hill Farm please send the milk samples FROZEN.  They should be in a STYROFOAM BOX with multiple COOL PACKS or DRY ICE and shipped NEXT DAY AIR.

 

Shipping address:

LSU Agricultural Center

Mastitis Research Lab

3380 Hwy. 79

Homer, LA  71040

 

Thanks,

 

Mastitis Lab

[Vicki McGaugh Tx Nubians]

Thanks Verna, I will put this with the LSU info, maybe that will help.  Vicki

[ellie]

Just a note:  When you use alcohold to kill bacteria, remember that it ONLY works by dehydrating the bacteria..i.e. the alcohol has to dry first to be effective!!!