METHODS OF MILKING AND PRECAUTIONS

Dr. T.K. Patbandha

Assistant Professor (LPM)
KU, Junagadh
 What is milk?
• Milk is a clean, fresh lacteal secretion obtained from
mammary gland by complete milking of one or more
healthy milch animals excluding the product obtained
15 days before or 5 days after calving having at least
3% butter fat and 8.5% SNF.
Milking:-
• Milking is a process of removing milk from the udders or mammary glands
of dairy animals.
• Milking is an art and requires experience and skill. Milking should be done
at regular intervals, gently, quietly, quickly, cleanly and completely.
• Milking process should be completed within 5 to 7 minutes.
• Hormone responsible for milk let down is oxytocin and half life is 5-7
minutes.
• Complete milking has to be done. If any residual milk (milk remains inside
udder after normal milking is residual milk) is left it may act as nidus for
mastitis causing organism and the overall yield also getting affected.
 Udder

Udder
quarter

Teats

Ligament
• Broadly there are two types of milking methods such
as hand & machine milking commonly followed for
milking of cows and buffaloes.
• Milking is a labour intensive operation which
requires 50-60% of the total man hours on the dairy
farm.
• Under hand milking one milker depending on his
skill may milk 10-15 cows or buffaloes including
activities such as cleaning of animal, feeding
concentrate and cleaning parlour.
• In machine milking requires less time and 25-30
cows can be milked per hour per milker.
Preparation for milking
Dairy cows and sheds:-
• Clean the milking parlour after each milking and should be dry before next milking.
• Dusty feed should be avoided in the milking barn.
• Hindquarters, thighs and udder should be washed thoroughly before milking.
• If more hair growth in udder region, it should be clipped periodically.
• Buffaloes should be washed before milking.
• Just before milking udder should be wiped in dry cloth.
• In cold weather, warm antiseptic solution can be used.
Milkers and pails
• Milker’s hands and milking pails/cans should be cleaned thoroughly.
• Milkers should wear clean clothes and cover their heads with cap.
• Nails should be periodically trimmed and made smooth.
• Hands should be thoroughly washed and cleaned with antiseptic solutions.
Hand milking:-
• Hand milking is the most common practice in India. Cows are milked from left
side. Stripping and full hand milking are two commonly used methods of
milking where as knuckling is bad/ wrong method of milking.
• Hand milking may be wet and dry hand milking.
• Wet hand milking: It is done by lubricating the milker’s hand and teat either
with water or oil or milk. These make the teats dry and chaffed. Cracks may
appear which will cause pain to the animal. Apply some antiseptic cream after
the end of milking in such animal.
• Dry hand milking: Milking operation is practised without lubrication of the
milker’s hand and teats. It is considered as best method as it doesn’t cause any
chaffing/ injury on the teats.
Full hand milking:- Forefinger Thumb
• Full hand milking is also called as fisting.
• There is holding of whole teat by the ring formed with
palm and forefinger.
• Simultaneously, teat is squeezed using middle, ring and
little fingers and hollow of the palm thus forcing the
milk out.
• Full hand milking removes the milk quicker than
stripping.
• Cows with large teats and buffaloes are milked by full
hand method.
• Full hand method is superior to stripping as it is faster
and stimulates natural suckling process by the calf.
• Full hand milking is always followed by stripping to
remove the residual milk.
Little Ring Middle
Stripping:-
• It consists of firmly holding teat at its base using
thumb and forefinger and drawing down the entire
length of the teat pressing it simultaneously to force
the milk to flow down in a string.
• Stripping is practised in cows with very small teats.
• It causes more irritation and teat injuries due to
repeated sliding of the fingers.
• In spite of this few stripping are done to milk the cow
completely especially at the end of the milking
process.
• The last drawn milk at the close of milking is called
stripped milk which is richer in fat.
Knuckling:-
• Knuckling is wrong method of milking.
• In knuckling milkers bend their thumb
against the teat.
• Knuckling method is used in the wrong
belief that it is necessary in order to
overcome the resistance in the teat
sphincter.
• This milking methods cause elongation
and damage to the teats.
• Knuckling is comfortable for the
milkers but not for the cows/ buffaloes.
Knuckling Stripping Full hand
MACHINE MILKING:-
• Machine uses alternating negative &
atmospheric pressure with the help of
double chambered teat cup.
• A partial vacuum and normal atmospheric
pressure is produced alternatively in the
space between rubber liner and metal
shelf of the teat cup by means of pulsator.
• When negative pressure is applied
between liner and metal shell, milk flows
from the teat.
• When atmospheric pressure enters the
chamber, the rubber liner inflation
collapses with this the teat is compressed
and massaged.
Factors influencing the efficiency of milking machine:-
• Vacuum level: The degree of vacuum in a milking system
during operation, expressed as inches of mercury/Kilo
Pascal (mmHg / kpa). Vacuum pressure: 280-320 mm hg
and 340-380 mm Hg for cow and buffalo milking,
respectively.
• Pulsation rate: Number of cycles of alternate vacuum (- ve
pressure) and atmospheric air (+ve pressure) which occur
per minute. It is about 40 - 60 cycles per minute in most
machines.
• Milking or Pulsation ratio: The proportion of time spent
under vacuum and atmospheric air is called as pulsation
ratio and is usually approximately 60:40 or 50:50.
Ideal steps in machine milking:-
• Wash and clean udder.
• Wipe and massage the udder and teats for half to one minute.
• Strip cup test: Use the strip cup, draw the first milk into the cup from each
quarter and check it for any abnormality.
• Put on the teat cups promptly to the teats.
• Break the vacuum and then pull down teat cups & massage udder with hand.
• Apply teat dips.
• Record the milk weight.
• After every milking, thoroughly and properly clean the machine.
• The manufacturer’s direction may be followed and service the milking
machine.
THANK
YOU