Milking Clusters

Well aligned conventional cluster

A complete set of clusters comprises a claw and four fully-assembled cups (that is, four sets of teat shells, liners, short milk tubes, short pulse tubes, the long milk tube and long pulse tubing).

Correctly setting up your clusters will result in the following benefits:

• Increased milking efficiency - clusters which are correctly set up will be easy to put on and take off, and will require no intervention from the milker while a cow is being milked. They will also ensure cows are efficiently milked out.
• Improved animal health - clusters which are correctly set up will not slip. Cluster slip can compromise teat health, increasing the risk of mastitis.

Getting it right

Poor milking characteristics in many herds result from the wrong match of cluster components. The most common problems include:

• Cluster alignment

  Aligning clusters for efficient milking.

  

  Well aligned clusters.

  Ensuring the cow and the cluster are aligned results in a good seal between the teat and liner and is also essential for even, fast and complete milking. If clusters are attached between the back legs the long milk and pulse tubes must line up with the cow’s backbone, with clusters sitting squarely under the udder.

  

  Poorly aligned clusters.

  To correct alignment - all dairies

  • Check the length of the long milk tube. Its length will depend on the width of the pit and the positioning of the cows. However, the tube should not be so long that it sags into the pit (see image), or so short that it pulls the cluster out of alignment. The long pulse tubes should be the same length as the long milk tube.
  • Check for twisting of long milk tubes and correct as necessary.
  • Cluster alignment may be improved by using a combination of relatively heavy cups with a light claw. Such a combination helps to maintain a more uniform distribution of cluster weight between the quarters. It can also be improved by using claws with more upright inlets.

• Cluster weight

  Clusters that are too light or too heavy in relation to the bore and shape of liner used and/or the system vacuum.

  The weight of commercially available clusters varies from about 1.6 to 3.5kg. The optimum weight for the commonly used liners in New Zealand tends to be in the range of 2.2 – 2.6 kg.

  The main benefit of increasing cluster weight is to reduce the amount of milk (‘strippings’) left in the udder when clusters are removed. However there are disadvantages to increasing the weight of the cluster including: increased milker fatigue, slipping and falling of cups and teat damage.

  The choice of an ‘optimum’ weight usually involves a compromise, a match based on the cows, the type of liner used and the preferred vacuum setting.

  Cluster weight in relation to vacuum level

  The average vacuum level in the claw during the peak flow period of milking should be within the recommended range of 34-42 kPa.

  Note: cluster vacuum is not the same as the working vacuum (as per the vacuum gauge) and requires specialist equipment to measure it.

• Long milk tube

  Clusters that do not hang evenly on the udder because the connecting hoses are too long, too short, twisted, or poorly aligned in relation to the cow.

  

  Long milk lines can pull the cluster out of alignment.

  Uneven weight distribution between the four quarters of an udder is one of the most common causes of incomplete milking, uneven milk-out, and liner slips.

  The milking unit should hang squarely on the udder so that cluster weight is evenly distributed across the udder’s four quarters. This rarely occurs in practice. Usually, the main culprit is the long milk tube, although udder conformation also has a major influence e.g. 3 titters.

  See cluster attachment for solutions to poor cluster alignment.

• Short milk tube

  A mismatch between the claw inlet and the short milk tube causing partial closure of the short milk tube where this tube joins the claw.

  Flattened or kinked SMTs indicate common errors in matching liners and claws. In New Zealand, liner SMT bores vary from 8- 14mm with a corresponding variation in claw nipple size. The same liner model is often produced with two different SMT bores to accommodate different claws.

  Seek expert help to ensure the liner SMT and claw are compatible or restriction to milk flow may occur.

• Liner length

  Liner length wrong for shell.

  The teat cup liner is the only component of the milking machine that comes into contact with the cow's teat and it has a large influence on milking performance, udder and teat health.

  Visit the Teat cup liners page for detailed information.

• Insufficient constriction

  Insufficient constriction where shell meets short milk tube allowing air leakage.

  Refer to the Teat cup liners page for more detailed information.

Desirable claw features

Scientific studies suggest that claws must have an effective volume of at least 150ml to provide stable vacuum below the teat, minimise cross-flow and contamination between quarters and minimise liner slip.

• Other important characteristics of claws include:

  • appropriate weight;
  • unrestricted inlet nipples and claw outlet to allow free flow of milk;
  • good visibility of milk flowing into the claw bowl from each quarter;
  • ruggedness in a tough environment;
  • be relatively easy to open and maintain;
  • the elusive, but important, quality of good ‘personal feel and handling characteristics’;
  • visibility of milk in the claw bowl to help detect problems such as blood in the milk and to provide an indication of the end of milking for individual cows.

• How do I buy the right clusters?

  • Try before you buy:
  • Most equipment companies will loan demonstration clusters to farmers who are doing an equipment upgrade. This is a good way to evaluate the ‘personal feel and handling characteristics’ of different clusters as well as their milking performance.
  • Visit other farmers who use the same clusters and milk in their dairies.
  • Check to see if you have a problem with your cluster set up which will be indicated by:
  • Incomplete milkings.
  • Liner slip.

Suggested improvements

When assessing the ability of clusters to ‘milk out’ use the following measure. A problem with incomplete milking exists if more than 20% of quarters contain strip yields (milk remaining) of 250ml or more. If there are consistent differences in strip yields between the same quarters on different cows e.g. between the left hind and right hind quarters of several cows, it usually indicates poor cluster positioning or uneven weight distribution between the four cups.

If clusters and milking machinery are satisfactory, liner slips should not exceed more than 5 cows per 100 cows milked (excluding cows with very bad udder conformation).

To ensure the long milk tubes are the correct length cut rubbers to roughly the right length and then trim them during milking.

• Herringbone dairies

  

  Cluster aligning device in a straight rump rail dairy.

  • Check the milk line. When cups are attached between the back legs, shift the milk line (or the front gate) until the rubbers hang correctly and clusters are aligned with the udders. When clusters are attached from in front of the legs, the first inlet is usually between 0-300mm from the hinge post on the front gate.
  • Install an appropriately designed zig-zag rail to position cows accurately for cluster alignment.
  • In straight rump rail dairies, devices to support and align the clusters may be useful.

• Rotary dairies

  In rotaries, poor alignment is a common problem and cows often end up with udders that are lighter on one side as a result.

  Consider the following solutions:

  

  Use rubber rings produced by manufacturers – prevents the tube sliding through the hole and pulling the cluster out of alignment

  

  A hook attached to a section of stainless steel tube can be fitted into the long milk tube preventing it from sliding through the hole.

  

  A band of metal welded around the outside of the platform can provide a slot that the milk rubbers are fed through which in turn creates friction to help hold the rubbers in place and improve cluster alignment.

  

  Milk rubbers can be extended to allow them to come over the edge of the platform, rather than through the platform holes. This is possible only if there is a gap between the platform and the entry/exit platform.

  

  A slot to feed the rubbers through can be included as part of the concrete platform construction. The cluster can align itself with the cow and when not in use pull back out of the way of cows as they exit and enter.