grit in milk??.. Need dairying advice

[Guest guest]

This goes out to all the fellow milkers on the list. I am fairly new

to dairy goats and have a question. I am milking one 4 year old

unbred doe thru, she is in her 11th month of lactation. Before this

week she was giving me over 1/2 gallon per day. The past few days

she was giving about 1 cup shy of what she usually does each milking

and I noticed the milk was filtering more slowly. She was also in

heat so I attributed the change to hormones. Tonight I noticed grit

or sand like material in the milk bucket as I poured it in to the

filter.

What does grit in the milk mean? And where do I start to get the

problem diagnosed and fixed? Our local large animal vets are not

very goat savvy. I figure this may be an issue that occures in dairy

animals and you all might be able to advise me..

In case it may be diet related, she eats 2nd cut New York

mixed/timothy hay, Blue seal caprine challenger dairy goat feed, and

golden blend goat minerals.

Thank you in advance for any advice.

Kim