Too many kick-offs?

It’s normal for a few cows to occasionally kick off a teat cup. But when does this become more than normal?
If more heifers have calved, it’s logical that the kick-off percentage is slightly higher.
Less than 2% is okay, but it shouldn’t exceed 5% too often!
The number of kick-offs can therefore fluctuate considerably.
Which cows kick off most often can be found in the “Milking performance” list.

What are the possible causes?
Common causes include flies or a batch of heifers, for example, from a particular bull.
But sometimes a milking robot doesn’t connect properly, not correctly from the center of the teat. With multiple milking robots, you’ll see differences in kick-offs from one robot to the next.
In that case, it’s easy for a technician to correct this.
But claw problems, especially on the leg on the side where the robot connects, also cause more kick-offs or stepping on a hose. Or the VMS arm may have difficulty reaching the udder teats.
A feeder setting that is too narrow or too wide can lead to more kicking from restless cows.
And of course, the quality of the teat liners, a clean camera that connects smoothly, the feeding speed, pre-treatment cup, and temperature are also important factors.
It’s also interesting to see whether cows, besides new heifers, also older cows, and perhaps even cows in later lactation, still kick. Then we look at factors like teat quality, how and with what you fill the boxes, what you use for disinfection, the vacuum level, and the settings for the take-off from the milkcup.
Also the feeding speed and the feed intake per milking session. Have they finished their feed before milking begins, for example?