Dear Sir
The onset of lactation is with the birth of the calf. The initial yield is a reliable indicator of the animal’s genetic potential. The highest yield is reached after five to six weeks of lactation and maintained for some weeks. Thereafter the yield decreases until the end of lactation. The lactation ends as the dry period starts.
the highest milk yield is seen in the fourth lactation whereafter it declines. The shape of the lactation curve depends on factors such as feed, management, milking frequency, diseases among others. The optimum lactation length in the Murrah has been reported to be 262 to 295 days.
Lactation and milk yield depend on both genetic and non-genetic factors. The genetic influence is due to species, breed, and individual. Further, it is affected by ability to reproduce, e.g. fertility and thereby calving interval. Improvement on these may be the result of breeding and selection.The non-genetic factors are management, amount and quality of feed and skill of the farmer to detect heat and illnesses. Factors which are outside the farmer’s control such as climate, temperature, humidity etc. also influence lactation and milk yield.
Feeding is the most important factor for increasing and sustaining the milk yield. Sufficient amount of energy, protein, minerals and water must be provided in order to achieve maximum yield. See section on Practical feeding of the lactating buffalo.
Calving interval is closely related to lactation length and milk yield. The longer the calving interval, the longer the lactation and the higher the lactation yield. However, total life time yield will be substantially less comparing with a buffalo with short calving intervals. (See section on Breeding).
Dry period
The buffalo should be dried off approximately 2 to 3 months before expected calving. The dry period is valuable to the buffalo, she may rest and the udder tissue is repaired.
In a high yielding herd (above 10 kg per day) the buffalo should be dried off when the daily yield falls below 2.5 kg, even if it is still more than 3 months to expected calving. This goes especially for machine milked herds. An alternative to drying off is to use the buffalo as a foster mother to newly born calves. One buffalo may serve one newborn calf or two older calves which receive additional feed. Care should be taken to dry her off completely no later than 2 months before calving.
In herds which are hand milked and where the yield is low, it is difficult to set a lower limit in kg. Instead, the 2 months limit is recommended.
Milking frequency affects both total milk and fat yield. A study using Murrah buffaloes show 31% more milk and 26% more butter fat resulted from milking three times per day as compared to twice a day.
Regards
Kirti
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