The concept of machine milking should be introduced slowly and by persons whom the cows are used to and feel comfortable with under the supervision of an expert from milking machine manufacturer.By carefully following the mentioned steps, a successful introduction should be possible.
- Training of personnel. Training of milkers should be done by a person from the milking machine company. This person has good knowledge about biology of milking, machine milking as well as with the design, function and maintenance of the milking equipment. The training should include introduction procedures, milking routine, handling of the machine, cleaning and maintenance as well as certain aspects of the day-to-day service of the machine.
- Installation of the milking machine in the barn and any other modification in the barn should be made well in advance of the changing to machine milking.
- It is most appropriate to start with heifers since it is easier to habituate heifers than older cows to machine milking. Older cows may have been hand milked by a certain routine for several lactations and may respond negatively to a change in routine. Heifers on the other hand are not accustomed to any specific routine and are more likely to accept machine milking as well as hand milking. Furthermore their udders and teats are more uniform and not damaged by previous milking. Liner slip and other negative effects of machine milking is therefore less pronounced in heifers. Note that heifers should not be hand milked but directly introduced to the machine. They may get accustomed to the noise of the vacuum pump etc. by participating in the milking routines prior to parturition.
- Calm animals that are comfortable with hand milking should be selected. The udders and teats of the animals should be uniform with respect to conformation and size. Cows in heat or unhealthy animals or animals with previous let-down-problems should not be selected.
- Milk the old and selected animals as usual by hand but let the vacuum pump run during milking. This will make the animals accustomed to the noise. Put the pump on before actual milking, but after the cows have been tied up, otherwise the animals may be startled by the sudden noise. Repeat the procedure (usually 2 to 4 times) until all buffaloes are accustomed to the noise. It is better to repeat this procedure once or twice more until all cows are comfortable, than rushing into the next step.
- Bring the milking machines into the barn. Connect them to the airline and place them at each buffalo’s place at the same time as hand milking is carried out. This will allow the buffaloes to get used to the ”ticking” sound of the pulsator. It will give them a chance to look at the machines and smell them and may be even taste them. Make sure though, that they do not chew on them! Move the machines to the next cow in order of milking. This makes the cows used to machines being moved around. The procedure should be repeated (usually 2 to 4 times) until all the animals have accepted the presence of the machines.
At this stage, presumably all cows will be well accustomed to the new routine. If some cows are still showing signs of nervousness or stress, it is recommended to repeat the above mentioned steps until the animals are calm. Cows that have not accepted being milked by machines after this procedure should be returned to hand milking. One or two frightened or uncomfortable cows might cause major disturbances in the whole herd.
Consistency with respect to milking routine including pre-milking preparation should be applied from the beginning of the introduction period. The regular milker should carry out the machine milking during the introduction period.
When the cluster is firmly attached to the udder, the milker should stay with the cow to see that she is comfortable. Soft talking and brushing and scratching are the best ways to calm an animal. These first sessions of machine milkings usually require longer time than the following. However, this time is well worth spending in order to ensure calm and easy-milking cows in the future.