Repeatability estimates for milk coagulation traits and non-coagulation of milk in Finnish Ayrshire cows

Abstract

Effects of systematic environmental factors and milk production and quality traits on milk coagulation properties (MCP), and on repeatability of those traits were estimated from 979 milk samples collected once a month over a period of 2 years from 83 Finnish Ayrshire cows. Estimation was based on a multitrait animal model and REML methodology. In addition, persistence of non-coagulation of milk in individual cows, and factors associated with it were established from a sub sample of 24 cows producing non-coagulating (NC) milk at least once. MCP were at their best during the first lactation, at the beginning and at the end of lactation, and during grazing seasons. Variation in MCP with systematic environmental factors was partly due to variation in composition and quality of milk, especially in pH and ln (somatic cell count, SCC). Coefficients of repeatability for milk coagulation time and curd firmness were 0·65 and 0·68. These estimates were of the same magnitude as those for protein content, but were higher than those for daily milk yield, fat content, pH, and SCC. Based on the repeatability estimates for the milk coagulation traits and effects of the environmental factors, cows should be sampled at least three times during a lactation to estimate reliably breeding values for the milk coagulation traits. A total of 10% of the milk samples did not coagulate in 30 min after addition of rennet. Cows that produced NC milk at least once (30% of the cows) could be classified into those that produced NC milk only a few times during a lactation and those that produced NC milk at almost every sampling. Based on logistic regression analyses, peak and mid-lactation, high milk yield, low protein and fat content and high pH increased the risk of non-coagulation of milk.