Periodic omission of dairy cow milkings: I. Effect on milk yield and composition and on udder health

Radcliffe, J. C.; Bailey, L. F.; Horne, Mathew

doi:10.1017/s0022029900014576

Cited by 8 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 2 publications

(1 reference statement)

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“…In our experiment we obtained an overall reduction in milk yield lower than 4% when omitting one milking weekly in cows yielding around 30 L/d. Previous studies, however, demonstrated a reduction in milk yield varying from as little as 3% to as much as 10% as a result of omitting one milking weekly in comparison with twice daily milking (Radcliffe et al, 1973;Labussière and Coindet;1968). Recent studies on the short term effects of omitting one milking weekly to reduce labor requirements on dairy farms, suggest that milk yield was not affected in late lactation (Sheehy, 2001;O'Brien et al, 2002).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There are few reported studies on the effect on milk yield in dairy animals of omitting one milking weekly, compared to twice a day milking. Yield losses ranged from 3 to 10% in cows (Labussière and Coindet, 1968;Radcliffe et al, 1973), 8 to 26% in ewes (Casu and Labussière, 1972;Labussière et al, 1974;Huidobro, 1988) and 3 to 5% in goats (Mocquot, 1978;Le Mens, 1978;Le Du, 1989). Yield losses seem to be related to the level of milk yield, breed, and udder morphology.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Effect of Omitting One Milking Weekly on Lactational Performances and Morphological Udder Changes in Dairy Cows

Ayadi

Caja

Such

et al. 2003

Journal of Dairy Science

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The response of dairy cows to omitting one milking weekly was investigated in two successive experiments conducted with Holstein cows milked twice daily. Experiment 1 compared the lactational performances and udder changes in eight cows (31.2 L/d, 201 d in milk) in the 5 wk before and the 5 wk after introducing the suppression of one milking weekly. Milk yield was recorded daily and milk composition twice weekly. Milk partitioning in the udder (alveolar and cisternal milk) and cisternal size (ultrasonography), 8 h after milking, were also measured at the start and the end of the experiment. Although daily milk yield decreased 32% during the experiment (10 wk), linear regression analysis revealed a loss of milk yield of 1.1 L/d (3.7%) as a consequence of the omission of one milking weekly. Milk composition, lactation persistency, and somatic cell count (SCC) were unaffected by milking omission. Milk partitioning in the udder decreased by 38% in alveolar milk volume and showed a tendency to decrease in cisternal milk volume (15%) and cisternal size (7%), as a result of milking omission and advancing lactation. Loss in total milk yield was negatively related with cisternal milk volume (r = -0.77) and cisternal size (r = -0.70) indicating smaller losses in the udders with large cisterns. In Experiment 2, five cows (21.0 L/d, 227 d in milk) previously adapted to the milking omission schedule were used to study the daily effects of milking omission on milk yield, milk composition and udder health during 10 wk. Milk yield and milk composition were approximately constant but SCC increased with lactation stage. The omission of one milking caused an important decrease in milk yield, fat content and SCC on the omission day and a compensatory increase over the following 2 d, but milk protein and lactose did not vary. All variables reached the average weekly value three days after the milking omission (six milkings). In conclusion, under the conditions used, omitting one milking weekly slightly reduced milk yield and did not affect milk composition when healthy cows were used. Milk losses by milking omission depend on udder cistern characteristics; evaluating cistern size by ultrasonography may be a useful tool for choosing cows that are better adapted to a reduced milking frequency.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of Omitting One Milking Weekly on Lactational Performances and Morphological Udder Changes in Dairy Cows

Ayadi

Caja

Such

et al. 2003

Journal of Dairy Science

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“…The increase in fat content on Day 2 was unexpected given that the interval between milkings was the same for the two groups of ewes. In dairy cows, Radcliff et al (1973) found that fat content was higher on the day of the missed milking and lower the next day with no effects on the concentrations of protein or solids not fat. These workers also found milk yields were 50% lower on the day of the missed milking and 50% higher the next day when the cows returned to twice-a-day milking.…”

Section: O-0--6 Oad + Noms Tad + Nomsmentioning

confidence: 98%

Effects of milking frequency and machine‐stripping on the yield and composition of milk from Poll Dorset ewes

Knight

Gosling

1995

New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research

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Mature Poll Dorset ewes from the Flock House commercial sheep-milking flock in their 9th week of lactation, were used in two experiments. In Experiment 1, 40 ewes were used to compare the effects of missing an afternoon milking every 7 days with control ewes which were milked twice every day. In Experiment 2, 60 ewes were used in a 2 × 2 factorial comparing once-a-day versus twice-a-day milking and no machine-stripping versus machine-stripping. The results indicated that reducing milking frequency after the 8th week of lactation had no effects on the duration of lactation and only a small effect on total lactation yield. The 7% lower milk yields resulting from missing one afternoon milking every 7 days represented a loss of only 1.6 1 milk/ewe, and the 19.4% reduction in milk yield after the 8th week of lactation from once-a-day milking represented a loss of only 7.9 1 milk/ewe. The concentration of protein was higher in the milk from ewes missing a milking in Experiment 1 (6.40 ± 0.08% for ewes missing a milking versus 6.15 ± 0.07% for controls; P < 0.05) and in the ewes milked once a day in Experiment 2 (6.3 ± 0.1% for ewes milked once a day versus 6.1 ±0.1% for ewes milked twice a day; P < 0.01). Machine-stripping had no effect on milk yields and minor effects on milk composition. The conclusions from the experiments were that labour savings of 14-30% over milking could be made by reducing the milking frequency and eliminating machine-stripping after the 8th week of lactation.

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“…The omission of one milking without changing milking times entails an extended milking interval of 24 h (24-h milking interval, 24h-MI) and is associated with an immediate decrease in milk yield observed on the day of milking omission, and carryover effects on milk yield, with a gradual return to initial state in the next 2 d (Labussière and Coindet, 1968;Radcliffe et al, 1973). In dairy cows the rate of milk secretion is known to decrease curvilinearly after 16 to 18 h of milk accumulation in the udder, so that the longer the milking intervals, the more marked are the milk losses and carryover effects (Elliott et al, 1960;Wheelock et al, 1966;Stelwagen et al, 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Individual responses of dairy cows to a 24-hour milking interval

Charton

Larroque

Robert-Granié

et al. 2016

Journal of Dairy Science

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Some dairy farmers opt to omit one milking, either incidentally or weekly, without changing other milking times. This practice entails an extended milking interval of 24h (24h-MI), which is associated with a decrease in milk yield. This decrease varies among cows and could be partly due to factors such as stage of lactation and milk yield level. The aim of this study was to describe the average and individual responses in terms of loss and carryover effects of a 24h-MI on milk yield. The influence of factors such as parity, stage of lactation, and milk yield potential were investigated, together with response repeatability. Our trial used 292 Holstein-Friesian cows, and consisted of 3 successive periods: 1 wk of twice-daily milking (TDM) as a control, one 24h-MI, and then 13d of TDM. The number of observations per cow ranged from 1 to 9, with no more than three 24h-MI per lactation. The 24h-MI reduced milk yield by 23% (7.8 kg on average) and milk lactose content by 2.6g/kg on the 24h-MI day. Milk fat and protein content, and somatic cell score increased by 3.0 g/kg, 0.5 g/kg, and 0.4 units, respectively. No significant carryover effect was found of a 24h-MI on milk yield or milk composition 2 wk after resumption of TDM. Milk yield loss and recovery varied widely (coefficient of variation 62%), and the relationship between milk loss and milk recovery showed substantial variation (residual standard deviation 2.1 kg/d). Cows with a greater milk potential level lost more milk yield but recovered more milk, with no influence on recovery:loss ratio. Cows in early lactation recovered the lost milk yield faster. Repeatability of the responses to a 24h-MI was 44% for milk yield loss (kg/d), 57% for relative milk yield loss (%), 33% for milk yield recovery (kg/d), and 0% for milk recovery:loss ratio (%), suggesting a genetically determined ability to limit loss when one milking is omitted. To conclude, a 24h-MI caused higher milk yield losses than reported in previous studies. Stage of lactation, estimated potential milk yield level, and parity explained the cows' response to the 24h-MI, but did not account for all the individual variability.

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Periodic omission of dairy cow milkings: I. Effect on milk yield and composition and on udder health

Cited by 8 publications

References 2 publications

Effect of Omitting One Milking Weekly on Lactational Performances and Morphological Udder Changes in Dairy Cows

Effect of Omitting One Milking Weekly on Lactational Performances and Morphological Udder Changes in Dairy Cows

Effects of milking frequency and machine‐stripping on the yield and composition of milk from Poll Dorset ewes

Individual responses of dairy cows to a 24-hour milking interval

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