Relationships between Selected Physiological Factors and Milking Parameters for Cows Using a Milking Robot

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Modern milking robots create the possibility for better organization of work. In recent years, in selection indexes constructed for Holstein Friesian cattle, milking capacity features have become of great importance. This study showed a negative correlation between the milk yield and the content of its components. The quantity of milk released from the hind quarters was found to be higher than that determined for the fore quarters. At the same time, the milk flow rate turned out to be statistically significantly higher in the front quarters as compared to the back quarters. The speed of milking is an individual feature; therefore, it is important that the milking machines have the ability to control the negative pressure during the milking of individual quarters, and thus react to the rate of milk flow from individual teats. ABSTRACT: The aim of the study was to determine the effect of the number and stage of lactations, time of day and calving season of cows on milk yield from a single milking, average milking time, average milking per minute, daily milking frequency and the relationship between the tested parameters of quarter milking. The study included a herd of 65 Polish Holstein Friesian black and white cows used in a free-range barn located in south-west Poland. The animals were kept in proper welfare conditions, fed using the partly mixed ration (PMR) method on the feeding table. The milk was obtained using the Lely-Astronaut A4 Automatic Milking System (AMS). The animals on the dairy cattle farm were used in the range from the first to the seventh lactation, i.e., at the age of 2.0 to approximately 10 years. In this study, the amount of milk yielded from the hind quarters was statistically significantly higher (p < 0.05) than the trait determined for the front quarters. At the same time, the milk flow rate was statistically significantly higher (p < 0.05) in the front quarters compared to the rear quarters. The daily milk yield in right rear (RR) and left rear (LR) hind quarters was higher by 1.0 kg of milk, respectively, than in right front (RF) and left front (LF) fore quarters. The milking time of the RR and LR hind quarters during the day was longer by 104.9 and 128.8 s, respectively, than the RF and LF fore quarters. The milking speed of the RR and LR hind quarters during the day was lower by 0.2 and 1.12 g/s, respectively, than in the RF and LF fore quarters. The values of the correlation between the yields of milk and its components obtained in this study were high and positive. Correlations between the milk yield and the content of its components were negative. The obtained results confirmed that the natural physiological variability of the udder and teats structure, as well as the course of lactation, significantly affects the individual composition and milk flow during milking. The ability to regulate the milk flow by adjusting the appropriate negative pressure during the robot’s operation, in the observed variability of individual lobes of the mammary gland, increases the efficiency of milking and, as a result, reduces the risk of mastitis in cows.