Question about using 5-way pool test strips

[swd]

Sorry, I know this has been discussed several times here before ............ but since I bought the pool test strips today to test a mare's milk to determine how close she is to foaling...... I can not remember all the details. I remember that I am testing for the lowest PH (which is the closest to foaling) but I can not remember the proportion of milk to water for the test sample. Is it 1 part milk to 6 parts distilled water? Or do you just test the milk itself with these strips?

And the test strips that I purchased test for Bromine, Chorline, Alkalinity, and hardness in addition to PH. Do I ignore these charts and just test for the PH or can any of these other indicators be used to determine the mare's closeness to foaling?

Thank you for any advice that you can give about this milk test.

 

[Reble]

I use the Water Quality Test strips for total hardess

Can use as little as 1/2 cc of milk and 3 cc of distilled water.

Tip it in and wait 1 minute for reading.

Also strips should be stored in the fridge.

 

[Miniv]

The PH needs to be at the lowest reading. The water hardness tests Calcium in the milk and needs to read at the highest. Reble posted the ratio correctly. You can do either a 1/2 cc of milk to 3 cc's of distilled water....or it's 1 cc of milk to 6 cc's of distilled water.

You don't need to wait a minute to read the strip. We dip the strip, shake off the excess liquid and count to 10 before reading.

MA

 

[swd]

Thank you both, Reble and Miniv, for your information and for getting back to me so quickly. I really appreciate it.

Will test tonight and see how it goes.

 

[faithfarm]

We have found the the ph test is the most accurate at indicating foaling. The ph will go up before it comes down. Once the ph gets down below 6.8 it is usually wise to keep a close eye on your mare. We have had some that read below 6.2 which is the lowest reading on the strips. If it gets that low don't take your eyes off of her. The ph on some mares doesn't come down til just a few hours before foaling. Occasionally, a mare will stay below 6.8 for about 24 hours before foaling but it is usually much sooner. Good luck.

 

[Miniv]

Faithfarm made an excellent point. We've also found that the PH test is more sensitive than the water hardness test. Water hardness (calcium) test will tell you that foaling is likely within 24 hours when it reaches its highest reading. The PH test at its lowest reading usually means 12 hours or less.......

MA

 

[Valerie]

This is a great question, I have been using the pool test strips now the past couple of weeks and I tell you, they seem to be much, much more accurate than the foal predictor ones that I bought & used.

My mare her hardness is as high as it will go & it's been like that 2 days now & the ph fell to 6.4 last night (6.4 is the lowest on the pool strips I happen to have, I bought mine at Walmart) and that was at 1:30 am, but now at 1 PM the PH is back up between 6.4 and 6.8.....I think she is trying to mess with me.

I use 1/2 cc milk to 3 cc's distilled water, so I am glad to see I was using the proper ratio.

Good luck with your testing, it's kinda fun to do, it's kinda like our own science experiments. :bgrin

 

[swd]

The strips that I have only go down to 6.8. Wish I had them to go lower.

So with a reading of 6.8, will the "usually within 12 hours or less" still hold true? Or should I try to find strips that give a reading of below 6.8? Of course I know that these mares have a mind of their own and no one thing is a true indicator of pending foaling. Just wanting to know everyone's experience with the pool strips and how successful they have been for you.