Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-v5vhk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-04T17:53:26.183Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Residual milk in Friesland sheep and the galactopoietic effect associated with oxytocin treatment

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 June 2009

R. Brian Heap ,
Ivan R. Fleet ,
Robert Proudfoot  and
D. Eurof Walters
R. Brian Heap
Affiliation:
AFRC Institute of Animal Physiology, Babraham, Cambridge CB2 4AT, UK
Ivan R. Fleet
Affiliation:
AFRC Institute of Animal Physiology, Babraham, Cambridge CB2 4AT, UK
Robert Proudfoot
Affiliation:
AFRC Institute of Animal Physiology, Babraham, Cambridge CB2 4AT, UK
D. Eurof Walters
Affiliation:
AFRC Statistics Group, Department of Applied Biology, Pembroke Street, Cambridge CB2 3DX, UK
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

Mature lactating Friesland ewes had a mean lactation yield of 293 ± 26 kg during a lactation period of 35 ± 2 weeks giving an average daily milk yield of 1·2 kg/d. Ewes were injected intravenously after normal milking with either saline (sham) or oxytocin and then remilked to determine the volume of residual (alveolar) milk. After a long milking interval of 16 h oxytocin treatment gave a significantly greater total daily milk yield than the sham treatment (oxytocin minus saline, morning milking, 0·199±0·038 kg, mean ±s.e.m., P < 0·01). Oxytocin had a small significant reverse effect after a short milking interval of 8 h (afternoon milking, –0·065±0·022 kg, P <0·05). The average increase in total daily yield over four stages of lactation was 0·133±0·029 kg (P < 0·01), or 11% of the average daily milk yield. The galactopoietic effect of oxytocin was associated with the efficient removal of residual (alveolar) milk. Residual milk accounted for 7·4 and 27·2% of the total daily milk yield in ewes treated with saline or oxytocin respectively. Residual milk expressed as a proportion of daily total milk yield remained steady in ewes studied between April and July, but declined in September when yields were less than 1 kg/d.

Type
Original Articles
Information
Journal of Dairy Research , Volume 53 , Issue 2 , May 1986 , pp. 187 - 195
Copyright
Copyright © Proprietors of Journal of Dairy Research 1986

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Bicknell, R. J. & Leng, G. 1982 Endogenous opiates regulate oxytocin but not vasopressin secretion from the neurohypophysis. Nature 298 161–162CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Boyazoglu, J. G. 1963 Quantitative aspects of milk production in the sheep. Annates de Zootechnie 12 237CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cowie, A. T., Forsyth, I. A. & Hart, I. C. 1980 Hormonal Control of Lactation. Berlin: Springer-VerlagCrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cowie, A. T. & Tindal, J. S. 1971 The Physiology of Lactation. London: Edward ArnoldGoogle Scholar
Cross, B. A. 1977 Comparative physiology of milk removal. In Comparative Aspects of Lactation pp. 193–210. (Ed. Peaker, M.) London: Academic Press (Symposia of the Zoological Society of London no. 41)Google Scholar
Fleet, I. R. & Peaker, M. 1978 Mammary function and its control at the cessation of lactation in the goat. Journal of Physiology 216 491–507CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Henderson, A. J. 1984 The effects of frequent cisternal milking, with or without oxytocin, on milk secretion in the goat. Proceedings of International Union of Physiological Sciences Regional Meeting, Jerusalem, p. 349Google Scholar
Henderson, A. J. & Peaker, M. 1984 Feed-back control of milk secretion in the goat by a chemical in milk. Journal of Physiology 351 39–45CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Linzell, J. L. 1971 Goats. In The UFAW Handbook on the Care and Management of Farm Animals, pp. 90–98. Edinburgh: Churchill LivingstoneGoogle Scholar
Linzell, J. L. 1972 Milk yield, energy loss in milk, and mammary gland weight in different species. Dairy Science Abstracts 34 351–360Google Scholar
Linzell, J. L. & Peaker, M. 1971 The effects of oxytocin and milk removal on milk secretion in the goat. Journal of Physiology 216 717–734CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Maule Walker, F. M. & Peaker, M. 1980 Local production of prostaglandins in relation to mammary function at the onset of lactation in the goat. Journal of Physiology 309 65–79CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mills, O. 1982 Practical Sheep Dairying. Wellingborough, Northamptonshire: Thorsons Publishers LimitedGoogle Scholar
Moos, F. & Richard, Ph. 1979 Effects of dopaminergic antagonist and agonist on oxytocin release induced by various stimuli. Neuroendocrinology 28 138–144CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Morag, M. B. 1966 Models of milk secretion in the ewe and in the cow. PhD Thesis, University of ReadingGoogle Scholar
Rowell, J. G. & Walters, D. E. 1976 Analysing data with repeated observations on each experimental unit. Journal of Agricultural Science 87 423–432CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schams, D., Mayer, H., Prokopp, A. & Worstorff, H. 1984 Oxytocin secretion during milking in dairy cows with regard to the variation and importance of a threshold level for milk removal. Journal of Endocrinology 102 337–343CrossRefGoogle Scholar