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The Influence of Oxytocin-Induced Udder Evacuation on Milk and Butterfat Production in a Complete Lactation¹

Division of Dairy Husbandry, University of Minnesota, St. Paul

ABSTRACT

The work of Gaines (6) and the further elucidation of the let-down mechanism by Ely and Petersen (3, 4) and Petersen and Ludwick (12) have stimulated much interest in oxytocin, a posterior pituitary gland hormone, which causes the ejection of milk from the mammary gland. The amount of milk obtained by the use of oxytocin following a normal milking is generally related to the level of production (15) and still more specifically to the total amount of milk in the udder at the time of milking (7, 16). The residual milk apparently is made up of constituents which normally find their way into subsequent milkings, and following oxytocin treatment the subsequent milking is low by approximately the residual in milk and fat (1). The effect of oxytocin administration at consecutive milkings is still controversial, but most investigators find an increased production during the treatment (9, 14). Shaw (13) found no measurable effect.

¹ Scientific Journal Series Paper No. 3033, Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station.

² Present address: Dairy Department, University of Georgia, Athens.