“Gradual dryoff” is the practice of skipping some milkings before cessation of milking a cow at the end of lactation. I was taught in agricultural and vet school classes that this was to be avoided; abrupt dryoff no skipped milkings is physiologically superior for the cow. Nevertheless, like most dairy veterinarians, I experienced clients using gradual dryoff sometimes. When I was a resident at...

Twenty Holstein cows were split into two equal groups to test the effect of daily move to a previously ungrazed strip after morning milking (MA) or afternoon milking (AA) on herbage intake, grazing behaviour, rumen characteristics and milk production using a randomized block design with three periods of 14 days each. Milking took place at 06.00 and 16.00 h. The chemical composition of grass was...

Mastitis is a mammary infection caused by the passage of pathogens into the mammary gland. Deteriorations in teat health are shown to be related to this type of infection [1]. Rough or cracked teats allow mastitis pathogens to colonize the udder. Roughness and cracking of the teat is related to hyperkeratosis, the condition of teat end callosity. Rough or cracked teats allow mastitis pathogens ...

Evolutionary biologists have long pondered the origin of lactation in mammals: converting food into milk is energetically expensive and can consume up to 25 per cent of the food's original value. But it is ubiquitous amongst mammals although absent in birds. A new study Proceedings of the Royal Society series B (published online), has modelled the potential benefits of lactation. They have cont...

Mastitis is a mammary infection caused by the passage of pathogens into the mammary gland. Deteriorations in teat health are shown to be related to this type of infection [1]. Rough or cracked teats allow mastitis pathogens to colonize the udder. Roughness and cracking of the teat is related to hyperkeratosis, the condition of teat end callosity. Rough or cracked teats allow mastitis pathogens ...

The time constraints of the classic twice-daily milking routine are less easily endured by individual dairy farmers, because of their impact on quality of life. Our aim was to evaluate milk production responses by dairy cows milked twice daily at contrasting intervals. In experiments 1 (20 cows) and 2 (28 cows), four milking regimes were compared during a 3-week period beginning after the peak ...

Mastitis is a mammary infection caused by the passage of pathogens into the mammary gland. Deteriorations in teat health are shown to be related to this type of infection [1]. Rough or cracked teats allow mastitis pathogens to colonize the udder. Roughness and cracking of the teat is related to hyperkeratosis, the condition of teat end callosity. Rough or cracked teats allow mastitis pathogens ...

OBJECTIVES The primary aim of this cross-sectional research study was to quantify upper limb muscle activity among workers performing milking tasks in large-herd dairy parlors. METHODS Surface electromyography (sEMG) from the trapezius, anterior deltoid, biceps brachii, wrist flexors, and wrist extensors muscles of 26 dairy workers were used to create muscle activity profiles for the milking ...

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The relationships between cow nutrition, restricted suckling and milking patterns and their effect on milk yield, milk composition and calf growth were examined under tropical conditions in south east Mexico. Eleven Bos indicus 3 Bos taurus cows, 14 days postpartum, with calves weighing on average 37 kg were used in a change-over experimental design. All cows were fed Cynodon nlemfuensis hay ad...