Effects of mammae hand massages on oxytocin release, milk yield, and milk quality in dairy cows

Abstract

Objective: The objective of this study was conducted to evaluate the effects of Mammae Hand Massages (MHM) on oxytocin release, milk yield, and milk quality in dairy cows. Methods: Twelve dairy cows with the following criterion: 5-yr-old, 1st to 9th month of lactation, and average body weight of 390 ± 5.55 kg were used. Cows were assigned in a randomized block design with 4 treatments, i.e T0 (without massage), T1 (MHM for 20 s), T2 (MHM for 50 s), and T3 (MHM for 80 s). Oxytocin release, milk yield, and milk quality were measured accordingly . Results: The data obtained were analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA). The results showed that MHM had a very significant effect on milk production (P <0.01) as evidenced by the MHM 50 s treatment obtained the highest average milk production (13.08 ± 3.38 liters/head/day) compared to the MHM 20 s, MHM 80 s and control. MHM (1-1.6 volts) for 50 s resulted in the highest release of oxytocin (0.22955 pcg/0.1mL) at 240 seconds compared to control, MHM 20 s and 80 s. Likewise, the percentage of milk protein content (2.96 ± 0.03) and milk fat content (4.27 ± 0.70) was highest at MHM 50 s . Conclusions: It can be concluded that MHM (1-1.6 volts) for 50 seconds increases the release of oxytocin, milk production, and milk quality in terms of the percentage of milk protein and fat content .