Abstract

Although Najdi milk has been historically utilized by bedouins to process traditional dairy products, no published studies have been focused on their milk productivity and quality traits. This study was planned to investigate the effects of litter size, sex of lamb and lamb’s birth weight on milk yield, compositions and udder health during suckling and milking periods. A total of 30 multiparous ewes were utilized in this study. Litter size and sex of lambs did not produce any effects (p>0.05) on milk yield, fat, protein, lactose, total solids and Somatic Cell Counts (SCC); whereas, lamb’s birth weight significantly (p<0.05) affected the milk yield, but not the compositions. Daily milk yield reached the maximum 2.13±0.24 L in the 3^rd week and gradually decreased (p>0.05) to attain 1.88±0.18 L in the 9^th week of lactation. Average milk yield were 2.17 and 1.71 L.d^-1, for ewes that gave birth to lambs weighing >5 and <5 kg, respectively; the corresponding yields during milking period were 0.52 and 0.34 L.d^-1, respectively. Milk compositions remained constant throughout the suckling period, but percentages of fat, protein and total milk solids increased (p<0.05) and lactose decreased (p<0.05) in the 10^th week of lactation compared to other weeks in milking period. The SCC during suckling and milking periods did not change (p>0.05) and had a mean value of 9.95×10⁵ cells/mL. It is concluded that the indigenous Najdi ewes have a noticeable potential for milk production, but milk compositions were lower in comparison to other international dairy sheep.

Keywords:

Milk composition, milk yield, Najdi ewes, somatic cell counts,

References

Competing interests

The authors have no competing interests.

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The authors have no competing interests.