The effect of milking cows three times daily on milk yield, milk composition and profitability compared to two times daily milking.
1999
Economides, S. (Agricultural Res. Inst., Nicosia (Cyprus))
Two trials were carried out to study the effects of three milkings per day on the total yield and composition of milk in Friesian cows. In the first trial 18 cows in early lactation were allocated to two groups; one group was milked two times (2x) daily and the other three times (3x) daily. The trial lasted 70 days and was divided in three periods. In period I (42 days), cows milked 3x daily produced 6.85 kg more milk daily than cows milked 2x but with lower fat content (3.26 vs 3.58). In this period, cows milked 3x daily consumed 15.23 MJ day of metabolisable energy more than those milked 2x daily. In period II (43 to 56 days), cows in both treatments were offer the same energy intake, and continued to be milked either 3x or 2x daily as in period I. During this period cows milked 3x daily produced 5.63 kg more milk than those milked 2x daily but of similar fat content. In period III (57 to 70 days), all cows were milked 2x daily. There was a sharp decline in milk yield of cows changed from 3x to 2x milking daily. Milk yield/cow was similar in both treatmens. The income minus costs of 3x milking daily in periods I+II together was 76 cent/cow/day more than cows milked 2x daily. The trial 2 was carried out in a private farm and used 126 cows in mid lactation. One group was milked 2x daily and the other 3x daily. Cows milked 3x daily produced 2.42 kg/day more milk than cows milked 2x daily. The income minus costs of 3x milking daily was 28 cent/cow/day more than cows milked 2x daily.
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