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Abstract

Effect of udder massage at the end of milking on residual milk and mastitis occurrence in dairy cows. Residual milk (RM) after milking is an important factor that can predispose cows to mastitis. In this study, the hypothesis that udder massage at the end of milking may reduce RM and the incidence of mastitis was tested in two experiments. Experiment 1 was conducted on an experimental farm with ten lactating cows (6,200kg/lactation) and experiment 2 was carried out on a commercial farm with 52 lactating cows (4,480kg/lactation). In both experiments the cows were paired by parity, stage of lactation and productivity, and they were randomly assigned to one of the treatments: massage or no massage of the udder at the end of milking, in two periods in a crossover design. The individual milk production of each cow was measured. Residual milk was collected and measured 2min after an oxitocin application. California Mastitis Test was used to detect the occurrence of subclinical mastitis. In neither of the experiments did udder massage have any effect on milk production (experiment 1 p > 0.41, n = 10 and experiment 2 p > 0.46, n = 12), on RM (experiment 1, 1.78 ± 0.45kg, n = 10; experiment 2, 2.42 ± 0.32kg, n = 12), or on mastitis incidence (experiment 2, chi-square; DF = 1; p > 0.68, n = 26). We conclude that udder massage at the end of milking has no effect on RM and does not affect mastitis incidence, at least under the conditions used in these experiments.