The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: Emmam on April 25, 2015, 01:04:02 pm
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Have not slept properly for 10 days - shepherdess feeder has arrived but how do I clean the tubes? Any advise appreciated as too tired to think at the moment. :)
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I first of all just run them under the tap to get the worst out (upside down, i.e. the end that would be in the milk closest to the tap) then pour warm water with hibiscrub in through them with a jug, then rinse them under the tap again. I do this twice a day, although I have spares so I can put a new set straight on the bucket, then wash the others when I get a minute.
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But, don't use water that is too hot, or they lose their flexibility and go brittle - guess who learned that the hard way!
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I've never seen one close-up so don't know the length, but would a bottle brush and Milton work? Can you soak them for ten mins in the solution? Can you use salt inside the teats as you would an ordinary bottle, and down inside tubes then squish from the outside?
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No, a bottle brush wouldn't really work, they are too narrow (a pipecleaner might), and also the water needs to be running through as there is a non-return valve in the middle of the pipe. They are hard to squish as the plastic is very thick.
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Hibiscrub can be a mucus membrane irritant so you need to make sure its rinsed well :)
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You could put a splash of acv in the water. I put a splash of it in the buckets when being washd through. I would be very care ful of using hibi for things going internally. But thats me :)
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Thanks all.