The Effect of Milking at Short Intervals with and without Injections of Oxytocin

Abstract

Summary A complete removal of accumulated milk was not obtained at each 2-hour milking interval when cows were milked normally, resulting in variable production from milking to milking. Injections of 10I.U. of oxytocin just prior to each 2-hour milking interval greatly decreased the milking-to-milking variability of production. When cows were milked 12 times a day, total fat production, with two exceptions, was greater than in the pre- and post-experimental periods when the cows were milked twice daily. The yield of non-fat milk constituents showed an even greater increase, resulting in a lowered percentage of fat, with one exception, during the experimental period.