Milk flow traits of buffalo cows in intensive farming system

Abstract

The particular morphology of buffalo udder is associated to milking difficulties. To better understandthe characteristics of milk ejection in buffaloes, a study was conducted in an intensive farm in Lombardy, Italy. Atotal of 184 milk flow profiles were measured with an electronic flow meter. The results showed that during the first3 minutes of milking 73% of total milk yield was milked; lag time of milk ejection (1.94 min ± 1.57) was very longand increased significantly with the increasing of lactation stage. The overmilking phase has also a long duration(33% of total milking time, on average). Administration of oxytocin before milking did not significantly affect milkflow parameters and machine on-time. The results suggested that proper pre-milking stimulation and prompt clustertakeoff could improve milking efficiency, ensuring good milk letdown and protecting teat conditions.

Keywords

• Buffalo, Milk production, Milk ejection, Milk flow.