Milk flow traits of buffalo cows in intensive farming system

oleh: M. Zucali, A. Tamburini, A. Sandrucci, L. Bava

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: Taylor & Francis Group 2010-04-01

Deskripsi

The particular morphology of buffalo udder is associated to milking difficulties. To better understand<br />the characteristics of milk ejection in buffaloes, a study was conducted in an intensive farm in Lombardy, Italy. A<br />total of 184 milk flow profiles were measured with an electronic flow meter. The results showed that during the first<br />3 minutes of milking 73% of total milk yield was milked; lag time of milk ejection (1.94 min &plusmn; 1.57) was very long<br />and increased significantly with the increasing of lactation stage. The overmilking phase has also a long duration<br />(33% of total milking time, on average). Administration of oxytocin before milking did not significantly affect milk<br />flow parameters and machine on-time. The results suggested that proper pre-milking stimulation and prompt cluster<br />takeoff could improve milking efficiency, ensuring good milk letdown and protecting teat conditions.