The effect of a lowered light intensity at night on cow traffic and milk yield in automatic milking systems
Automatic milking systems (AMS) provide the opportunity for less manual labour and an increased milking frequency. But in order to reach an optimal milking frequency a well-functioning cow traffic is crucial. There are many factors affecting cow traffic but one factor that has not been studied thoro...
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| Formato: | Second cycle, A2E |
| Lenguaje: | sueco Inglés |
| Publicado: |
2014
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| Acceso en línea: | https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/6406/ |
| Sumario: | Automatic milking systems (AMS) provide the opportunity for less manual labour and an increased milking frequency. But in order to reach an optimal milking frequency a well-functioning cow traffic is crucial. There are many factors affecting cow traffic but one factor that has not been studied thoroughly yet is the effect of different light intensities during the night, 22.00 h to 05.00 h. Therefore the aim of this study was to determine the effect of different light intensities during the night on number of selection gate passages (GP), milking frequency and milk yield. The study was conducted as a Latin square were three light intensities were applied: LOW (11 ± 3 lux), INT (33 ± 1 lux) and HIGH (74 ± 6 lux), in three different herds. There were in average 69 ± 4 primiparous cows and 133 ± 4 multiparous cows in each treatment. The dairy cows were housed in loose house barns with automatic milking and a Feed First™ cow traffic system. No effect of treatment was found on either number of selection GP per 24 hour and cow or on milking frequency. Only a slight decrease in selection GP per hour and cow during night time was observed when cows were exposed to treatment LOW, but the decreased activity did not affect milking frequency. The effect on milk yield was hard to determine due to disturbance during the experimental period but no differences in milk yield between treatments LOW and HIGH were found. |
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