Authors : Carlo Boselli, Maria Concetta Campagna, Simonetta Amatiste, Remo Rosat and Antonio Borghese
Abstract: Eitgheen Mediterranean Italian buffalo cows were used to demonstrate a relationship between teat anatomy and milk ejection after three different pre-milking treatments (manual pre-stimulation or exogenous oxytocin administration). Teat wall thickness, teat diameter, cisternal diameter and teat canal length were evaluated before and after each treatment. Teat cisternal diameter and teat diameter incresead their lengths while teat wall thickness and teat canal length decreased. The reduction in the teat canal length was observed with all the three treatments with reductions ranging from a minimum of 23.1% (2 min) to a maximum of 29.4% (oxytocin administration). Although, main milking phase was similar among treatments, plateau phase increased (p = 0.01) the duration passing from manual stimulation to the administration of exogenous oxytocin (2.84 min). Lag time decreased significantly with the administration of exogenous oxytocin: 0.74 vs. 2.55 min of 2 min pre-stimulation. Even if exogenous oxytocin showed some advantages on some productive parameters, the study showed that 2 min of manual prestimulation are enough for the removal of the alveolar milk fraction.
Carlo Boselli, Maria Concetta Campagna, Simonetta Amatiste, Remo Rosat and Antonio Borghese, 2014. Pre-Stimulation Effects on Teat Anatomy and Milk Flow Curves in Mediterranean Italian Buffalo Cows. Journal of Animal and Veterinary Advances, 13: 912-916.