Milking at three eight-hour intervals as a means of investigating variations in the fat and solids-not-fat

Abstract

It has been shown that in this trial the increase in milk yield of the nine cows considered as a herd is within the limits normally expected in the case of thrice-daily milking. The increase in the case of the heifers is below expectation, and the probable reasons for this are indicated. The effect of three 8-hour intervals on butter-fat percentage has been studied, and it is shown that as far as the individual cows are concerned there is little difference between the number of low fats produced under thrice milking at equal intervals and twice milking at unequal intervals in the case of the herds specified. It is shown that the reason for the bulk milk of the thrice-milked cattle maintaining a high standard of fat percentage at each milking is that each individual cow maintains a fairly high level consistently at one specific milking, and that this is not the same milking for each cow.