Milking!

Today I finally got to see the milking parlour and try it out!  Unfortunately, we've come a long way from sitting on the stool hand milking.  I was really looking forward to this, but it is all 'mechanical' now.  Our farm, Langhill, has a 28:28 herringbone parlour.  It's exactly as you would expect, being called herringbone, with the stalls at an angle. 14 cows per side can enter and the angle allows good access to the udders by the farmer.  This is an example of what our parlour looks like:

The farmer would access the cows in the center aisle and be just at udder height. Directly above his head are the 'computers'. 

One person can handle the milkings, which occur at 5am and 3pm daily.  The milking is pretty high tech these days...the cows are identified by their electronic collars as they enter the parlour. The computers will flash up the number of the cow (which is also branded on their bum).  The farmer checks to make sure the numbers match because each cow is fed concentrate while they are milked and it's matched to their number.  They get different amounts based on their milk production (more milk requires more energy, which means more food), age, body condition, etc.  Also, some cows might be on antibiotics, which means their milk cannot go into the main tank and must be re-routed into a bucket to be discarded.  It is critical the farmer knows which cow is which, and therefore will confirm the first cow in.  He can manually punch in the correct number, if it's not right and all of the computers after will auto-correct.

The procedure is to dry wipe off the cows teats and then place the automatic cluster on each teat. This is sometimes easier said then done!  It's a vacuum system, so it's like a vacuum (hoover) and once you get it near the teat...it sticks to it.  I hoovered one's tail for a moment..oops.  Dairy cows are used to being handled, but you get some that stomp and move, so you do have to be aware of the potential to get kicked.  Plus, you are always on the lookout of the brown shower coming from above! 

Once the system detects the amount of flow decreasing to a point about 30 seconds from the cow being finished milking, a light will start blinking.  At this point, you should be ready for the cluster to automatically be released and hoisted back up to it's resting area.  If you are not paying attention, the cloister can peg you in the head, back...you name it.  They are fairly solid and look like this:

 

The four ends simply attach to the teats and the clear part will be close to sitting on the floor and you can visualise the milk passing through.  Pretty nifty.

Once the cluster automatically drops off, the last step is to take a hanging hose filled with iodine, and spray off the teats.  This cuts down on the likelihood of infection. 

We learned of the tests performed on the milk for it's quality (protein, butterfat, somatic cell count and bactoscan (for bacteria).  Based on the contract with the milk company you sell your milk to, you get premium prices for certain ranges of these and can get fined for others.  For instance, any antibiotics found in the milk result in fines. At Langhill, cows on anitbiotics have red bands on their legs and also have been entered into the computer, so when their electronic collar registers, a few red lights go off and the computer has to be manually overidden to ensure you have re-routed milk out of the main line. 

It was a dirty deal, but not as bad as I expected.  You will get feces on you at some point, more than likely...it splatters a good bit.  But, this is why you wear waterproofs and wellies.  A good hose-down afterwards, a cup of tea, and you are good to go.

AND, I saw Maggie Moo!!!  Unbelievably, I recognized her by her face markings and confirmed it with her branded number on her bum when she walked by.  She is a big girl.  One of the farmhands said she might not be around too much longer.  Her udder is quite stretched out and she has one wayward teat that makes it difficult, if not impossible, to get the cluster on all four.  This, of course, affects her milk production. He said they will keep her as long as it makes sense.  Poor Maggie Moo. 

It was quite a fun practical. I had read up a bit on all of the background of the parlour, the testing and acceptable numbers beforehand, so when our instructor asked questions to our group, I was pleasantly surprised that I was able to answer most of them.  It does help in the learning process to be prepared - take a look over the learning outcomes before any lecture, tutorial or practical and I think you will have more deep learning.

Another memorable day in the life of this vet student.  A big 4 day weekend coming up, so that is welcome!

Till next time.....

Over-N-Out   

Week 2 is overrrrrr and Cows...mooooo

Can you believe it?  Wow, time is already flying. 

This week was fun.  My dreaded lab was actually really neat and a learning experience....imagine that!  It was a good ole chemistry lab on separating proteins using electrophoresis and then measuring some stuff.  Without question, it helped me get into my tiny pea brain the differences with some methods of separating proteins.  The lab was explained very well and there were several professors wandering around to answer any questions on the procedure and/or explain results.  It was my most dreaded block of time this week and ended up being a delightful surprise.

Thursday afternoon was my favorite, however.  I got to go back out to Langhill farm to get a tour of the dairy cow operation and then over to Easter Bush to do the same with the sheep.  I looked for my beloved cow (I can call her by name on Sunday), but did not see her.  I brought a picture of her, but really needed her ear tag number since that is how they keep track of the herd. 

My group stopped at the dairy farm first.  It was basically an investigative trip. We had to gather a bit of information regarding the farm, herd, feeding, breeding, selling and management of the dairy cows. 

This is before we left, waiting on our bus outside of Summerhall.  It was a gorgeous day!

The farm is 240 ha, which includes the sheep farm.  It's not an easy farm to manage because it's very spread out. Dairy cows do not like to walk and they must walk a lot to get to/from their fields and the milking parlour.  They are milked at 5am and then again at 3pm. The highest yielding cows are milked around 430-5pm.  This gives them more time to produce.  The herd is comprised of 80% Holstein Friesan cows, which look like this:

These ladies are in the calving barn and are within 1 week of giving birth.  Holstein Friesan's are an extreme dairy breed. They have the highest average milk production over all breeds and are very good tempered.  They try and keep them 'in calf', as they produce more milk that way. 

The herd replacement rate is 30%.  We have about 220 cows in the milking herd, and about 160 'followers', which are the younger generations. There are about 80 calves (0-1yr old) and 80 Heiffers (1-2yr old).  Once they are milking, they are called a 'cow'.  They do not sell the dairy calves even though that is a goal. They all end up being used as herd replacement due to unforseen deaths in the herd, lameness, mastititis, etc.

The lactation period of the dairy cow is 305 days, and their 'down time' is dedicated to doing AI (artificial insemination) in order to try and get the cow pregnant.  It normally takes 2-3 times per animal for it to take and each insemination cycle is 21 days.  Average milk production is 30L/cow per 305 day lactation.  After a calf is born, it only stays with mom for a short while and then it's moved to a calf barn.

Because the fields are so spread out at Langhill, they use an ATV to round up the cows for milking.  This is a picture of the cows doing the Milk March to the parlour in the afternoon.

I tried to take a picture of the beautiful scenery in the background, but my buddy decided I needed a picture of his mug and my camera focused on him rather than the really pretty landscape behind the barns....

It is past my bedtime and I will have to cover the sheep tomorrow. I need my beauty rest, for I am FINALLY headed out to do some mountain biking tomorrow morning with the University's women's mtb team.  See, I am prepared:

Good Night All