Abstract: A milking claw for a dairy animal has a top having a front pair of first and second inlets laterally spaced on opposite sides of a longitudinal axis and receiving milk from the front pair of teats and directing such milk rearwardly into the claw on laterally opposite sides of the longitudinal axis, and a rear pair of third and fourth inlets laterally spaced on opposite sides of the longitudinal axis and receiving milk from the rear pair of teats and directing such milk forwardly into the claw on laterally opposite sides of the longitudinal axis, along nonintersecting flow paths.

Abstract: A milking claw for a dairy animal has a bottom having an outlet tubular member having a flow passage of a first vertical height, and a nozzle having an opening passing milk therethrough from the claw bottom to the flow passage. The nozzle opening has a second vertical height less than the first vertical height, such that milk level in the claw bottom need only rise to the level of the second lower vertical height of the nozzle opening rather than to the level of the first higher vertical height of the flow passage of the outlet tubular member, to provide a pressure differential between the vacuum in the outlet and the vacuum in the claw, whereby to draw milk from the claw in smaller more frequent slugs as compared to higher volume less frequent slugs while otherwise waiting for milk level in the claw bottom to rise to the level of the first vertical height.