Consequences of stage of lactation on yield and milk composition in sheep

Abstract

The stage of lactation was an important source of variation on the contents of all milk components in most studies. A systematic studies on the influence of lactation stage on milk yield and milk composition is of foremost importance to evaluate the milk production ability of milking animals. However, it logical to note that the shape of the lactation curve that describes the level of milk yield in the course of lactation differs among the different species. The highest total solids and fat contents were observed in the late lactation stage, which might be due to low milk yield. There was no variation in solids non-fat content during the different lactation stages, which implies that the variation in total solids was actually influenced by the variation in milk fat. Therefore, the present discussion attempt to explore the influence of stage of lactation on milk yield and milk composition in sheep.