This reader response references Hoard's Dairyman Intel item, "Docked tails make milking easier."

I milk in a parallel parlor so, yes, I agree tails are a pain . . . however, they do not have to be docked as suggested in "Reader Response: Docked tails make milking easier."

I use a large battery clipper and trim the bottom 6 inches of the tail two weeks before calving and then again about every four months. I can trim 60 to 80 cows per hour when cows are in headlocks.

In Canada, our code of practice reads, "Dairy cattle must not be tail docked unless medically necessary." There are alternatives to docking tails.

–Mike Vanden Dool, Alberta, Canada

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(c) Hoard's Dairyman Intel 2015
April 6, 2015