Journal of Veterinary and Animal Sciences

Abstract

The present study was undertaken to assess the effect of lactation number, stage of lactation, milk yield per milking, shape of udder and teats, pregnancy status, sex of calf, shift of milking and identity of milker on speed of calf to reach its dam from calf shed, time taken for initial calf suckling and milk flow rate in Ongole cattle.The mean speed of calf to reach its dam from calf shed, the mean time taken for initial calf suckling and the mean milk flow rate was 76.29 ± 2.03 m/min, 1.00 ± 0.01 min and 0.68 ± 0.01 kg/min, respectively. The speed of calf to reach its dam from calf shed varied significantly with lactation number (P < 0.01), pregnancy status of dam (P < 0.05) and shape of teats (P < 0.05).The initial calf suckling time varied significantly (P < 0.01) with lactation number, pregnancy status of dam, shape of teats and shift of milking. The milk flow rate varied significantly with lactation number (P < 0.01), stage of lactation (P < 0.01), milk yield (P < 0.01), pregnancy status of dam (P < 0.05), shape of udder (P < 0.01), shape of teats (P < 0.01) and identity of milker (P < 0.01). From the results, it is concluded that non-pregnant cows, cows having bowl shaped udder, conical (long) shaped teats, higher milk yield, higher lactation number and cows in early stage of lactation are more efficient for milking.