Temporal Distribution of Milking Events in a Dairy Herd with an Automatic Milking System
This study aimed to evaluate daily patterns of hourly milking frequency (MF) in dairy cows milked with an automatic milking system (AMSs), considering the effects of season, parity order (PO), days in milk (DIM), and milk yield (MY). A retrospective longitudinal study was conducted on a commercial d...
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MDPI AG
2025-08-01
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| author | Vanessa Lambrecht Szambelan Marcos Busanello Mariani Schmalz Lindorfer Rômulo Batista Rodrigues Juliana Sarubbi |
| author_facet | Vanessa Lambrecht Szambelan Marcos Busanello Mariani Schmalz Lindorfer Rômulo Batista Rodrigues Juliana Sarubbi |
| author_sort | Vanessa Lambrecht Szambelan |
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| description | This study aimed to evaluate daily patterns of hourly milking frequency (MF) in dairy cows milked with an automatic milking system (AMSs), considering the effects of season, parity order (PO), days in milk (DIM), and milk yield (MY). A retrospective longitudinal study was conducted on a commercial dairy farm in southern Brazil over one year using data from 130 Holstein cows and 94,611 milking events. MF data were analyzed using general linear models. Overall, hourly MF followed a consistent daily pattern, with peaks between 4:00 and 11:00 a.m. and between 2:00 and 6:00 p.m., regardless of season, PO, DIM, or MY category. MF was higher in primiparous (2.84/day, <i>p</i> = 0.0013), early-lactation (<106 DIM; 3.00/day, <i>p</i> < 0.0001), and high-yielding cows (≥45 L/day; 3.09/day, <i>p</i> < 0.0001). High-yielding cows also showed sustained milking activity into the late nighttime. Although seasonal and individual factors significantly affected MF, they had limited influence on the overall daily distribution of milkings. These results suggest stable behavioral patterns within the specific AMS management conditions observed in this study and suggest that adjusting milking permissions and feeding strategies based on cow characteristics may improve system efficiency. |
| format | Article |
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| institution | Kabale University |
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| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-08-01 |
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| spelling | doaj-art-4df890d506d94d4b91ab0fb8fcda70a82025-08-20T04:00:49ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152025-08-011515229310.3390/ani15152293Temporal Distribution of Milking Events in a Dairy Herd with an Automatic Milking SystemVanessa Lambrecht Szambelan0Marcos Busanello1Mariani Schmalz Lindorfer2Rômulo Batista Rodrigues3Juliana Sarubbi4Department of Animal Science, Federal University of Santa Maria, Palmeira das Missões 98300-000, RS, BrazilDepartment of Animal Science, Federal University of Paraná, Curitiba 80035-050, PR, BrazilDepartment of Veterinary Sciences, Regional University of Northwestern Rio Grande do Sul—Unijuí, Ijuí 98700-000, RS, BrazilDepartment of Animal Science, Federal University of Santa Maria, Palmeira das Missões 98300-000, RS, BrazilDepartment of Animal Science, Federal University of Santa Maria, Palmeira das Missões 98300-000, RS, BrazilThis study aimed to evaluate daily patterns of hourly milking frequency (MF) in dairy cows milked with an automatic milking system (AMSs), considering the effects of season, parity order (PO), days in milk (DIM), and milk yield (MY). A retrospective longitudinal study was conducted on a commercial dairy farm in southern Brazil over one year using data from 130 Holstein cows and 94,611 milking events. MF data were analyzed using general linear models. Overall, hourly MF followed a consistent daily pattern, with peaks between 4:00 and 11:00 a.m. and between 2:00 and 6:00 p.m., regardless of season, PO, DIM, or MY category. MF was higher in primiparous (2.84/day, <i>p</i> = 0.0013), early-lactation (<106 DIM; 3.00/day, <i>p</i> < 0.0001), and high-yielding cows (≥45 L/day; 3.09/day, <i>p</i> < 0.0001). High-yielding cows also showed sustained milking activity into the late nighttime. Although seasonal and individual factors significantly affected MF, they had limited influence on the overall daily distribution of milkings. These results suggest stable behavioral patterns within the specific AMS management conditions observed in this study and suggest that adjusting milking permissions and feeding strategies based on cow characteristics may improve system efficiency.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/15/15/2293dairy cow behaviorvoluntary milkinglactation stageparity orderseasons |
| spellingShingle | Vanessa Lambrecht Szambelan Marcos Busanello Mariani Schmalz Lindorfer Rômulo Batista Rodrigues Juliana Sarubbi Temporal Distribution of Milking Events in a Dairy Herd with an Automatic Milking System Animals dairy cow behavior voluntary milking lactation stage parity order seasons |
| title | Temporal Distribution of Milking Events in a Dairy Herd with an Automatic Milking System |
| title_full | Temporal Distribution of Milking Events in a Dairy Herd with an Automatic Milking System |
| title_fullStr | Temporal Distribution of Milking Events in a Dairy Herd with an Automatic Milking System |
| title_full_unstemmed | Temporal Distribution of Milking Events in a Dairy Herd with an Automatic Milking System |
| title_short | Temporal Distribution of Milking Events in a Dairy Herd with an Automatic Milking System |
| title_sort | temporal distribution of milking events in a dairy herd with an automatic milking system |
| topic | dairy cow behavior voluntary milking lactation stage parity order seasons |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/15/15/2293 |
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