The Influence of Number of Daily Milkings on the Production of Dairy Cows

Abstract

High-producing Holstein, Jersey, Ayrshire, and Guernsey cows of various ages milked three times daily produced from 39.69 to 52.26 per cent more fat and from 44.98 to 65.18 per cent more milk than cows milked twice daily. When high-producing cows of all breeds milked four times daily were compared with cows milked twice daily, the fat production for the several age classes varied from 110.19 to 127.53 per cent and the milk production from 149.08 to 160.31 per cent greater for those milked four times. Milking high-producing cows four times as compared with three times daily showed an increased fat production ranging from 44.70 to 59.81 per cent, while comparable increases for milk ranged from 51 .99 to 71.79 per cent. There was a slight tendency for additional daily milkings to increase the percentage of fat in the milk. The influence of additional milkings was greatest when carried through the entire lactation period

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