Continuing our series of articles on the most common issues during cow milking, let's talk about the issue of “Wrong Order”, which ranks fourth in terms of prevalence. Its occurrence rate is 10.68%, which averages to 2 issues per hour and approximately 7 cows per hour. Let's take a closer look at what exactly is considered a "Wrong Order" issue.
The most frequent type of this issue is a violation of the order of cow preparation. The proper activation of the milk let-down reflex should take 60-90 seconds from the first touch to the udder. Similarly, predip solutions usually require about 30 seconds for effective action. Cows are processed one by one in parallel, which means that the first cow entering the milking parlor should be the first one prepared and have the milking unit attached first. Milkers in the parlor handle 5-7 cows at a time. To ensure the correct order of unit attachment, the milker not only needs to perform all the necessary steps in the right order for each cow but also move from one cow to another while maintaining the proper sequence.
If this does not happen, it results in a “Wrong Order” issue. It means that the preparation was done in the wrong order (for example, stripping was done first and then predip) or that the first cow in the row was prepared for milking in 30 seconds, while the last one took 140 seconds. As a result, the predip solution could only partially activate on the udder of the first cow, and the milk let-down reflex had not yet been fully initiated. On the other hand, the milk let-down reflex was already fading on the last cow.
Usually, the “Wrong Order” issue can be divided into the following variations:
- Wiping after units on
- Predip after units on
- Postdip and then attach
- Postdip and then attach
- Postdip after units on
- Wrong direction of moving on wiping
- Wrong direction of moving on attach
There are other variations as well, but each of them directly depends on the specific practices followed on the dairy farm.
The National Mastitis Council recommends specific milking procedures that focus on minimizing mastitis and ensuring high-quality milk production. These procedures encompass various aspects such as creating a low-stress environment for cows, conducting regular checks for mastitis in foremilk and udders, using udder wash solutions or predip teats for teat washing, thoroughly drying teats with individual towels, attaching the milking unit promptly after stimulation within 120 seconds, shutting off the vacuum before removing the unit, disinfecting teats immediately after unit removal, emphasizing hygiene to prevent contamination and other recommendations. These procedures aim to promote udder health and achieve the production of high-quality milk.
You can learn more from the original article at this link
Keep an eye out for our upcoming posts, where we'll uncover all the issues stemming from the top 10 milkers' mistakes in milking parlors!
