Influence of stages of lactation, parity and season on somatic cell counts in cows

The study was undertaken to find out the normal mean and variations in somatic cell count (SCC) of milk in crossbred and indigenous cows as influenced by stage of lactation, parity and season. On day of milk sampling the udders were tested for mastitis by California Mastitis Test (CMT). Only those cows, which were found negative in the CMT, were taken in the study. Paritywise differences in SCC were not significant between the 1st to 6th lactation and above. Similarly, stage of lactation effect, when tested at 30 day intervals, did not differ significantly. However, the seasons significantly (p <0.05) affected SCC count of milk. The SCC was lower during cold (1.10 x 10(5) cells/ml) and hot-dry (1.11 x 10(5) cells/ml) season then during hot-humid season (2.14 x 10(5) cells/ml). On an average SCC recorded were 1.26, 1.31, 1.54 and 1.61 x 10(5) cells per ml respectively in Tharparkar, Sahiwal, Karan Swiss and Karan Fries cows irrespective of stage of lactation, parity and season. Further, crossbred Karan Swiss and Karan Fries cows behave similar to the indigenous Tharparkar and Sahiwal cows but are more vulnerable to hot-humid climate then indigenous ones. Significant correlation between the SCC and milk yield during different stages of lactation (1.38 to 1.74 x 10(5) cells/ml) and parity (1.47 to 1.63 x 10(5) cells/ml) suggested that the SCC/ml of milk was higher during the later stages of lactation.