Milk flow traits of buffalo cows in intensive farming system

Abstract

The particular morphology of buffalo udder is associated to milking difficulties. To better understand the characteristics of milk ejection in buffaloes, a study was conducted in an intensive farm in Lombardy, Italy. A total of 184 milk flow profiles were measured with an electronic flow meter. The results showed that during the first 3 minutes of milking 73% of total milk yield was milked; lag time of milk ejection (1.94 min ± 1.57) was very long and increased significantly with the increasing of lactation stage. The overmilking phase has also a long duration (33% of total milking time, on average). Administration of oxytocin before milking did not significantly affect milk flow parameters and machine on-time. The results suggested that proper pre-milking stimulation and prompt cluster takeoff could improve milking efficiency, ensuring good milk letdown and protecting teat conditions.