How many times a day is a cow milked? Does it hurt?
Historically milking times, frequency and duration are dictated by the cow and her "days in milk". For the most part, a newly fresh cow can begin to produce peak milk production anywhere from 50 to 100 days and continue that production for almost a year. Typical U.S. dairy farms have accepted the practice of having the cow conform to the schedule of the available human operators. This can help to increase milk production over the long term but has its drawbacks in the beginning.
Depending on breed, diet, birthing ease and time of year the animal can hit the ground running and start "filling the pail" in 2 or 3 days. The type of milking system must be addressed to fully understand the possibilities.
The old school: milking is done with the help of a vacuum into a closed pail and dumped into a portable tank on wheels. when this tank is full the contents are emptied into a stationary large refrigerated "bulk tank". This process sometimes lends itself to under milking due to the pail becoming full and the operator not willing to reattach to empty the udder. Animals that are consistently under milked will decrease production.
Recent history: Stall barns have been on the decline in recent years but carried the milking industry for generations. The animal is tied in a stall and milked via a pipeline system which gives greater control over the duration and speed of milking. The pipeline empties directly into the bulk tank and does not have to be detached before the udder is emptied.
Parlor milking is the common practice of today. The animals are directed to a milking station that performs basically the same as the stall barn pipeline. The main difference is that the animal comes to the milker then leaves, as opposed to the mobile milker being brought to the stalled animal. Human operators are very much a congenial part of the system.
The robotic parlor is the cutting edge technology of the day. Human input is still an integral part of the system but the actual attaching of the milking unit is automated. These systems eliminate the afore mentioned conformity to a operator schedule and return to a more acceptable system for the animal. The cow enters the automated parlor when pressure on the udder becomes uncomfortable. This can mean the animal can be milked several times a day during high levels of production.
None of these practices hurt the animal when performed properly, in fact a definite state of pleasure and relief can be noticed in most animals. A faulty vacuum setting, too rapid milk extraction and over milking (continuing to milk after the udder is emptied) can injure the animal but most cows typically flee the threat. They simply kick off the milking unit when a certain level of irritation occurs.
There are farms abroad, in New Zealand, Switzerland and the U.K. that commonly milk once a day. The U.S. common practice has typically been twice a day or "2X". In recent years 3X milking has crept into the industry to better alleviate the discomfort of high producing breeds. This has also slightly increased their overall production. With the advent of the automated robotic system the milking times have been better married to the needs of each individual cow and promise to better accommodate the specific animal and increase the level of cow comfort.
Milking of cows usually takes place twice (sometimes three times) a day (mornings and evenings at regular hours). Cows spontaneously go to the milking parlour because they like the relief that milking gives them. In fact, when their udders are too full the cows are at risk of suffering. Note: Milk production stops naturally after approximately 16 hours and starts again when the cow is being milked.
