Department of Engineering for Livestock Management, Leibniz Institute for Agricultural Engineering Potsdam-Bornim (ATB), Potsdam, Germany.
J Dairy Res. 2013 Feb;80(1):36-44. doi: 10.1017/S0022029912000611. Epub 2012 Nov 9.
The objective of this study was to examine the quarter health status of quarter-individually and conventionally milked cows. The MultiLactor®, a quarter-individual milking system (MULTI), has single guided tubes which provide milking on the quarter level with a low system vacuum level (37 kPa), sequential pulsation and periodic air inlet. The conventional milking system (CON) was equipped with a milking cluster where the system vacuum level was adjusted to 40 kPa. A total of 84 German Holstein cows, randomly divided into two groups, were included in the study. Over a period of 32 trial weeks, quarter foremilk samples were taken every week to determine somatic cell count (SCC). Bacteriological examinations and udder palpation were conducted at three different times. During the trial period, median SCC of quarter foremilk samples in both groups did not exceed the threshold value of 100,000 cells/ml. The results of the F test showed that the milking system (P = 0.0587) and days in milk (DIM) (P = 0.8066) had no significant effects on the quarter health status. On the other hand, lactation (P = 0.0396), quarter health status in the previous week (P < 0.0001) and trial week (P = 0.0061) affected quarter health status significantly. The estimated probabilities of the occurrence of a suspicious quarter (SCC > 100,000 cells/ml) were 19.97% (CON) and 31.72% (MULTI). However, the test of differences in the Least Square Means (LSM) showed no significant differences (P = 0.0585) between CON and MULTI. The estimated probability of quarters becoming suspicious during the first lactation was 12.51% for both groups. With an increasing number of lactation, the probability of a quarter becoming suspicious clearly increased (2nd lactation: 32.73% and 3rd lactation: 36.19%). The results also showed that the percentage of quarters with bacteriological findings revealed a stronger increase over time for MULTI than for CON.
本研究旨在检查分群和传统挤奶奶牛的季度健康状况。MultiLactor® 是一种分群挤奶系统 (MULTI)，其单个导向管可在低系统真空度（37 kPa）下进行分群挤奶，实现顺序脉冲和周期性进气。传统挤奶系统（CON）配备了一个挤奶组，该系统的真空度调整为 40 kPa。共有 84 头德国荷斯坦奶牛被随机分为两组，纳入本研究。在 32 周的试验期间，每周采集四分位前奶样以测定体细胞计数（SCC）。在三个不同时间点进行细菌学检查和乳房触诊。在试验期间，两组四分位前奶样的 SCC 中位数均未超过 100,000 个细胞/ml 的阈值。F 检验结果表明，挤奶系统（P = 0.0587）和泌乳天数（DIM）（P = 0.8066）对四分位健康状况无显著影响。另一方面，泌乳期（P = 0.0396）、前一周的四分位健康状况（P < 0.0001）和试验周（P = 0.0061）对四分位健康状况有显著影响。可疑四分位（SCC > 100,000 个细胞/ml）发生的估计概率分别为 19.97%（CON）和 31.72%（MULTI）。然而，最小二乘均值（LSM）的差异检验显示 CON 和 MULTI 之间无显著差异（P = 0.0585）。两组的初产奶牛可疑四分位的估计发生率均为 12.51%。随着泌乳次数的增加，可疑四分位的概率明显增加（第 2 泌乳期：32.73%，第 3 泌乳期：36.19%）。结果还表明，MULTI 的细菌学发现的四分位比例随时间的推移呈更强的增加趋势，而 CON 的增加趋势较弱。
