Acta Vet. Brno 2013, 82: 323-329
The patterns of myoelectrical activity and reaction for teat stimulation recorded in highly productive dairy cows’ udders
The aim of the study was to evaluate electrical properties of the mammary gland of dairy cow during manual and mechanical milking and to adapt the electrographic method for analysis of udder physiology. Udder myoelectrical activity was measured on 10 healthy highly productive dairy cows of Slovak Pied cattle breed. The electrical activity of four quarters of the udder was recorded simultaneously using four bipolar electrodes. The udder was stimulated by delicate two-finger massage, manual milking and mechanical milking. During the experiment the duration of the reaction for stimulation and the amplitude of spike dischargers were listed. The udder stimulation through palpational massage of the teat end, manual and mechanical milking caused immediate reaction. The udder responded to stimulation with an increase in myoelectrical activity: increase in discharge frequency to 2.33 ± 0.6 per min and an increase in discharge amplitude with the average of 457 ± 147 µV. The average count of spike discharges was 3.86 ± 0.97, the average duration of the action potential was 8.12 ± 1.68 s and the average myoelectrical index was 31 ± 4%. Manual milking caused the highest increase in the udder myoelectrical activity. Evaluation of the mammary gland myoelectrical activity may provide an alternative method to study milk ejection disorders and to diagnose mastitis.
