Effects of nutrition on yield and milk composition in sheep and goats

Abstract

The majority of sheep and goat  milk produced in the world is transformed into cheese, therefore, feeding is a major factor affecting the quality of sheep and goat  milk and, hence  sheep and goat  cheese quality. This discussion  is an attempt to explore the influence of nutrition on  milk yield and major milk components in sheep and goats. Nutrition is a vital component in an attempt to maximise milk synthesis in small ruminants, as a result correct feeding management is desirable through appropriate estimation of  roughage to concentrate intake in order to optimize the utilization of feed supplements. It is suffice to suggest that feeding high producing dairy animals may  be a major constraint in milk production, which implies greater attention to diet composition, feed quality, and the physical form of feedstuffs is required. The rate and extent to which a dairy sheep and goat is capable of drawing upon body reserves to meet the energy requirement at different stages of lactation is critical in determining her ability to produce and sustain a high level of milk production. In order to  increase sheep and goat milk production, and to ensure high feed efficiency, dairy farmers  need to pay close attention to nutritional requirement of dairy animals which may differ during different stages of lactation.