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Abstract

The article presents the results of research on the influence of duration of kneading of udder of springer heifers on further development of mammary gland and future productivity of cows.
An important chain of effective dairy farming is the accurate organisation of herd reproduction, preparation of springer heifers for calving and lactation and milking of first calves. It has been determined that during the formation of productivity of dairy animals the first pregnancy has a decisive importance.
The specific feature of this physiological state is that complex morphological and functional changes in the reproductive organs happen for the first time in the body, and pregnancy, calving and lactation proceed in the further formation of the animal organism. One of the most significant stressors on the first calving heifer’s body is the first birth in combination with machine milking. The inability to overcome the influence of the first milking stress factor is the reason why some first calves are already being eliminated at this phase of the technological chain in commercial milk production.
One of the techniques that can reduce the impact of the above mentioned stress factors is udder massage of springer heifers.
To study effectiveness of manual massage of udder of springer heifers its duration (from 1 to 4 min.) was tested. There was also studied the effect of different durations of manual massage on the performance of heifers and their morphological traits. The experiment was carried out in SE “Ukrainka Slobodskaya” by IAS NAAS on animals of Ukrainian black-motley dairy breed. For that, five groups were formed with different duration of manual massage (I – 1min, II – 2min, III – 3min, IV – 4min, V – without massage). Massage was started in the 6th month of pregnancy.
It was found that kneading of udder of springer heifers compared to no massage increased udder of first calving heifers according to the following measurements: udder girth by 17,4 – 18,7 % (P≤0,05), width 17,9 – 23,7 (P≤0,05), length 15,9 – 20,7 (P≤0,05), depth 16,1 – 20,8 (P≤0,05). It should be noted that using different time of hand massage (groups I-IV) positively shortens the time of litter secretion and increases milk production by 11.7 – 12.3%.

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