Dairy Sheep Symposium - the Department of Animal Sciences ...

1 - Stand up as straight as possible when working.
2 - Avoid bending forwards when attaching or detaching clusters or working on udders.
3 - Never work below the level of elbows.
4 - Never work above the level of shoulders.
Good working postures and good working conditions depend largely on good dimensioning
of parlors. One of the most important dimensions, which should be adjusted as well as
possible, is the depth of the pit. In addition to the rules just mentioned above, a milker must
know the average height of the teats of ewes to be milked. For example in the Lacaune breed,
the distance between the floor and the base of the teat is on average 32 cm for ewes with two and
more lactation, and 30 cm for ewes during their first lactation. When ewes are standing on the
platform ready to be milked, udders must be at an easy reach of the hands of the milker in respect
to ergonomic rules and comfortable working angles for body and arms. That means about 10 cm
above the level of elbows with a maximum variation of 20 cm. For example, if a milker is 1.7 m
tall (5’9’’), his elbows are located at about 1 m (3’5’’) from the floor, therefore the height of the
pit should be .85 m (2’10’’). The following table gives an idea of the depth of the pit, which
should always be calculated in relationship to the height of the milker.
Depth of the pit in a milking parlor
Height of the milker Depth of the
pit
1.92m (6’5”) 1m (3’4”)
High Line vs. Low Line pipelines
Some controversies occur between the partisans of each system, controversies that should not
exist. In general high line pipelines are more efficient and cost less to install because the number
of milking units is half as in a low line system. A somewhat higher vacuum level is necessary to
vacuum the milk, but as long as the vacuum is no higher than 38 kPa (12 inches of mercury)
there is no effect on the somatic cell count.
Bulk tank
A bulk tank is an absolute necessity for the good refrigeration of milk after milking. The size,
type and brand of bulk tank are, of course, left to the producer’s choice. The only requirement of
a bulk tank is to be able to cool the milk rapidly to 5-6 degree Celsius.
Freezer
For most dairy sheep producers selling milk to a cheese maker, the freezing of milk is still a
necessary evil. Many discussions have been held on the best way to freeze milk correctly. There
is certainly no “best” way of freezing milk, but there are certainly better ways than others.
However, the method of freezing chosen by the producer will greatly affect the quality of the
milk. When frozen slowly, at temperatures higher than –12 degree Celsius, degradation of milk
proteins will occur starting after 2-3 months of storage. The degradation of protein would lead to