Hello,
I have started a dairy farm. I have two questions.
I use Delaval milking machine to milk cows. Is it mandatory to dry cows manually after machine milking ?
We use regular washing soap to wash the cows. Please suggest any better option (or soap liquid).
Thank you,
-Ganapathi Bhat
What do you mean by drying cows after machine milking? In scientific terms, drying off is done when cow is in 7th month of pregnancy to give rest to udder. Milking is slowly withdrawn to ensure that very small quantity is produced at the beginning of dry period.
Why do you use soap? Plain water wash should suffice. If your cows are not getting dirty too often, then no need to wash.
In our system, we wash cows once a week with just water.
Nikhil
Thanks.
What I meant is - completely emptying the udder through manual milking. is it needed after Machine milking ?
Ideally you should not do manual milking after machine milking. If you hold the cluster for some more time at the end of milking by pressing it downwards, all milk should be empty. In some cases cows dont give complete milk with machine, there you have to milk in the end, but make sure that it does not become habit. Try to change the behaviour.
Nikhil
Many thanks for your advice. sincerely appreciate it.