Epsilon Open Archive

Abstract

The aim of the thesis was to investigate some of the underlying principles for milking management of Murrah buffaloes. The study was carried out through five experiments, four on an experimental farm in India and one as a field survey. From the results it was observed that the total cisternal area and cisternal fraction of milk in Murrah buffaloes was smaller than in dairy cattle, sheep and goat. Teats were longer and thicker and had longer teat canals than reported in dairy cattle. Teats were flaccid and empty prior to milk ejection due to the small cisternal fraction of milk, while during milk ejection there was a remarkable increase in teat dimensions and cisternal area. Commencement of milk flow during machine milking took longer without pre-stimulation than in the other dairy species due to the small cisternal fraction of milk. The combined stimulation of feeding during milking and manual pre-stimulation resulted in a faster and more pronounced release of oxytocin, prolactin and cortisol compared to milking with only manual pre-stimulation and no pre-stimulation. Small changes in the milking routines adversely effect oxytocin release, milk ejection and complete removal of milk, which was also reflected in the stripping yield and fat percent in stripping milk. The daily rhythm of maintenance behaviour of buffaloes with mechanisation of some farm chores was comparable to those without mechanisation. However, increased access to roughage increased the resting behaviour and the animals ate longer during the night as well. The milking management systems and the herd size had an impact on the udder health status of buffaloes. The prevalence of mastitis was lower in the small buffalo farms where buffaloes were stimulated by calf suckling and hand milked compared to large farms where the buffaloes were manually pre-stimulated and hand milked or machine milked. In conclusion, during machine milking of buffaloes owing to the small cisternal milk fraction, attaching the milking cluster prior to milk ejection could lead to higher teat penetration in the teat cup and milking on empty teats. To prevent a possible irritation and stress due to machine milking without milk flow at high vacuum, milk removal should be synchronised with milk ejection. It is thus necessary to improve machine milking settings for buffaloes and to develop ISO standards optimised to suit the anatomical and physiological characteristics of buffaloes. Training of milkers and milking machine users is also important for improving the udder health and welfare of buffaloes.