Response of Jersey and Friesian cows to once a day milking and prediction of response based on udder characteristics and milk composition

Abstract

SummaryThe response of dairy cows to once a day (OAD) milking was investigated in four trials. Two trials involved Friesians (F) and Jersey cows selected for high (HP) or low (LP) milk protein concentration. Trial 1 compared 74 HP, LP and F cows milked either OAD or twice daily (TAD) for 2 weeks in both mid and late lactation. Trial 2 compared 98 HP, LP and F cows milked OAD or TAD for 12 weeks in early lactation. Trial 3 investigated the repeatability of production loss by milking identical twin cows either OAD or TAD during three 1 week periods. Trial 4 compared the time course of milk production in 32 cows milked every 12 or 24 h for 72 h. Cows milked OAD produced 10–28% less milk and milk solids in early to mid lactation and 9–13% less in late lactation than cows milked TAD. Losses in fat and protein yield were slightly lower than those of milk. HP, LP and F cows did not differ in percentage loss in milk and milk solids in Trial 1, except for loss in protein yield which was lower for HP than LP and F cows. In Trial 2 the losses in milk and milk solids were lower for HP cows than for F cows but the other differences were not significant. Milk storage ability of the udder (hours worth of secretion) was higher and productivity of the udder was lower for HP cows than F cows. Levels of residual milk did not differ among groups. The loss in udder capacity during lactation was greater for cows milked OAD than for those milked TAD. The correlations for repeated estimates of percentage losses in yields of milk and milk solids between successive OAD periods ranged from 0·29 to 0·49. Secretion rate of cows milked OAD was lower during the second 12 h than the first 12 h during each 24 h milking interval. Prediction of OAD performance based on milk composition and udder characteristics was poor. A high level of residual milk was the factor most consistently associated with high loss on OAD milking.