In a method of milking an animal, the conditions of the milking operation are substantially stable during a main milking phase and are unintentionally changed during a terminating milking phase. According to the invention, at least one unintentional change in the milking operation conditions during at least one initial milking operation is sensed, at least one milking parameter is registered in response to said sensed unintentional change, and each said registered parameter is utilized to change the milking conditions of one or more following milking operations for the same animal before each said sensed unintentional change is expected to occur.

A teat cup for hydraulic milking apparatus comprises a shell and a liner. The liner has a body part within the shell, a mouthpiece at one end of the body part which mouthpiece defines an opening for receiving a teat during milking, a short milk tube at the other end of the body part, for connection to a clawpiece, and an air passage extending through the body part from the inside to the outside thereof. The shell has a first inlet to which a vacuum pulse tube can be connected and in use pressurize the space between the shell and the liner body part, a second inlet to which an air admission tube can be connected and a passageway defined within the shell itself or within a part rigid therewith and communicating the second inlet to the air passage in the liner body part, whereby air may be admitted to the interior of the liner body part at will.

The invention relates to a method for the automatic finish milking during a mechanical milk removal procedure, in which the teat which is introduced into an elastic teat rubber of the milking cup is exposed to a predetermined underpressure, a pulsating underpressure is applied to a space between a milking cup housing and teat rubber which encloses the teat, a continuous milk flow measurement is carried out and the milking intensity is reduced dependent on the result of measurement.

A milking machine having a teatcup (3) with a teatcup liner (6) and a pulsation chamber (7), the pulsating vacuum level is determined when the teatcup liner (6) abruptly opens or closes. At least one of the milking vacuum and the pulsating vacuum is controlled such that the maximum level of the pulsating vacuum is lower than the milking vacuum level and at least as high as the determined level.

The present invention relates to a method and a milking machine comprising at least one teat cup for application to a teat of an animal to be milked, a teat cup liner, mounted in said teat cup, defining a teat receiving space inside said liner, and a pulsating chamber between said liner and said teat cup, said liner having a teat receiving end portion, a vacuum source for applying a vacuum level to the teat receiving space for drawing milk from said animal, a pulsator for application of a pulsating vacuum to the pulsating chamber for moving the teat cup liner between a closed position and an open position, thereby massaging said teat of said animal, and a vacuum sensor for sensing the vacuum level in said teat receiving end portion. The invention is further characterized in that said milking machine is arranged to initiated take off of said at least one teat cup, if a vacuum level sensed by said vacuum sensor indicates that the vacuum level in said teat receiving end portion is rapidly increasing.