The daily yield, the physico-chemical characteristics of goat milk during lactation

Abstract

Average milk yield and milk composition (fat, protein, lactose) and their changes over the lactation were studied on 156 Hungarian Milking White, 168 Hungarian Milking Brown, 106 Hungarian Milking Multicolour goats from April to October, at 4-weeks interval. Daily milk yield and milk composition were counted from the morning and evening yield and contents.Does of Hungarian Milking Multicolour started the lactation with the highest daily yield, while from the second part of the lactation, the Hungarian Milking White does had the highest average daily yield. In the course of lactation the Hungarian Milking Brown had the lowest daily yield. The fat content of the milk increased from 3.2% to 5.0%, with the highest fluctuation in Hungarian Milking Brown producing the highest fat content at the beginning and at the end of lactation. The protein content of the milk increased from 3.1 to 3.9%. In Hungarian Milking White the protein content increased persistently, however, in Hungarian Milking Brown and Hungarian Milking Multicolour the value of this quality decreased from the second period, and reincreased from the 111^st day. During the milking period the lactose content of milk changed between 4.3 and 4.6%. The highest lactose content was measured in Hungarian Milking White, while the lowest in Hungarian Milking Multicolour milk.