Which milk test strips?

M

Magicmadge

Well-Known Member
Joined
5 June 2008
Messages
878
Location
Lincolnshire
Visit site
My mare is now day 295 and im getting together all i may need. I have used test strips before but in the end my mare was text book and filled , waxed, dripped, paced, sweated and foaled all over 3 days, on day 359 so i stopped using them. Which ones are the best ones to buy, i cant remember from last time.
 
I use Aquachek ones, and a couple of other makes which I can't remember off hand at the moment. You need to find ones which measure Total Hardness (calcium) and pH. The pH levels need to go down to 6.2 if you're unfamiliar with the colour changes and the hardness needs to go up to 800-1000.

1cc of mare fluid to 6cc distilled water. If you can't get more than 1/2cc mare fluid then just put 3cc distilled water. Swirl around, pop your strip in, take out and wait a few seconds for your results. Easy peasy :)

I use a 10cc syringe and milk directly into that as then you can see how many cc's you have, then I have another syringe loaded with 6cc's of water and squirt that into the milk syringe and then test.

For most of the testing you'll do a few days before foaling, it's just fluid and not colostrum and it changes to different colours as the milk starts being produced. Once you have colostrum (thick, honey coloured, sticky stuff) coming through and she's close to foaling the results should be 6.2pH or lower and the calcium will be above 500 (more usually 800-900) and once you're at these levels the mare usually foals within 24 hours.
 
Dont rely solely on them though! I almost stayed to watch my mare one night, as i knew it was getting close, but then didnt because of the test results i got. The calcium was high, but so was the PH - 7.6. I read if the PH is high then the foal wont come. WRONG!

I did my 10.30pm check as normal, and all was fine. But then i arrived the next morning to find my baby had arrived (and had been there for some time!). He was dry, already eaten, pooed etc.

I used the aquacheck ones by the way.
 
mel_s said:
Dont rely solely on them though! I almost stayed to watch my mare one night, as i knew it was getting close, but then didnt because of the test results i got. The calcium was high, but so was the PH - 7.6. I read if the PH is high then the foal wont come. WRONG!
Click to expand...

7.6pH is not a high pH reading :confused: Anything under 8.2pH tells you your mare should foal within 12-60 hours depending on how quickly/slowly the mare moves along (I have one mare who will go from 7.6pH to 6pH within 8 hours). The calcium is the initial detector that something is happening, so once it starts to go up you need to watch the pH like a hawk. Once the pH is anywhere in the 7's you can be assured something is going to happen fairly soon.

Test strips are only as good as the person analysing them. If you don't understand how to read them then yes you might think they are "wrong".
 
I read several different websites and they all said that PH in the 7s was normal? Mine was pretty pink and almost at the highest reading. I do have a photo of the strip next to the chart that i took at the time!
 
mel_s said:
I read several different websites and they all said that PH in the 7s was normal? Mine was pretty pink and almost at the highest reading. I do have a photo of the strip next to the chart that i took at the time!
Click to expand...

Around the 8.4pH mark is a normal rate and that's where they tend to sit till everything starts moving. The calcium is usually the first thing to change. It has a 'resting' reading of around 100 normally. Once it starts to go up to around 250 then you know your mare is on the move. After the calcium starts to go up then you'll see the pH change. When the pH reads anywhere in the 7s you know it's all starting to happen. It's much easier if you've foaled out the mare before using test strips though. I do have the benefit of knowing what most of the mares here do (and I keep records of it) as I've foaled them out for years, but with maidens or mares that you've never foaled out before, it's always trickier to know how quickly things will change with them. I still use all the other signs though and I really only milk test once colostrum has come through, so often only a couple/three times before foaling. I also think the more times you've done it the more confident you become about reading the results.
 
Thank you for your replies, ive ordered the aquacheck ones. Teats have dropped and she has a good handfull in the morning, so things progressing. Will update ho how i get on with the strips.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top