RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SOMATIC-CELL COUNT O F MILK AND SPECIAL PARAMETERS OF MILK FLOW CURVES OF COWS

Milk flow curves give extra information about the milkability of cows. 3634 milk flow curves of German Black Pieds from 5 farms with differe nt housing conditions and hygienic levels were collected. The aim of t he investigation was to describe the variability of milk flow paramete rs and the relationship between the special milk flow parameters and t he somatic cell count of milk. Both the duration of plateau and the de cline are of special interest, because these two parameters describe t he milk delivery of all four udder quarters. The results show a signif icant influence of the farm, the number of lactations and the lactatio n stadium on the milk now parameters. Whereas the duration of plateau was more dependent on the conditions at the farm, the duration of decl ine was determined by animal related factors. Cows with very long dura tion of decline had the highest somatic cell count of milk. The reason for this is an irritation of the udder, caused by overmilking of indi vidual quarters. A constant milk flow from all four quarters, characte rized by a distinct plateau phase and a short decline phase lead to go od udder health.