The Impact of Music on Dairy Cows in Terms of Milk Production
Noujarembi Devi, BVSc & AH student, 3rd year
Lakhimpur College of Veterinary Science, Assam Agricultural University, 787051
Abstract
The influence of music on the milk performance of dairy cattle has been increasingly studied in recent years, although its efficacy is still being debated due to the inconsistent outcomes and a limited number of studies. Music is an integral part of human evolution and the origin of musical sounds from birds and animals illustrates the close relationship of music with the environment. The supernatural power and extraordinary aspects of music experimented several times in the course of history has been acknowledged in various literature. In this article I have aimed to present some of the experiments with music on dairy cattle and their corresponding positive as well as negative results.
INTRODUCTION
Experiments on the influence of music on the milking habit of cows started amid the 19th century in foreign countries. Some glimpses of such attempts are :
- Psychologists at the University of Leicester, UK, attempted by playing the music of different tempos to herds of Friesian cattle and found Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony and Simon & Garfunkel’s Bridge Over Troubled Water to increase the milk yield.
- A British Colombian Dairy Association conducted a music competition for increasing Milk yield in their dairy farm in 2012 in the title “Music Makes More Milk” contest. Members of the public were invited to compose songs for cows to naturally increase milk production. News wire (2012), Published on 9th Oct, – 2012.
- ‘Calming music can improve milk yield, probably Because it reduces stress,’ said Dr. Adrian North, who carried out the study with his colleague Liam MacKenzie.
- Anna O’Brien claimed that the milk yield is increased up to 3% while playing selected music to cows.
EXPERIMENT IN INDIA
In India, thematic research was attempted by J. Sankar Ganesh, Assistant Professor, Department of Performing Arts SV University, Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh with the sponsorship of the University Grants Commission through a major research project Entitled ‘Impact of Carnatic music on the milk yield of S.V.Gosamrakshanashala, Tirupati. Caring for cows is an important aspect of Hindu dharma. Gosamrakhsanashala is a place where all the cows are sheltered and taken care of. Sri Venkateswara Gosamrakshana shala Trust was Established by Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) in 1956. It was established with 150 acres of land and has an approximate number of 2200 cows.
RESULTS OF THE STUDY
- Flute music of Carnatic music impacts the cows and the milk yield in peak lactation cows increased upto 0.38 L average/day, which is 1.45% of the total milk yield. In late lactation the milk yield increased to 1 L average/day which is a 4.97% average increase in the overall milk yield. Temperature of the day played a vital role in the overall milk yield of cows. During summer, the flute music did not influence the cows as much as in winter.
- Among the peak lactation groups, the music of Veena influenced much positively. The milk yield increased upto 4.83 L average/day which is a whooping 14.86% of the overall milk yield of the group.
- Music of string instruments like Mandolin, Veena, and Violin, playing of melakarta raga-s or other raga-s, helped in the increase of overall milk yield of both peak and late lactation cows. Most of the cows like the tonal music produced from the strings.
Some interesting observations were the increased cooperation level of the cattle during the milking time, and the increased activity of lazy cows after listening to music.
MORE RECENT STUDIES
1.According to a study conducted by Lize-Mari Erasmus, of University of Pretoria on dairy cows, playing classical music lowers their stress levels and increases their milk production. It was the first study of its kind in South Africa to investigate the influence of classical music on the stress levels and milk production of dairy cows.
Nine Holstein cows were divided into groups of three and over the course of 4 months, each group was exposed to three treatments. One group of animals was exposed to classical music every day for 24 hours wherever they were on the farm; another group wasn’t exposed to any music at all; and in the third group, the cows heard classical music only when they were being milked.
In order to determine the stress levels of the cows, and with the help of UP’s Endocrine Research Laboratory, she regularly tested how much glucocorticoid was found in the dung and milk of the animals in the different treatment groups.
Cows exposed to constant music had the lowest stress related levels of glucocorticoid in their dung. They were noticeably calmer when being milked, and upto 2 L more milk per milking session were obtained from the cows.
The findings indicate that auditory stimuli as a form of environmental enrichment have economic benefits to the producer.
- Another study conducted in Malaysia, aimed to investigate the impact of music on the milk production and behaviour of 24 lactating Jersey cattle, consisting of 10 primiparous and 14 multiparous cows. The experiment involved milk collection and behavioural observation before and after exposure to music at a dairy farm in Sitiawan, Perak. The results were that the cows produced significantly less milk after being exposed to music. In terms of observed behaviour, the cows displayed a significantly higher proportion of feeding and ruminating when no music was played.
However types of music used in this study were French classical piano, Richard Clayderman’s classical piano, flute and Mozart’s classical music, which were similar to the genres used in previous studies that were found to generate a positive effect on milk production. One of the reasons for these contradictory results may be the ambient temperature in the cowshed. Uncomfortable environmental conditions can affect the secretion of adrenaline and pituitary gland hormones. Adrenaline hormones diffuse into the bloodstream, particularly into the umbilical cord causing the udder muscles to tighten and resulting in decreased milk production. Also the cows might still not have become used to having music because the data was collected only one day after they were habituated to presence of music.
Conclusion
Dairy cattle produce more milk when they hear music that mimics their normal pulse, which explains why light music like classical, country and slow music increases lactation by alleviating stress. An increase in the GABA (gamma aminobutyric acid) content in the blood of cattle, thus promoting the secretion of growth hormones could also be seen
Acknowledgements
I want to express my gratitude to Dr. Biju Borah, PhD Assistant Professor, Department of Veterinary & Animal Husbandry Extension Education, Lakhimpur College of Veterinary Science, for giving us this opportunity to study and write an article on the above topic.
References
- Ganesh, J. S. (2020). Impact of carnatic raga-s on The milk yield of cows. Shanlax International Journal of Arts, Science and Humanities, 8(2),83-87. https://doi.org/10.34293/sijash.v8i2.3318
- https://www.up.ac.za/research-matters/news/post_3133767-moo-nlight-sonata-up-study-finds-that-cows-soothed-by-classical-music-produce-more-milk#:~:text=Contact%20us-,Moo%2Dnlight%20Sonata%3A%20UP%20study%20finds%20that%20cows%20soothed%20by,and%20increases%20their%20milk%20production
- Nurul Nabilah Shamshul Kamar and Nur Nadiah Md Yusof* School of Biology, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Universiti Teknologi Mara, 40450 Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia (2023) . The Impact of Music on Milk Production and Behaviour of Dairy cattle. Pertanika Journal Tropical Agricultural Science.
