Studies on the milk composition of West African dwarf, Red Sokoto and Saanen goats at different stages of lactation. I. Total solids, butterfat, solids-not-fat, protein, lactose and energy contents of milk.

Nine West African dwarf (Fouta djallon), Red Sokoto (Maradi) and Saanen lactating goats, hand-milked, were used for these studies, which lasted 12 weeks. The Saanen goat's milk was obtained weekly from the Western State Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources Urban Dairy Farm at Iwo Road, while similar samples were collected from the herd at the University of Ibadan Teaching and Research Farm. The goats were balanced for stage of lactation, namely early, mid- and late-lactation. They were each maintained on giant star grass (Cynodon nlemfuensis) ad lib. and 1 kg dairy concentrate mixture daily. The mean contents, with standard deviations, of the milks of Saanen, West African dwarf and Red Sokoto goats at mid-lactation respectively were: (in percentages), total solids 12-25 plus or minus 0-078, 18-18 plus or minus 0-392, 15-85 plus or minus 0-077; solids-not-fat (SNF) 8-91 plus or minus 0-42, 10-48 plus or minus 0-471, 10-53 plus or minus 0-140; butterfat 3-34 plus or minus 0-141, 7-78 plus or minus 0-621, 5-32 plus or minus 0-098; protein 3-04 plus or minus 0-139, 5-30 plus or minus 0-292, 4-74 plus or minus 0-021; lactose 4-56 plus or minus 0-167, 5-19 plus or minus 0-176, 4-77 plus or minus 0-053; energy (kj/g dried milk), 21-08 plus or minus 1-11, 25-51 plus or minus 1-74, 22-17 plus or minus 0-51. Breed differences were significant (P less than 0-01). The milk of West African dwarf goats contained more of these milk components than the milk of the Red Sokoto or Saanen goats. The Red Sokoto goats gave milk of higher content than did Saanen goats, even at an early stage of lactation. Butterfat, protein, lactose and energy values were significantly affected by stages of lactation (P less than 0-05) and tended to rise with advancing lactation; this was particularly so with West African dwarf goats.