2. FACTORS AFFECTING MILK PRODUCTION IN GOATS 2.1 Genetic Factors 12 2.1.1 Breed Differences and Selection 2.1.2 Inbreeding 2.1.3 Crossbreeding 2.1.4 New Genetic Technology 2.2 Physiological Factors 15 2.2.1 Age 2.2.2 Seasonal Influence 2.2.3 Multiple Births 2.2.4 Length of Lactation and Dry Period 2.3 Milking Management 17 2.3.1 The Use of a Milking Machine 2.3.2 Milking Frequency and Milking ...

A portable wireless device with a “vocal commands” feature for activating the mechanical milking phase in conventional milking parlors was developed and tested to increase the level of automation in the milking procedures. The device was tested in the laboratory and in a milking parlor. Four professional milkers participated in the experiment. Before the start of the tests, a set of acoustic mo...

This paper positions the recent emergence of robotic or automatic milking systems (AMS) in relation to discourses surrounding the longer history of milking technologies in the UK and elsewhere. The mechanization of milking has been associated with sets of hopes and anxieties which permeated the transition from hand to increasingly automated forms of milking. This transition has affected the rel...

Milking data of 34 single automatic milking system (AMS) units on 29 Galician dairy farms were analyzed to determine the system capacity in each farm under actual working conditions. Number of cows, milk yield, milkings per cow per day, actual milking time, rejected milking time, cleaning time, and machine downtime were used to determine the number of cows milked per AMS unit to obtain the opti...

This field study focused on the possible effects of increased milking frequency (milking four times a day in comparison with milking twice a day) on clinical and bacteriological cure rates of clinical, antibiotically treated mastitis cases. Parameters tested were clinical, microbiological and full (cytomicrobiological) cure as well as the development of milk yield after the clinical mastitis ep...

the objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of different milking frequencies in the first 6 weeks of lactation on milk production and milk constituents, blood metabolic profiles and reproductive performance of fresh dairy cows. the milking frequencies imposed were three times daily milking for 42 days (3x), six times daily milking for the first 21 days of lactation and three times da...

al implications for stakeholders: Automatic milking systems (AMS)s can be operated successfully within a grass based milk production system and milk yields comparable to many commercial batch milking systems can be achieved when grazing management is managed in order to control cow traffic The fact that milk yield/cow/day was not significantly affected by reducing milking frequency from 1.8 to ...

Refining the recommended approach to mastitis control in dairy herds is a continual process. Recently developed concepts and practices are described. INTRODUCTION Even though great technological advances have been made, mastitis continues a major economic issue for dairy producers. Thus, researchers and dairy advisors continue to refine the National Mastitis Council (NMC) recommended mastitis c...

About 10% of primiparous cows have no milk ejection during the first milkings after delivery. Therefore, 17 Brown Swiss dairy cows in their first lactation were used to evaluate the extent of disturbed milk let-down and the corresponding oxytocin (OT) plasma values in the 1st 5 days after delivery. The first milking was 9-22 h after parturition and served for classification of the cows to group...

Milk ejection is important during milking or suckling to obtain the alveolar milk fraction, which can represent more than 80% of the milk stored in the udder of dairy cows. In response to tactile teat stimulation, either manually or by the milking machine, milk ejection is induced by the release of oxytocin and resultant myoepithelial contraction. The time from the start of tactile stimulation ...