In this study, 400,729 Dairy Herd Improvement (DHI) records collected on 77,178 cows in 692 Midwest herds over 29 mo (January 1999 to May 2001) were used to analyze milk urea nitrogen (MUN) as collected the day of the test in 6 breeds. Records of Holsteins, Jerseys, and Brown Swiss were subjected to stepwise backward elimination analysis with a model including parity (primiparous vs. multiparou...

An on-farm experiment was performed to investigate the effects of two milking systems on teat condition. An auto-tandem milking parlor made by GEA(®) with a conventional milking cluster (CON) and a single tube milking system called MultiLactor(®) (MULTI) from Siliconform GmbH were tested. For both milking system, in total 73 animals were milked over a period of seven months. To assess the effec...

Release of oxytocin (OT) is essential for milk ejection in dairy cows (Lefcourt & Akers, 1983; Bruckmaier & Blum, 1998). During milk ejection, alveolar milk is shifted into the cistern, which causes an increase of intracisternal pressure (Bruckmaier et al. 1994). To initiate maximum milk ejection at the start of milking, increasing OT concentration beyond a threshold level is sufficient (Schams...

The aim of the study was to quantify the workload on the upper extremity for fundamental work tasks during machine milking. Eleven milkers working in a loose-housing system with a milking parlour participated in the study. Muscle activity for the biceps and the forearm flexors, as well as positions and movements of the wrists were simultaneously measured by electromyography and electrogoniometr...

robotic milking systems (rMS) offer an innovative approach to improve productivity on dairy farms. rMS will influence the future growth of farms, the nature of husbandry employed and the quality of life on family farms. For farms using hired labour and located near industrial centres, RMS may contribute to the reduction of wage costs. As this technology is very expensive, and little is known re...

In order to assess the welfare of cows milked in automatic milking systems (AMS), restlessness behaviour during milking (stepping, foot-lifting), heart rate (HR) and heart-rate variability (HRV) were investigated in cows milked in two different AMS models (AMS-1, AMS-2) and in auto-tandem milking parlours (ATM) on four commercial farms in each case. Stepping rates and proportions of milkings wi...

In normal use, milking parlor can cause the release of oxytocin through neuroendocrine reflex, but the use of milking parlor sometimes cause stress and lead to a decrease in milk production. In Indonesia at this time, traditional milking by hand is still widely used by dairy farmers. The purpose of this study is to investigate the use of milking parlor to the physiological and behavioral respon...

The effect of milking temperament on plasma hormones, metabolites, milk yield and composition in lactating Murrah buffaloes was studied. Animals were selected from the institute herd and grouped as docile and nervous buffaloes, based on temperament score before and during milking. Blood sampling times were; before milking (-20 min.), after concentrate intake, after teat massage, during milking ...

Lameness is one of the most pressing issues within the dairy industry; it has severe economic implications while causing a serious impact on animal welfare. A study conducted approximately 10 years ago found the within farm lameness prevalence in the UK to be 36.8%. Our objective here is to provide an update on within farm lameness prevalence in the UK, and to provide further evidence on farm l...

The main purpose of this article is to describe interaction between physiology of lactation and milking machine. This is important in order to avoid bad influ­ ences (such as: high somatic cell count (SCC), mastitis, etc.). The paper is divided into two parts: The anatomy part describes udder characteristics needed for healthy udder and high milk yield. The milking machine part describes milkin...