Milking Procedures

							Milking Procedures


AVS346
Dairy Cattle Technology
    Milking: Most Important Job
   Goals
       Milk the cows
        efficiently
       Prevent the spread of
        pathogens
       Produce quality milk
            Somebody is going to
             drink this stuff!!!
Before You Start
   Work quietly and smoothly
   Wear gloves
       Your skin can harbor mastitis causing bacteria
        that are easily spread from cow to cow
       Protects hands from teat dips
   Keep hands clean
       Gloves enable better hand washing
   Check to make sure unit is functioning
    properly
       Is there good vacuum at all 4 teat cups?
       Is the liner collapsing on all 4 teat cups?
Steps to Milking a Cow
1.   Let the cow know you are there
        Touch them or make sure they see you
         approach
        Cows don’t see directly behind them
        Don’t startle
2.   Remove any dry material from teat
        Use the thumb to rub bottom of teat
3.   Predip
        Disinfect teat end
            Fewer bacteria to cause mastitis
            Fewer bacteria end up in milk
        Keys
            Good teat coverage, at least 75% coverage
            Contact time, 20-30 sec.
     Steps to Milking a Cow
4.   Take a good streak of milk from each teat
        Also called “Stripping”
        Examine for abnormal milk - Mastitis
        Best stimulus to oxytocin release
        Can switch steps 3 & 4
5.   Dry teats with individual towels
        Milk only clean, dry teats!!
        Dry teats completely
           Paper or cloth towels
        Water enables bacteria to move
           In to teat or milk
     Steps to Milking a Cow
5.   Attach machine
        Allow as little air as possible
         into unit
        Key - 60-90 seconds after
         stripping
6.   Adjust unit on cow and
     monitor milk flow
        Unit should be straight and
         pulling slightly forward
            Back teats produce 60% of
             milk
        Try to eliminate vacuum
         losses
        Otherwise known as liner
         slips or “Squawking”
Steps to Milking a Cow
6.   Make sure cow is milked out
        Feel above teat
        On problem cows, don’t rely solely on milk
         flowing from hose or ATO (Automatic Take
         Off)
7.   Shut off vacuum when done
        Allow unit to fall off
        No liner slips
8.   Postdip
        Teat canal stretched open following milking
        Three reasons
            Removes any milk on teat
            Kills bacteria
            Forms a barrier to bacteria over teat end
        Get good coverage of bottom ¾ of teats
        Keep cows standing following milking
Important Points in Milking Procedure
   Avoid use of water on teats
       Unless cows are filthy
       Only milk clean, dry teats!!
       Do not use parlor hoses to wash udders
       Magic Water!!
   Common cloth to wash several cows
       Using sponges/rags on multiple cows increases
        the risk of mastitis
       Individual paper or cloth towels best
   Paper versus cloth towels
       Paper towels convenient, cloth requires washing
       Cloth more absorbent and environmentally
        friendly
       Washing of cloth towels important to reducing
        risk of mastitis – Drying or bleach
Keys

   Be thorough and consistent
       Every step fully completed
   Attention to detail
   Good communication
   Put best people in the parlor
   Milker training
    Liner Slips
   Caused when air is sucked
    between teat and liner
   Many inaudible
   Minimize but probably not
    eliminate
   More common toward
    end of milking,
   Milk droplets propelled
    back against teat ends
    (Impacts)
       Travels up to 80 mph
       6000 Liner slips equals
        one new infection
   Spread from teat to teat
Teat Dips
   One of the most important steps to
    keeping cows healthy and producing clean
    milk
   Use approved teat dips at recommended
    strength
       Research data to prove they prevent mastitis
       Not bleach or other household disinfectants
   Spraying versus dipping teats
       Dipping gives better coverage
       Spraying wastes dip
Types of Dips
   Contain a number of germicides
       Iodine
       Chlorhexidine
       Quaternary ammonium
       Sodium hypochlorite
       Dodecyl benzene sulfonic acid
       Lauryl sulfate
       Nisin
   Barrier dip
       Form a physical barrier
       Help prevent environmental mastitis
   Teat sealant – dry cows
       Plug teat canal
   Powdered Dips – Cold weather
       Prevent frozen teat ends in cold housing
Teat Dipping
   Keep teat dip clean
   Throw out if dip becomes contaminated
    with manure or dirt
   Ensure that the dip thoroughly covers at
    least the lower half of the teat
   In cold weather, use dry dip or allow extra
    time to dry before cows exit the barn
   Dip teats immediately after milking
       The sooner the teats are dipped the more
        effective the treatment
  Checking Dip Coverage
                      White Towel Test




                                        Poor Coverage




                                        Good Coverage

University of Minnesota – QCF-1, 2003
    Under and Overmilking
   Not knowing when cow is milked
        This is a big problem for UMADCOWS
   Residual milk
        Milk that can’t be removed with additional
         stripping
        2-6 lbs typical
   Undermilking
        Incomplete removal of the available milk
        More than 1 cup can be stripped from cow
        Too much milk left in udder begins to dry off cow
   Overmilking
        Leaving the machine until milk flow stops
        No milk in claw window means cow is overmilked
        Does more damage than undermilking
When is a Cow Overmilked?

   Discolored teats after milking
   Teats with ringing at the base after
    the unit is removed
   Cows that become restless or start
    to lick during late-flow period
   Claws or long milk hoses without
    any milk
Normal Color
     Lactocorder

   Used for monitoring
    people and machine
    performance
   Accurate meter
   Measures flow from
    cow
Good Milk Flow
Bimodal Milk Flow – Udder Poor Simulation
Overmilking
Unbalanced Udder

     All
  Quarters
   Milking


             2 Quarters
               Milking
 Suggested Minimum Benchmarks for Milking Times




Total not counting entry and exit   41   41
Parlor Routines
Parlor Routines
   Has to do with the sequence of how cows are
    milked once in the parlor
   Single operators usually predip 4-6 cows, then go
    back and strip all 4-6 then go back and attach all 4-
    6
   Depending on how many cows done before
    returning to first enables operator to precisely time
    dip contact and oxytocin release to unit on times
   3 Types of routines
      Territory
      Rotating or sequential
      Combination
   When milking large herds small differences in
    routine make big differences in how quickly the
    herd is milked
          Milking Efficiency
                  Cows milk per milker per hour
                  Function of
                       Turns = Cows per unit per hour
                       Number of units per milker
                       Automation
                  Count pusher
                  Automated parlors may give you this info
                             Milking System    Slow        Average        Fast
   Turns per Hour Analysis
                             Parlor           <3 Turns   3.5 – 4 Turns   >4 Turns
                             Stall Barn       <5 Turns    5-6 Turns      >6 Turns




                             Milking System    Low        Average         High
Units per Milker Analysis
                             Parlor*            <8          8-12           >16
                             Stall Barn         <3           3-4           >4