Teat Cups Research Articles

Effect of automatic cluster flushing on the concentration of Staphylococcus aureus in teat cup liners

Automatic flushing of milking clusters between milking events is a control measure aimed at reducing transmission of mastitis pathogens from infectious milk to a subsequently milked cow. We evaluated the effect of flushing with cold water and flushing with water containing peracetic acid (PAA) on the concentration of Staphylococcus aureus in teat cup liners. Thirty-two clusters in a swing-over milking parlor (Dairymaster, Causeway, Ireland) were subjected to a simulated milking with S. aureus-contaminated milk. Sixteen clusters were not flushed (controls), whereas 8 clusters were flushed with cold water (966 ± 32 mL) and 8 clusters were flushed with water containing PAA (200 mL/mL). A random teat cup in each cluster was sampled by rinsing with a phosphate buffer. Teat cup samples were cultured on the day following collection on Baird-Parker plates to determine the concentration of S. aureus. In teat cup samples from control clusters, the mean concentration of S. aureus was 2.8 × 105 cfu/mL. The concentration of S. aureus was zero in teat cup samples from clusters flushed with cold water. In teat cup samples from clusters flushed with water containing PAA, the concentration of S. aureus was in general reduced compared with control clusters, but S. aureus was not removed completely. However, the automatic cluster flushing did not function properly when clusters were flushed with water containing PAA; thus, results reflected the effect of inadequate function rather than the effect of adding disinfectant to the flushing water. Before the main study, we conducted a pilot study to evaluate whether teat cup sampling with swabs and sample analysis with quantitative PCR were appropriate methods for the main study. Specifically, we evaluated the effect of swab sample mass on detection of S. aureus by quantitative PCR in the laboratory, Further, we compared PCR and bacterial culture on detection of S. aureus in a suspension following disinfection of the suspension with PAA. We sampled 20 identical S. aureus suspensions for culture and PCR by swabs before and after disinfection with PAA. Swab sample mass was determined by differential weighing and contributed to 46% of the variation observed in detection of S. aureus by PCR. Following disinfection with PAA, S. aureus remained detectable by PCR, although culturability ceased. Based on these results, we sampled teat cups in the main study with a buffer rinse and quantified S. aureus in the samples by bacterial culture. We concluded that automatic cluster flushing with cold water was effective in removing S. aureus from teat cup liners and that addition of PAA was therefore not necessary.

Effects of simulated quarter and udder teat cup removal settings on strip milk and milking duration in dairy cows

The aim of this study was to estimate the amount of milk left in quarters and udders and the milking duration for a variety of teat cup removal strategies. A combination of empirical data and simulated quarter and udder teat cup removal settings were used to make these estimates. Milking duration is an important factor in both automatic and conventional milking systems because it directly influences milking efficiency and hence can affect farm profitability. Strategies investigated in the literature to reduce milking duration include the application of different milk flow rate switch-points (milk flow rate at which the milking unit or teat cup is removed). Applying these milk flow rate switch-points can affect the amount of milk that is not harvested (strip milk). We are not aware of previous research analyzing strip milk yield and milking duration at the quarter level, across a range of quarter and udder milk flow rate switch-points. Quarter-level average milking duration decreased by 2 min, and strip milk increased 1.3 kg as quarter milk flow rate switch-point was increased from 0.2 kg/min to 1.0 kg/min. Using an end of milking criterion of removal of the teat cup at 50% of the quarter's rolling average milk flow rate resulted in a 0.4-min reduction in milking duration and a 0.08-kg increase in strip milk per quarter, compared with removal of the teat cup at 30% of the quarter's rolling average milk flow rate. Udder-level average milking duration decreased by 1.4 min, and strip milk increased by 0.76 kg (0.19 kg per quarter) as udder milk flow rate switch-point was increased from 0.2 kg/min to 1.0 kg/min. A 0.8-min reduction in cow milking duration and a 0.27-kg increase in strip milk at the udder level (0.08 kg per quarter) resulted when changing udder milk flow rate switch-point from 30% of the udder rolling average to 50% of the udder rolling average milk flow rate. This study provides quantitative estimates of the effect of teat cup milk flow rate switch-points on milking duration and strip milk yield.

Research of some physical and mechanical characteristics of cow’s udder nipples

A rational technology for cows’ machine milking when tie-up housing should provide for the development of technical equipment that meets the physiological requirements for a dairy cow and ensure complete and safe milking. In this regard, the task of determining and refining certain parameters of the physical-mechanical characteristics of the mammary gland of a cow becomes urgent. When choosing the rational mass of the suspended part of the vacuum milking machine, one should know the pressure transmitted by the teat cup liner to the body of the nipple of the animal when milking, which makes possible to establish the obtained analytical formula. It was found that the higher the deflection of the walls of the stretched teat cup liner, the higher the pressure caused by it on the nipple of the cow’s udder. Analysis of the distribution of diameters and lengths of the nipples of the mammary gland of cows showed that their sizes vary in wide ranges. Elongations of nipples depend nonlinearly on the acting tension, and the values of the elastic modulus and the transverse strain coefficient vary over a wide range.

ЕКСПЕРИМЕНТАЛЬНИЙ ГЕНЕРАТОР ІМПУЛЬСІВ СУМІЩЕНИЙ ІЗ КОЛЕКТОРОМ ДОЇЛЬНОГО АПАРАТА

Factors affecting the milk ejection intensity and power consumption of the pulse generator combined with the milking machine collector have been analyzed. The main factors and limits of their variation, as well as the results of experimental studies are given. The matrices of a multivariate planned experimental study of a pulse generator with a combined collector (pneumatic-electromagnetic pulsator-collector) have been developed. According to the results of experimental studies, the coded and natural values of the regression equation are derived. The equations characterize the dependence of the milk ejection intensity on the pulsation frequency, the ratio between the strokes and the vacuum pressure in the under teats space of the teat cup. The dependence of the power consumption of the pulse generator on the pulse rate and the ratio between the strokes are derived. Graphical models of interpretation of regression dependencies according to the experimental data are constructed. Student's t-test, Fisher and Cochran criteria are calculated. These indicators show the adequacy and reproducibility of the models obtained during the studies using an experimental pulse generator combined with a milking machine collector.

190 ASAS-EAAP Exchange Speaker Talk: Beyond stainless steel and milk pumps: precision technology in the milking equipment world

Abstract What do you think of when you hear the words: milking equipment? Do you think of the different brands? Boumatic, DeLaval, GEA or Lely? Do you think of parlours, parallels or rotaries? Do you think of teat cups, liners or rubber hosing? Do you think of teat dips and cleaners? If you think of mostly hardware – I can’t blame you. If I look at DeLaval, the company I work for, it has a 136-year history of offering dairy producers revolutionary innovations. In 1878, Gustaf de Laval patented the cream separator, which was the basis for forming our company in 1883. (That was even before Old MacDonald’s farm.) DeLaval has since made other significant improvements in animal health and welfare, milk production, food safety and labor efficiency with technologies like: the vacuum operated milking machine (1917); a commercial rotary (1930); animal identification systems (1978); variable speed vacuum pumps (1977); milking robots (late 1990s); an on-farm lab called Herd Navigator; Clover-shaped liners (2013); a teat spray robot (2015); a body condition score camera (2015); and our latest robot, the VMSTM V300 (2018). DeLaval has been pushing the Brave New World for many years. Today, we have a software program called DelProTM Farm Manager – a powerful data management tool providing valuable information and analysis. It enables the dairy producer to make efficient daily actions and for advisors to monitor and provide profitable and sustainable management actions. As animal scientists, what is your role in this? One avenue is to consider working with the data to provide relevant summaries on what the information is telling us. You can have a role in influencing management changes for dairy farms for the future. While not all farms have access to this data and information, your research projects can help dairy farmers wanting to make improvements to their operations. Producers need non-bias, third party sources they can reference. The dairy farming world is changing; we all need to keep up. Make sure the research that you decide upon fits into this rapid pace.

Characteristics of Listeria monocytogenes Strains Isolated from Milk and Humans and the Possibility of Milk-Borne Strains Transmission.

Listeria monocytogenes is the etiological factor of listeriosis. The main source of these organisms is food, including dairy products. The aim was to determine the multiple correlations between the drug susceptibility, virulence genes (VGs), and biofilm formation on silicone teat cups of milk-borne and human L. monocytogenes strains. The spread of L. monocytogenes via contaminated teat rubbers was assessed. The L. monocytogenes strains recovered from milk (18), human blood (10), and the reference strain ATCC®19111™ were used in the study. Penicillin resistance was the most prevalent resistance in the milk isolates (n=8; 44.4%), whereas among clinical strains erythromycin resistance was predominating – (n=6; 60%). The most frequent VGs among strains isolated from milk were hlyA (100%) and plcB (100%) whereas in strains isolated from blood – hlyA (100%) and prfA (90%). All tested VGs were present in 50% of blood isolates and 11% of milk-borne strains. The strains isolated from milk formed a significantly stronger biofilm. The strains with more numerous virulence genes were resistant to more antibiotics and formed a stronger biofilm. It was shown that contaminated teat cups might contribute to the transmission of L. monocytogenes in the herd. It seems reasonable to monitor the occurrence of L. monocytogenes biofilm in a dairy processing environment.

Teat detection algorithm: YOLO vs. Haar-cascade

In this study we have developed and experimented with two methods of teat detection based on machine learning approach in image recognition and object detection. Automatic milking systems rely strongly on the vision system for successful milking operation initiation which is the attachment of the teat cups correctly. Teat detection method currently employed in the industry is based on laser assisted edge detection mechanism, making the current systems less advanced than the existing methods in the field of image processing and robotic vision. By experimenting on a basic object detection method based on Haar-like features, viz. Haar cascade classification method and a latest state-of-the-art method based on convolutional neural nets, viz. YOLO-object detection method, we have compared the results of detection on a fake teat model casted from silicon, especially for indoor environments. This study is in extension to the successful real time detection in a cow farm using Haar-cascade based algorithm.

Дослідження особливостей завершення машинного доїння високопродуктивних корів на комплексах промислового типу

Мета статті – дослідження технологічних особливостей завершення машинного доїння високопродуктивних корів на доїльних установках за різного часу затримки знімання доїльних апаратів.
 Методика дослідження. Науково-господарські досліди проводили на сучасних доїльних установках «Паралель» фірми «Bou Matic», у яких заключні операції машинного додоювання та зняття доїльних стаканів відбувається за допомогою пневмоавтомата і маніпулятора.
 Для встановлення ступеня впливу затримки знімання доїльного апарата з вимені високопродуктивних корів після закінчення машинного доїння на показники молоковиведення та стан їхнього здоров’я провели науково-господарський дослід методом періодів на 3-х групах-аналогів української чорно-рябої молочної породи, по 15 гол. у кожній.
 Результати дослідження. За результатами аналізу показників молоковиведення високопродуктивних корів при затримці знімання доїльного апарата з вимені після припинення процесу доїння, час якого становив 8, 12 та 15 с, встановлено, що всі вони не мали вірогідних відмінностей. При цьому спостерігали дещо більші витрати часу оператором на доїння корів при затримці 15 с, однак кількість видоєного молока за першу хвилину доїння мала тенденцію до зменшення в корів при затримці на 8 с за величини ручного додоювання 0,10 кг проти 0,07–0,09 кг, при затримці знімання апарата відповідно на 12 та 15 с.
 Елементи наукової новизни. Одержано нові дані щодо впливу технологічних прийомів завершення машинного доїння високопродуктивних корів на доїльних установках в умовах комплексів промислового типу на зниження травмування вимені корів, збільшення інтенсивності й повноти видоювання та підвищення продуктивності праці оператора машинного доїння.
 Практична значущість. На підставі досліджень експериментально обґрунтовано доцільність використання техніко-технологічних рішень доїння високопродуктивних корів, які не чинять негативного впливу на тварин, забезпечують високі показники молоковиведення та отримання продукції вищого ґатунку.
 The purpose of the article is studying the technological peculiarities of completing the machine milking of high-yielding cows on milking installations at different time of delaying milking machines removal.
 Methods of the research. Scientific experiments were conducted on modern milking machines of the “Parallel” type of “Bou Matic” firm, in which the final operations of machine after-milking and removing teat cups are carried out by using a pneumatic machine and a manipulator.
 The scientific-economic experiment was conducted by the method of periods on 3 groups of Ukrainian black-and-white milk breed analogues, 15 heads in each to determine the degree of the delay influence in removing the milking machine from the udder of high-yielding cows after the finishing machine milking on the milk ejection indices and the cows’ health condition.
 The research results. According to the results of analyzing milk ejection indices of high-yielding cows with the delay of removing the milking machine from the udder after finishing the milking process (the delay time was 8, 12 and 15 seconds) it was established that they did not have any sufficient differences. At the same time, the operator spent more time on milking cows with the delay of 15 seconds, but the amount of the obtained milk in the first minute of milking tended to decrease in the cows with the delay of 8 seconds, and the amount of milk during hand after-milking was 0.10 kg in comparison with 0.07–0.09 kg, with the delay of removing the machine, correspondingly, by 12 and 15 seconds.
 The elements of scientific novelty. New data on influencing the technological methods of completing the machine milking of high-yielding cows on milking installations in the conditions of industrial complexes on reducing cow's udder injuries, increasing the intensity and completeness of milking, and raising the labor productivity of the machine milking operator have been received.
 Practical significance. Based on the research, the feasibility of using technical- technological solutions for milking of high-yielding cows, which have no negative impact on animals, has been experimentally substantiated. Such solutions ensure high rates of milk ejection and obtaining higher-quality products.

The differentiated milk recording when milking into the milk line

The article is devoted to theoretical and experimental substantiation of technical capability of the differentiated recording of milk when milking into the milk line. The pilot studies were carried out in 2017 … 2018 in the cowshed for 200 heads of one of the enterprises of the Kirov region. Milking duration depending on intensity of milk secretion was divided into three stages: initial, main and final. The theoretical analysis of the process of milk secretion from an udder nipple of a cow was made. Analytical expressions for definition of the current flow rate of milk were received during milking. The vacuum mode in under-mamillary chambers of the duple milking machine and integrated schedules of milk yield were studied and analyzed during the whole process of milking into the milk line. The weak interrelation between the current milk yield and corresponding vacuum in the under-mamillary chamber of a teat cup was revealed during milking (R 2 = 0.06…0.15). Very close interrelation (R 2 = 0.95) between milk yield and duration of milk secretion confirmed a possibility of differentiated recording of milk yield by measurement of the real time of milk outflow during each working cycle. Mathematical models of an algorithm of functioning of devices of the differentiated recording of milk have been developed during milking. Differentiated milk recording during milking can be technically carried out by addition into the device of udder on-quarters milking monitoring of milk secretion intensity the blocks of measurement of time of the real milk flow during each working cycle, calculation and indication of milk yield. Use of milking machines with function of differentiated recording of the milk yield will allow to increase the duration of productive use of animals, quantity and quality of the milk yield.

EVALUATION OF SOME DISINFECTANTS ON TOTAL MICROBIAL LOAD IN TEATS CUPS AND MILK

Investigation was carried out at the farm of Animal Production Department, College of Agriculture and Forestry, Mosul University on 20 Dairy Friesian Cows. The Cows were milked twice daily in their stands with an Alfa Laval pipeline milking machine .Teats Cups were treated by disinfectants as follows:1-Untreated Teat Cups 2- Wet towel washing water (55-60C0) followed by paper towel drying. 3- Wet towel washing (55-60C0) then by 0.1:1000, 5:100, 1:100 Iodophor respectively, followed by paper towel drying. 4-- Wet towel washing (55-60C0) then by Hibitane at a concentration of 1%, 0. 5%, 0.25%, respectively followed by paper towel drying. 5- Wet towel washing (55-60C0) then by half strength Lukewarm potassium at a concentration 0.5:10000 , 1:10000 respectively followed by paper towel drying, All these treatments were applied onto teats cups for 30-60 seconds. The aims of this study is to evaluate the effects of these disinfectants on Colony forming units (CFUs) of teats cups swab samples and Colony forming units (CFUs) of milk samples. The lowest percentage in the reduction of Log2 /swab of teats cups surface was noticed when wet towel washing (55-60C0), followed by paper towel drying being 36.05%. By using Iodophor there was an increase of about 20% in the reduction of TBC/swab(Total Bactrial Count) with each increase in Iodophor concentration, and were 58.5%,79.3% and 95.7% with concentrations of 1:100, 0.5:100 and 0.1:100). The highest concentration of Hibitane gave a reduction in TBC/swab similar to that of the highest Iodophor concentration, being 94.5%.A decline in the percentage of TBC/swab was proportional with the decrease in Hibitane concentration, being 62.6% and 42.1%, when Hibitane was used at concentrations of 0.5% and 0.25% respectively. Potassium permanganate treatments show a slightly better than wet towel treatments, being 44.9% and 46.9% in concentrations 0.5:10000 and 1:10000 respectively. The reduction percentage of Log2 TBC/ ml of milk in different treatments was noticed when wet towel washing (55-60C0), followed by paper towel drying being 30.0%. By using Iodophor there was an increase of about 20% in the reduction of TBC/swab with each increase in Iodophor concentration, and were 56.2.5%,79.0% and 95.5% with concentrations of 1:100, 0.5:100 and 0.1:100). Hibitane concentrations gave a reduction in TBC/swab lower than that given by Iodophor, being 75.4%.A decline in the percentage of TBC/swab was proportional with the decrease in Hibitane concentration, being 47.3% and 39.5%, when Hibitane was used at concentrations of 0.5% and 0.25% respectively. Potassium permanganate treatments show a slightly better than wet towel treatments, being 40.5% and 49.7% in concentrations of 05.10000 and 1:10000 respectively.

The influence of different milking settings on the measured teat load caused by a collapsing liner

Milking machine settings such as the machine vacuum, pulsation rate, and pulsation ratio influence teat tissue and teat condition, but there remains a lack of knowledge about the teat-liner interface and the pressure applied to the teat tissue by the teat cup liner during milking. The aim of the present study was to determine the influence of different milking settings on the teat-liner interface with the help of a pressure-indicating film. The Extreme Low Prescale film by Fujifilm and a hollow artificial teat made of silicone were used to measure the influence of different machine vacuum levels (30 kPa, 40 kPa, 50 kPa), different pulsation rates (40 cycles min−1, 60 cycles min−1, 80 cycles min−1), and different pulsation ratios (60:40, 65:35, 70:30) on the teat load caused by the collapsing liner. The response surface methodology with a central composite design was used to plan the experiment. The experiment was performed with a conventional milking cluster equipped with round silicone liners. The average pressure (AP), the maximum pressure (MP), and the load (L) were used to analyse the influence of different milking settings. Analysis of covariance was used to estimate the differences between measuring areas, machine vacuum levels, pulsation rates, and pulsation ratios. Machine vacuum levels, pulsation rates, and pulsation ratios had a significant influence on the measured teat load caused by liner collapse; the higher the machine vacuum and the pulsation rate, the higher the measured values of AP, MP, and L. MP values decreased with an increase of the pulsation ratio. The pulsation ratio affected L significantly depending on the machine vacuum. The liner applied more pressure to the end of the teat compared with the whole teat barrel. In conclusion, the results of the present investigation show that different adjustments to the machine vacuum, the pulsation rate, and the pulsation ratio can significantly influence the pressure applied to the whole teat by a collapsing liner.

Case report of a pustular dermatitis outbreak in sheep: Clinical and food safety considerations.

The objective of this report is to describe an outbreak of pustular dermatitis in a flock of about 200 sheep, its clinical evolution and food safety implications. The onset of the symptoms was sudden and the lesions spread very quickly from ewe to ewe, so that in about 3 days almost all of the lactating sheep were stricken. Pustules from 5 different animals, six milk samples, two cheese samples, teat cup samples from the milking machine and farmer’s hands were analysed. A pure culture of Staphylococcus aureus, producing staphylococcal enterotoxin (SE) C, was isolated from pustules. Milk and cheese showed a contamination by coagulase positive staphylococci <15 and 30 colony forming units respectively and the absence of SE. Farmer’s hands and teat cups samples resulted negative for coagulase positive staphylococci. Therapy with daily topical medicaments was prescribed and a prophylactic intervention was suggested by the administration of an autovaccine. The low level of milk and cheese contamination and the absence of SE in cheese supported the decision to not advise the farmer to recall cheese produced with milk from affected animals.

Prevalence and Identification of Yeasts Responsible for Mastitis in Dairy Cattle Farms in the Sidi Lahcene Region in the Wilaya of Sidi Bel abbes- Algeria

Mastitis represents one of the main diseases in dairy cows. In Algeria, very few studies have been conducted on the prevalence of fungal mastitis in dairy cattle farms as well as various factors favouring their appearance and development. In most cases, the triggers this infection is bacteria. A growing number of fungi are currently associated with this pathology. This is related to antibiotics too widely used in the treatment of these bacterial agents. So we set as objectives, determining the prevalence of mastitis caused by yeasts and the study of a number of risk factors in some dairy farms in the region of Sidi Lahcene, wilaya of Sidi Bel Abbes. The samples of this study were carried on farms of cows (mastitic cow and clinically healthy cow) belonging to two types of farms (farms with manual milking and mechanical milking farms). The risk factors included, animal secretions, the teat cups, the hands of the milkers, the skin of the mammary gland, the drinker, the manger, the milk storage tank, the milk collection seal. Mycological analysis was conducted at the Laboratory of Parasitology-Mycology from the Higher National Veterinary School-Algiers. The isolated yeasts were identified using microscopic characterization, and auxanogramme realized in biochemical galleries (gallery Pasteur Institut Pasteur Algiers and testing API® AUX BioMerieux, France). Our results showed a prevalence of infection with yeast, a high frequency of isolation was attributed for the genus Candida sp. followed by the genus Rhodotorula sp. followed by the two genera Cryptococcus sp. and Trichosporon sp.

The effect of teat cup liner type on the teat condition of Holstein primiparous cows

The objective of this study was to test the effect of two different teat cup liners (difference in: head diameter, length, body shape and with / without of air vent) on the teat condition score after milking (hyperkeratosis, color and swellings) and somatic cell count (SCClog) on the Holstein primiparous cows. The cows in control group had significantly (P<0.0001) better teat condition, and lower somatic cell count compering to the cows in experimental group. The obtained results indicate that liner type affects teat skin condition and somatic cell count, and therefore the risk of mastitis.

Milking machine and udder health management factors associated with bulk milk somatic cell count in Uruguayan herds

This paper describes the findings of static milking machine tests and milking observations on Uruguayan dairy farms. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between both milking machine performance and udder health management factors and bulk milk somatic cell count (BMSCC) in Uruguayan dairy herds. Data from 907 visits were used for the analysis. The farm visits were made between April 2006 and November 2015 and farms were located in 17 of the 19 departments of Uruguay. Each visit involved a short static machine test and observation of the milking process; the use of blanket dry cow therapy was also recorded. The BMSCC was the variable of interest. Univariable analysis was applied to explore the best set of predictors to be included in the multivariable model. A multivariable linear regression model was fitted. The median BMSCC over the years was 376 thousand cells/mL (interquartile range = 280,000–500,000 cells/mL). The final model showed a lower BMSCC for herds that used post-milking teat disinfection, applied the teat cups to dry teats and maintained the pulsation system in good working order. There was no significant association between BMSCC and blanket dry cow therapy in the final model. The association of these milking machine and udder health management factors with the BMSCC under Uruguayan conditions is relevant information for a dairy industry that needs low BMSCCs to compete on the world market.

Pseudomonas spp.: contamination sources in bulk tanks of dairy farms

ABSTRACT: This study focused on isolating Pseudomonas spp. during milking process in ten dairy farms with manual and mechanical milking systems during dry and rainy seasons, and evaluating DNA homology and patterns of distribution between isolates, in order to identify main sources of milk contamination by Pseudomonas spp. A total of 167 isolates of Pseudomonas spp. were obtained from water, milkers’ hands, cows’ teats, teat cups, cooling tanks and raw milk. Bacteria of Pseudomonas spp. genus were isolated from 85 and 82 sampling points in dairy farms with manual and mechanical milking system, respectively. A significant difference (p=0.02) on Pseudomonas spp. isolation was observed among samples of surface of cows’ teats before and after pre-dipping, but no significant difference (p&gt;0.05) was observed among milking systems or seasons. The possibility of the same Pseudomonas spp. patterns are distributed in different farms and seasons using Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism (AFLP) technique was demonstrated. Milkers’ hands, surface of cows’ teats, teat cups and cooling tanks were associated with raw milk contamination with Pseudomonas spp. on farms with manual and mechanical milking system, showing that regardless of the type of milking system and season, proper hygiene procedures of equipment, utensils and workers’ hands are essential to avoid contamination of the milk and, therefore, improve milk quality.

Technical note: Reduced pulsation chamber vacuum at normal pulsation rate and ratio provides adequate prestimulation to induce oxytocin release and milk ejection while simultaneous milk flow is prevented

In the present study we investigated the milking characteristics and the oxytocin release in dairy cows milked after either manual prestimulation or a premilking period with pulsating liners at normal pulsation rate (60) and ratio (60:40) while the pulsation chamber vacuum (PCV) was reduced to 20 kPa to prevent the opening of the liners. During the milking trial with 8 cows the PCV reduction was started either before attachment (PCV-1) or immediately after attachment (PCV-2) of the teat cups. Milk yields, total milking times, average milk flows, peak flow rates, the duration of milk flow plateaus, and the duration of milk flow declines did not differ among the 3 treatments. Only the time to reach peak milk flow was prolonged when the vacuum reduction was started after teat cup attachment (PCV-2). In this treatment, milk flow >200 g/min already occurred during the premilking period, resulting in bimodal milk flow curves. In 5 of the 8 cows, plasma oxytocin (OT) concentrations were measured from -2 min before the start of milking until 3 min of milking to compare the OT release in response to manual prestimulation and during PCV-1. In both treatments, OT increased similarly and remained elevated until the end of measurements. Consequently, the areas under the curve of OT concentrations did not differ between treatments. In conclusion, milking performance is similar if milking is performed after manual prestimulation or after normal pulsation at reduced PCV. To prevent milk flow during the prestimulation period, it is of crucial importance to start the reduction of the PCV before cluster attachment.

Milking time and risk of over-milking can be decreased with early teat cup removal based on udder quarter milk flow without loss in milk yield

Increasing the milk flow rate at which milking is terminated can shorten milking time and increase milking efficiency. The effects on milk yield and composition have not been fully investigated when the take-off is set at the udder quarter level and independent of feeding during milking. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of 3 take-off levels at the udder quarter level (0.06, 0.3, and 0.48 kg/min) applied with or without feeding during milking on milking time, milk yield, the degree of udder emptying, milk composition, and free fatty acids. In this study, 30 cows were allocated into 6 groups, balanced by lactation number, lactation stage, and milk yield, and subjected to a 3 × 2 factorial arrangement of treatments using a Latin square design. Treatments were applied for 1 wk each. This study demonstrated milking time could be reduced by applying up to a take-off level of 0.48 kg/min on udder quarter level without losing milk yield or compromising milk composition or udder health.

Comparative study of behavioural and milking traits in cows milked with a conventional or individual quarter milking system (Multilactor®) and with different milking persons

Abstract The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of a new type of milking system on the behaviour of cows during milking by comparing a conventional milking system (CON) with an individual quarter milking system (MUL), MultiLactor®. Sixty-eight dairy cows were observed during their milking times (32 cows in CON, 36 cows in MUL) using video recordings to analyse their behavioural traits. The udder preparation duration, milking duration and milk yield were also evaluated. No significant differences were found between the CON and the MUL regarding cows’ head posture (P=0.38), body posture (P=0.85), number of steps (P=0.08) and number of kicks (P=0.56). However, the milk yield was lower (P=0.02), just as the udder preparation duration (P&lt;0.01) and milking duration (P=0.01) were shorter in the CON compared to the MUL. In addition, in regard to the milking person, differences were displayed in the head posture of the milked cows, kick-off or loss of teat cup or milking cluster, and frequency of udder preparation. In conclusion, the investigated milking systems did not markedly influence the behaviour of dairy cows; however, udder preparation duration, milking duration and milk yield were significantly greater for the MUL than for the CON. However, the milking person appears to have a greater impact on the behaviour of the cows than the milking system.

The Use of a Pressure-Indicating Film to Determine the Effect of Liner Type on the Measured Teat Load Caused by a Collapsing Liner.

During milking the teat cup liner is the interface between the teat of a dairy cow and the milking system, so it should be very well adapted to the teat. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to determine the effect of liner type on the directly measuring teat load caused by a collapsing liner with a pressure-indicating film. The Extreme Low pressure-indicating film was used to detect the effect of six different liners on teat load. For each liner, six positions in the teat cup were specified, and six repetitions were performed for each position with a new piece of film each time. Analysis of variance was performed to detect differences between the six liners, the positions within a liner, and the measuring areas. The pressure applied to the teat by a liner depends on the technical characteristics of the liner, especially the shape of the barrel, and for all tested liners, a higher teat load was found at the teat end. In conclusion, with the help of pressure-indicating film, it is possible to determine the different effects of liner type by directly measuring teat load due to liner collapse.