a comparison of the effects of either four or six times of daily milking during early lactating on production performance and blood metabolites in holstein cows

the objective fllowed in the present study was to evaluate the effects of different milkingfrequencies on milk production and on blood metabolites in holstein cows. sixty-six fresh holsteincows were allocated to two treatments namely: 4 (4x) vs. 6 times (6x) of daily milking, during the first3 months of lactation, and then switching on to a three times of daily milking until end of the lactationperiod. milk yield was recorded as on two consecutive days in each week. cows were weighted andscored for their body conditions immediately after calving and as well during each month of theexperimental period. blood and milk samples were collected monthly. milk and fat corrected milkyield did not differ among treatments. milk fat and protein percentage did not differ among treatmentsrather, but milk lactose was percentage wise lower for 4x milked cows (p