Analyzing β-hydroxybutyrate (BHBA) concentration in Dairy Herd Improvement (DHI) milk samples is a practical tool to determine incidence of hyperketonemia (HKET) in dairy herds. The objective of this trial was to determine BHBA concentration from hand-stripped milk samples outside DHI milking tests to assess HKET. A total of 31 cows with 90 d in milk or less in 3 herds was involved. Milk samples were taken just before, during and right after the morning milking and at 2, 4, 6, and 9 h after milking. Samples during milking were collected using approved metering devices used for DHI tests. Other milk samples were obtained by hand from one or several quarters. All samples were sent to the Valacta laboratory (Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, QC, Canada). Two analytical methods were used to analyze BHBA concentration in milk, i.e., the Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and the continuous flow analyzer (Skalar; which is the reference method used to calibrate FTIR). Threshold used to determine HKET was ≥0.20 mmol BHBA/L. Data were analyzed with the Glimmix and Corr procedures of SAS. A significant analytical method × time relative to milking interaction was noted on the incidence of HKET (P = 0.0004). Incidence of HKET differed in the samples taken right after milking (P = 0.006) and 2 h after milking (P = 0.10) between the analytical methods whereas no difference was noted for other times relative to milking (P ≥ 0.13). Indeed, incidence of HKET was 25.8 ± 7.8% and 29.0 ± 8.0% for Skalar and 61.3 ± 8.7% and 70.0 ± 5.0% for FTIR right after and 2 h after the milking, respectively. Pearson correlation coefficient between Skalar and FTIR BHBA results was 0.95 for the samples collected during milking and was lower for other times relative to milking (ranging from 0.6 to 0.9). In conclusion, BHBA concentration in milk is a practical tool to assess HKET, especially for milk samples taken during DHI tests. Hand-stripped milk samples collected right after or 2 h after milking require further calibration of FTIR before recommending BHBA concentration analysis.