Effects of quarter individual and conventional milking systems on teat condition.
An on-farm experiment was performed to investigate the effects of two milking systems on teat condition. An auto-tandem milking parlor made by GEA(®) with a conventional milking cluster (CON) and a single tube milking system called MultiLactor(®) (MULTI) from Siliconform GmbH were tested. For both milking system, in total 73 animals were milked over a period of seven months. To assess the effect of milking on teat condition, each teat was scored according to teat-condition evaluation systems. To evaluate teat condition, the teat color, ring formation at the teat base and formation of teat hyperkeratosis were assessed. The evaluation was conducted once a month after milking. The collected data were then statistically analyzed with generalized linear mixed models. The only differences found between the two milking systems occurred with respect to their effect on teat color. MULTI showed significantly better scores compared to CON. There were no significant differences between the milking systems with regard to teat-end hyperkeratosis and ring formation at the teat base.
Leibniz Institute for Agricultural Engineering Potsdam-Bornim, Department of Engineering for Livestock Management, Max-Eyth-Allee 100, 14469 Potsdam, Germany. Electronic address: srose@atb-potsdam.de.
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Rose-Meierhöfer
Leibniz Institute for Agricultural Engineering Potsdam-Bornim, Department of Engineering for Livestock Management, Max-Eyth-Allee 100, 14469 Potsdam, Germany.
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Müller
Leibniz Institute for Agricultural Engineering Potsdam-Bornim, Department of Engineering for Livestock Management, Max-Eyth-Allee 100, 14469 Potsdam, Germany.
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Mittmann
Leibniz Institute for Agricultural Engineering Potsdam-Bornim, Department of Engineering for Livestock Management, Max-Eyth-Allee 100, 14469 Potsdam, Germany.
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Demba
Leibniz Institute for Agricultural Engineering Potsdam-Bornim, Department of Engineering for Livestock Management, Max-Eyth-Allee 100, 14469 Potsdam, Germany.
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Entorf
Leibniz Institute for Agricultural Engineering Potsdam-Bornim, Department of Engineering for Livestock Management, Max-Eyth-Allee 100, 14469 Potsdam, Germany.
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Hoffmann
Leibniz Institute for Agricultural Engineering Potsdam-Bornim, Department of Engineering for Livestock Management, Max-Eyth-Allee 100, 14469 Potsdam, Germany.
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Ammon
Leibniz Institute for Agricultural Engineering Potsdam-Bornim, Department of Engineering for Livestock Management, Max-Eyth-Allee 100, 14469 Potsdam, Germany.
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Rudovsky
Leibniz Institute for Agricultural Engineering Potsdam-Bornim, Department of Engineering for Livestock Management, Max-Eyth-Allee 100, 14469 Potsdam, Germany.
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Brunsch
D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle / Q000502:physiology*; D003612:Dairying / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D007774:Lactation; D008321:Mammary Glands, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D008892:Milk / Q000378:metabolism
Hyperkeratosis; Milking system; Quarter individual milking; Teat-end condition