Effects of milking frequency on feed intake, body weight and haemato-biochemical changes in crossbred cows

Abstract

An experiment was conducted to compare the effects of two times and three times daily milking frequencies on feed intake, body weight and haemato-biochemical changes in crossbred cows. Twenty-four cows of second to fourth parity were distributed into two groups on the basis of genetic makeup and parity. The cows of control group (T1) were hand milked twice a day with 12 hours interval and of the other group (T2) thrice daily with 8 hours interval. All the animals were housed under tie stall system of housing. The parameters were recorded from 7th to 104th day of lactation on individual animal. No significant difference was observed for total dry matter intake between the groups. The gain in body weight per cow was 20.00 and 8.75 kg in T1 and T2, respectively without significant difference. Body condition score change was 0.02 and −0.06 units in cows of T1 and T2, respectively. Haemoglobin, packed cell volume, albumin, calcium and T₃ values were found significantly (P<0.05) higher in T1 than in T2. It is concluded that more frequently milked cows produced more milk at the cost of their body reserves, expressed by their comparative poor body condition, and had lower values of some blood metabolites.

Keywords:

• body weight
• crossbred cows
• feed intake
• haemato-biochemical
• milking frequency

Acknowledgements

The authors are thankful to the Director, Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar for providing necessary funds and facilities during the study.