Conformation of the Cow as Related to Milk Secretion, Jersey Registry of Merit.

Abstract

This paper presents an analysis of the relation borne by eight body measurements and age to the cow's milk-secreting ability. The analysis is first presented from the viewpoint of conformation as related to milk secretion without regard to age. The data are then utilised to determine the relation of conformation to milk secretion when age is considered. In the last section we have attempted to consider conformation as a whole and to relate this to milk secretion. Defining the ideal as quantity production of milk or butter-fat the following points of conformation are important. First, the cow should be of better than average weight for her breed and age; second, she should be of good wedge-shaped form particularly in the region of the shoulders; third, her milk veins should be of good size; and fourth, her udder should be of good size and quality. Time has brought about the inclusion in the animal husbandry text-books of many other points asserted on a priori grounds to be of significance in determining the cow's milk secreting capacity. The effect of several of these points on milk secretion has been analysed in these data, the results showing them to be without significance.