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Field studies show associations between pulsator characteristics and udder health

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 June 2009

Olav Østerås
Affiliation:
Norwegian Dairies Association, Postboks 58, N-1430 AS, Norway
Odd Rønningen
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural Engineering, Agricultural University of Norway, Postboks 5065, N-1432 Ås, Norway
Leiv Sandvik
Affiliation:
Medstat Research, Postboks 210, N-2001 Lillestrøm, Norway
Steinar Waage
Affiliation:
Central Veterinary Laboratory, Postboks 8156, N-0033 Oslo, Norway

Summary

Four different field studies including 64, 140, 850 and 180 herds were used to investigate the association between pulsator characteristics and udder health. The results indicate that the best udder health is found in herds with a d phase > 330 ms and a pulsation rate > 55 min-1. A d phase of < 250 ms was associated with significant elevation in bulk milk somatic cell count, a higher incidence of acute clinical mastitis and a higher frequency of cows having mastitis associated with major pathogens (mainly Staphylococcus aureus) as compared with a d phase of > 331 ms. There was also a significant positive association between a shorter d phase and a high incidence of teat lesions needing veterinary treatment. Herds having no such teat lesions had pulsators with significantly longer d phase than herds with teat lesions (300 ms ν. 288 ms). These results strongly suggest that in high-line milking machines the d phase should not be as short as 250 ms and should preferably be ∼ 300 ms, and the pulsation rate should be at least > 55 cycles min-1. There was a strong relationship between the effect of d phase and the rate of pulsation.

Type
Original articles
Copyright
Copyright © Proprietors of Journal of Dairy Research 1995

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