Published online by Cambridge University Press: 27 March 2009
Nine normal lactating Murrah buffaloes from the Punjab Agricultural University Dairy herd were used to assess the effect of showers and evaporative cooling on plasma oxytocin concentration, let-down time, milking time and milk yield in buffaloes. The animals were showered four times daily between 10.30 and 16.30 h or provided with evaporative cooling from 07.00 to 21.00 h. In the hot and dry period the oxytocin concentration in buffaloes given a shower was significantly greater than that of the buffaloes of the control group. In the hot and humid period there was a similar trend.
It is concluded from these studies, that cooling may increase the effective milk ejection reflex because the milk-ejection response to a given blood oxytocin concentration is different when the animal is heat stressed from when it is cooled.