Cow behaviour is a simple way to assess milking

A cow’s behaviour is an indicator of her comfort or discomfort with the milking environment, milking routine and milking machine.

Relatively small changes in behaviour can alert farmers to changes in milking routine that require attention – for example, deterioration in performance of the milking machines. 

Recent research has shown that a simple, reliable way to assess behaviour in the dairy is to count the number of cows that “kick” or “step”.

A “step” means lifting a hoof clear of the floor. This is easy to observe and record because this involves a significant and deliberate shift in weight for the cow. A “kick” means that a hoof is aimed at a person or at the milking cluster.

The stage of milking when most of the kicks and steps occur gives a hint to some of the possible causes of discomfort.

Discomfort when cows are in the stall waiting to be milked may suggest environmental factors such as flies or poor design of the stalls.  If the discomfort occurs when operators are preparing the udder, attaching or re-attaching units, or at post-milking disinfection, it may indicate a problem of interactions between the operator and a cow, or the milking machine and cow. Discomfort during the first two minutes of milking and the last two minutes of milking often suggests milking machine effects.

Farmers can use these easy-to-make observations on a regular basis to check the milking experience for their cows. In general, if more than 10% of the cows “kick” or “step”, it warrants further investigation.

Image and caption:
A simple and reliable way to assess behaviour in the dairy is to count the number of cows that “kick” or “step”.

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