INFLUENCE OF STAGE OF LACTATION ON QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE MILK PRODUCTION PARAMETERS IN GOATS

INFLUENCE OF STAGE OF LACTATION ON QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE MILK PRODUCTION PARAMETERS IN GOATS

N. ASSAN

Goat lactation is synonymous to an agricultural production
function with three distinct production regions namely, early, mid
and late lactation. It is characterised by an increase in milk yield in
early lactation to a possible peak in the mid lactation and then a
decline in milk yield as it reaches the end of lactation. However, the
other milk constituencies (protein, fat, lactose, etc ) do not follow the
same trend as total milk yield through the 3 lactation stages.
Therefore, it is suffice to suggest that the understanding of the
physiological changes in these stages of lactation is crucial in
maximizing milk production in goats. The present discussion
explores the importance of different stages of lactation in milk
production in influencing yield and milk composition. Milk yield and
its composition are influenced by various factors, among these stage
of lactation is very significant. The proportion of protein, lactose, fat
and total solids declined slightly with advance in lactation and a
steady fall in milk yield. This is on the basis that milk yield is a
function of the number of mammary secretory cells and their
metabolic activity change during the course of lactation. The
significant stage of lactation effect in most studies may have
practical implications in determining optimal feeding management to
maximize total lactation yield and milk composition. Therefore, the
knowledge of physiological activities during different stages of actation is critical to dairy animal nutrition and management
decision support systems for optimization of goat dairy flock
production processes

Scientific Journal of Animal Science

2014