Possible factors affecting the milking temperament of Holstein cows

The aim of this study was to clarify the factors affecting the milking temperament of Holstein cows. Questionnaires for dairy cows produced by seven sires were mailed to 1,227 dairy farms in Tohoku, Kantou, and Tokai areas. Data on 1,535 cows were collected from 422 farms. The items on the questionnaires included parturition, social dominance in herds, tethering method, tethering duration, scale of farm, and the sire of each cow. The milking temperament score was evaluated by each herdsman using a five point-rating scale ; 1 : very calm, 2 : calm, 3 : a little nervous, 4 : nervous, and 5 : very nervous. Results show that tractable cows with ranks 1 and 2 was 63% and that of untractable cows with ranks 4 and 5 was 9%. The least squares mean of milking temperament scores was 2.31. The results for least-squares analysis of variance showed that significant differences of milking temperament were observed between primiparous cows and multiparous cows (P