Studies on pre‐milking preparation

Abstract

Abstract Two pre‐milking preparation procedures were compared using 18 sets of identical twin cows over a complete lactation (1962–1963). One twin from each set received a 15 s wash by hand before milking, using cold running water, whereas the other received a similar wash with additional cold water hosing for a total of 30 s. The difference in average production between the 2 treatments was 4.6 kg milkfat and 71 litres milk, in favour of the longer preparation, but this was not statistically significant. The response to preparation treatments was extremely variable, with some indication that the difference in production in higher producing twin sets was in favour of the short period of washing. Lactation length was significantly reduced (21 ± 8 days, P < 0.01) by the short wash treatment, particularly in lower producing twin sets.