Milking management of dairy buffalo

Borghese, A.; Rasmussen, Morten Grud; Thomas, C. S.

doi:10.4081/ijas.2007.s2.39

Cited by 49 publications

(64 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…This effect prevents further milk flow, increasing the milking time (Bruckmaier and Blum, 1996;Thomas, 2009). Borghese et al (2007) reported teat lengths from 6.3 to 8.5 cm for the Mediterranean Buffalo breed and, according to Thomas et al (2004), milk ejection causes more than a 10% increase in teat length and teat girth. Thomas et al (2004) also found that teat canals were longer in buffaloes (3.1 cm) than that reported by other researchers for cows (0.5-1.3 cm; Geishauser and Querengässer, 2000;Neijenhuis et al, 2001).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of the performance of the first automatic milking system for buffaloes

Caria

Tangorra

Leonardi

et al. 2014

Journal of Dairy Science

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The objective of this study was to evaluate the response of buffaloes to automatic milking, examining the relationships between milking interval, milk production, and milking time for this species. A total of 7,550 milking records from an average of 40 buffaloes milked by an automatic milking system (AMS) were analyzed during a 3-mo experimental period at a commercial farm with Italian Mediterranean buffaloes in southern Italy. Date and time of animal identification, milk yield, milking duration, milking interval, and average milk flow rate were determined for each milking. The results were also used to predict the maximum number of milkings per day and the optimal number of buffaloes per AMS for different levels of milk production. The average interval period between 2 consecutive milkings was 10.3 h [standard deviation (SD) 3.3]. Overall, 3.4 and 25.7% of the milkings had an interval of ≤ 6 h or >12 h, respectively. Milking duration averaged 8.3 min per buffalo per milking (SD 2.7). The average milk flow rate was 1.3 kg/min (SD 0.5) at a milk yield of 2.8 kg per milking (SD 1.4). Assuming that the milking station is occupied 80% of the time, the number of milkings ranged from 136 to 152 per day and the optimal number of buffaloes per AMS ranged from 59 to 66 when the production level increased from 2 to 5 kg of milk per milking. Automatic milking systems are suitable for buffalo, opening new options for the management of dairy buffalo farms.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of the performance of the first automatic milking system for buffaloes

Caria

Tangorra

Leonardi

et al. 2014

Journal of Dairy Science

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“…Dairy cows tend to select the most attractive side or avoid the unattractive side (Hopster et al 1998); therefore, each animal should be able to choose its favourite side of the milking parlour in order to feel comfortable during milking (Grasso et al 2007). Buffaloes seem even more sensitive to changes in the milking environment than other dairy animals and when they are uncomfortable they may withhold milk (Borghese et al 2007). Buffaloes seem even more sensitive to changes in the milking environment than other dairy animals and when they are uncomfortable they may withhold milk (Borghese et al 2007).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Milking behaviour of buffalo cows: entrance order and side preference in the milking parlour

Polikarpus

Grasso

Pacelli

et al. 2013

Journal of Dairy Research

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On two farms, three milking groups of buffalo cows were used to assess the consistency of entrance order and the preference for one side of the milking parlour. On Farm 1 (F1) all animals were primiparous (n=57). On Farm 2, three primiparous, 16 secondiparous and 36 multiparous cows (range 1-8) constituted group F2G1; whereas group F2G2 had 12 primiparous, 10 secondiparous and 14 multiparous cows (range 1-10). Animals were milked in auto-tandem milking parlours (2×5 and 2×6 for Farms 1 and 2, respectively). For each cow, entrance order into milking parlour, side where she was milked, milk yield, time and duration of milking were recorded. These data were derived from the computerised identification of cows. The sequence in which the cows entered the milking parlour ranged from 1 to 57 for group F1, from 1 to 55 for group F2G1 and from 1 to 36 for group F2G2. The analysis of data was conducted on 130, 120 and 92 consecutive milkings for groups F1, F2G1 and F2G2, respectively. Kendall's coefficients of concordance showed a strong constancy of the entrance order into milking parlour for groups F1 (W=0·658; χ2=4792·81; P<0·001), F2G1 (W=0·779; χ2=5046·81; P<0·001) and F2G2 (W=0·624; χ2=2030·48; P<0·001). Spearman rank correlation coefficients indicated that the more productive cows in groups F1 and F2G1 tended to enter the milking parlour first (r s=-0·221 and r s=-0·215; P<0·10; respectively). In group F2G1, a negative correlation was found between duration of milking and order of entry in the milking parlour (r s=-0·265; P<0·05). Animals in group F2G2 (r s=0·334; P<0·05) with higher days in milk entered the milking parlour latterly. In all three groups, 68 cows (45·9%) preferred the right side of the milking parlour, 73 the left side (49·3%) and the remaining seven (4·8%) showed no preference. Finally, negative correlations were found between mean entrance order and parity for both groups of Farm 2 (r s=-0·319; P<0·05 and r s=-0·325; P<0·05 for F2G1 and F2G2, respectively). As buffaloes showed higher entrance order consistency and side preference than other domestic ruminants, it is concluded that management practices that disturb their choice should be avoided in order to minimise stress during farming routines.

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“…Since camels have a very limited cisternal milk volume (Caja et al 2011;Atigui et al 2014) such a delayed milk ejection implies milking on empty teats until milk ejection occurs, which exposes animals to high risks of mastitis, as reported for dairy buffaloes (Borghese et al 2007). In the present experiment, in presence of noise during the entire milking (T 3 ), milk ejection was not totally inhibited but was significantly delayed (1·5 min).…”

Section: Effects Of Stress Before or During Milkingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of changes in milking routine on milking related behaviour and milk removal in Tunisian dairy dromedary camels

Atigui

Marnet

Ayeb

et al. 2014

Journal of Dairy Research

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We studied the effects of changes in the milking routine (lack or presence of 30-s prestimulation, 0 or 1, 2 or 4-min delay between preparation and cluster attachment) and environmental perturbation (unusual loud sounds capable of frightening animals just after stall entry or during the course of milking) on milk removal and milking-related behaviour in dairy dromedary camels. A 30-s prestimulation decreased incidence of bimodal milk flow curves and increased occurrence of the best milk ejection patterns with higher milk flow but had limited effect on milk production in our well-trained animals within a good machine milking setting. However, unusual sounds heard from the beginning of milking or even after milk ejection caused inhibition or disruption of milk removal and modification of camels' behaviour. Milk ejection was significantly delayed (1·58±0·17 min), residual milk increased over 40% of total milk yield and average and peak milk flow rates were significantly lowered when unusual noises were heard from the beginning of milking. These environmental perturbations increased signs of vigilance and the number of attempts to escape the milking parlour. Delaying cluster attachment for over 1 min after the end of udder preparation caused serious milk losses. Up to 62% of total milk was withheld in the udder when the delay reached 4 min. Average and peak milk flow rates also decreased significantly with delayed milking. Signs of vigilance and attempts to escape from the milking parlour appeared when camels waited for over 2 min. After a 4-min delay, camels showed signs of acute stress. Defaecation prior to milk ejection (solid faeces) and rumination during milking can be used to assess camels' milk ejection during milking. Animal welfare and milking efficiency can be ensured when camels are pre-stimulated, milked in calm conditions and with cluster attachment within a maximum of a 1-min delay after stimulation.

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Milking management of dairy buffalo

Cited by 49 publications

References 5 publications

Evaluation of the performance of the first automatic milking system for buffaloes

Evaluation of the performance of the first automatic milking system for buffaloes

Milking behaviour of buffalo cows: entrance order and side preference in the milking parlour

Effect of changes in milking routine on milking related behaviour and milk removal in Tunisian dairy dromedary camels

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