TROUBLESHOOTING LOW MILKINGS IN ROBOTS – PART 1

How many times should a robotic system milk the cows. Of course, different stages of lactation and different levels of production require different milking frequencies. Most farmers would be satisfied if the whole herd averaged 2.8 to 3.0 milkings – but they would also want more milkings for high producing, early lactation cows. Most farmers would be concerned if the herd averaged less than 2.5 milkings for an extended period of time, regardless of how often the fresh cows are milked. This first article, of a 3-part series, will explain how troubleshooting low milkings in robots starts with herd health, reproduction, bunk management, and training, in all robotic systems. This is the foundation that needs to be in place for the feed tables, milking permission and gate decisions, which will be covered in parts 2 and 3. All the ideas can help, whether you are struggling to get from 2.4 to 2.7 milkings, or tweaking to get from 2.8 to 2.9.

Herd Health

It’s no secret that lame cows become fetch cows. Lame herds struggle to maintain milkings. Objectively evaluate the prevalence of lameness. Establish foot bath and trimming routines. Fresh cow metabolic problems like ketosis, milk fever, and metritis also limit trips to the robot. If she does not feel well, she won’t get out of her stall and go to the robot. Frequent fresh cow milkings will result in more milk and more milkings throughout lactation.

Reproduction

Late lactation cows have less appetite and less will to milk. Many of them stop coming to the robot and become fetch cows. But there’s more to it. Properly configured milking permission limits the number of milkings for lower producing, late lactation cows. More late lactation cows in the herd will result in lower milking frequency for the herd. A breeding program that keeps at least 63% of the cows under 200 days in milk will keep the robots full with cows that benefit from more frequent milking.

Bunk Management

There are a lot of metrics we can us to measure bunk management. How often are cows

fed? How often is feed pushed up? How long is feed unavailable to cows? In simple terms, a cow has to be confident that she can get a full meal every time she goes to the feed bunk. If there are times when she expects the bunk to be empty, she won’t go to the bunk, and an opportunity to milk her is lost. Cow comfort has a similar effect. If a cow waits for a free stall, she will wait to go back to the bunk or the robot later on. Limiting feed availability will limit trips to the robot.

Training

Training can be either active or passive. Active training includes the things we do to teach cows to use the robots. Research shows that active training, by bringing new cows to the robots, results in less fetching, more voluntary visits to the robot, and more milk. Evaluate the milking frequency for cows under 30 days in milk. Passive training includes things we didn’t really intend to teach the cows. For example, a bad experience in the robot, or commitment pen, teaches cows to avoid those areas. Everything people do, or don’t do, in the barn affects cow behavior.

The first step in improving milking frequency is making sure that herd health, reproduction, feed bunks, and training are managed. Read parts 2 and 3 for the next steps. Contact Cow Corner for another set of eyes to help get more milkings in your herd.