The milking frequency of primiparous cows in their early stage of lactation and its impact on milking performance

Abstract

An automatic milking system allows cows to present their full production capability by not limiting them to a specific time when the milking occurs or a fix number of milkings per day. The beginning of the first lactation is a key point in terms of subsequent milk production. The aim of the present study was to indicate the relationship between the milking frequency of primiparous cows during the first month of lactation and their subsequent milk performance. Material of the study consisted of 25 Polish herds of Holstein–Friesian dairy cattle. All cows were milked with the use of an automatic milking system. Animals were divided into five groups, depending on the milking frequency in the first month after calving (MFF). The collected data were statistically processed using the multifactorial ANOVA. The best milk and milking parameters characterised primiparous cows, for which the average number of milkings per day was at the level of 3–3.5 or above, this group did not have a preferred time for their milking. This group of cows milked more frequently during the first month of lactation (MFF5) and had the highest milk yield (MY) and milking duration. The highest culling percentage (57.77%) was noted within the group of primiparous cows with the lowest milking frequency during the first month of lactation (MFF1). MFF5 animals maintained better milk and milking parameters in all months of lactation than did those in the other groups. Older animals, that calved after the 28th month of life, and those that calved during warmer seasons, showed the tendency to have a lower milking frequency and poorer milk and milking parameters. The findings obtained in the present study are interesting in terms of their potential use, because they show that frequent milking during the first month after calving corresponds to a better overall MY during that lactation. Hopefully, by promoting frequent milkings at the beginning of lactation, farmer may increase the overall lactation MY.

Comparison of Parameters of Automatic Milking in Selected Countries in European Union and United States

“…The obtained results were generally characterized by a growing tendency in the reporting years 2018-2020, exceeding the results presented in previous studies (Waśkowicz et al, 2014;Piwczyński et al, 2020a). In the study by Sitkowska et al (2020), who investigated primiparas performance, the importance of the average milking frequency (especially in the initial phase of the first lactation) on milk yield in its further stages was demonstrated with levels above 3.50 milkings a day considered optimal. In turn, Castro et al (2012) found the range between 2.40 and 2.60 a day to be the optimal value of milking frequency per day.…”

“…Today, the number of only Lely robot milkers exceeds 30 ths worldwide (Lely International, 2019). The dynamics of the growing number of AMS installations, that may be observed nowadays, may result mainly from the deepening deficit of qualified employees, as well as the beneficial effect of robotization of milking on the level of milking parameters (Brzozowski et al, 2018;Piwczyński et al, 2020b;Sitkowska et al, 2020). The results of numerous studies suggest that the increase in milk yield after the AMS installation, even up to 20%, is directly caused by the increased number of milkings performed by the cow during the day (Rotz et al, 2003;Österman et al, 2005).…”