Effects of vacuum level and pulsation rate on milk ejection and milk flow traits in Tunisian dairy camels (Camelus dromedarius)

This work aims to compare the effects of milking at two vacuum levels (38 and 48 kPa) and three pulsation rates (60, 90, and 120 cpm) on milk production and milk flow characteristics. Six multiparous Maghrebi camels in late lactation and once daily milked were used. The best combination of setting f...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Tropical animal health and production 2015-01, Vol.47 (1), p.201-206
Main Authors: Atigui, Moufida, Marnet, Pierre-Guy, Barmat, Ahmed, Khorchani, Touhami, Hammadi, Mohamed
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Body Weight
Camelus
Camelus dromedarius
claws
Dairying - methods
dromedaries
Female
Flow characteristics
Flow rates
Hydrocortisone - blood
Lactation
late lactation
Life Sciences
long term effects
Mammary Glands, Animal
milk
Milk - chemistry
Milk Ejection
Milk production
milk yield
milking
Phenotype
Pressure
Regular Articles
Tunisia
udders
Vacuum
Veterinary Medicine/Veterinary Science
Zoology
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Summary:This work aims to compare the effects of milking at two vacuum levels (38 and 48 kPa) and three pulsation rates (60, 90, and 120 cpm) on milk production and milk flow characteristics. Six multiparous Maghrebi camels in late lactation and once daily milked were used. The best combination of setting for camel’s milking was high vacuum and low pulsation rate (48 kPa/60 cpm). Milk yield and average and peak milk flow rate were the highest, while milking time was the shortest using this combination of setting (3.05 ± 0.30 kg, 1.52 ± 0.21 kg/min, 2.52 ± 0.21 kg/min, and 3.32 ± 0.31 min, respectively). Lower vacuum level lengthened milking time by more than 100 % and was not sufficient to extract milk correctly (1.69 to 2.48 times less milk yield harvested), suggesting a negative interaction with the stimulatory effect of pulsation. Higher pulsation rates did not better stimulate the camels and induced more bimodality and lower milk flow rates. Animal characteristics and liner/claw design affect machine milking and further investigations must be carried out to verify their effects and to study long-term effect of high vacuum level on udder health and teat condition.
ISSN:0049-4747
1573-7438
DOI:10.1007/s11250-014-0708-0