MILK PRODUCTION in SHEEP and GOATS
In sheep and goats, the udder is located in the inguinal region. It
consists of two lobes. Teat sphincters in sheep and goats are weaker
than cows.
Years
Total milk production
(Million Tonnes)
Percentages of species (%)
Cattle Sheep Goat Buffalo
1970 392 91,6 1,4 1,7 5,3
1980 466 90,5 1,5 1,7 6,3
1990 544 88,0 1,5 1,9 8,6
2000 582 84,7 1,4 2,2 11,7
2010 725 83,0 1,4 2,4 13,2
2012 754 82,9 1,3 2,4 13,4
Table: World milk production according to species (FAO)
Years
Total milk production
(Million Tonnes)
Percentages of species (%)
Cattle Sheep Goat Buffalo
1970 7,3 78,1 11,8 6,6 3,5
1980 9,6 80,2 11,4 5,0 3,5
1990 9,6 83,3 11,5 3,5 1,7
2000 9,8 88,7 7,9 2,3 1,1
2010 13,5 91,8 5,9 2,0 0,3
2012 17,4 91,9 5,7 2,1 0,3
Table: Turkey milk production according to species (FAO)
The factors affecting milk yield and composition in ewes and goats
- Breed or genotype - Age
- Nutrition and husbandry - Health and diseases
- Milking - Birth type
Milk Yield
Contents Cow milk
Ewe
milk Goat
milk Buffalo
milk Breast milk
Water 88 83 88 83 88
Dry matter 12 17 12 17 12
Protein 3.3 5.4 3.5 4.2 1.2
Lactose 4.6 4.3 4.1 4.3 7.0
Fat 3.7 6.2 3.8 8.0 3.6
Mineral 0.7 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.2
Table: Milk composition of different species (%)
Minerals Goat Ewe Cow Breast
Kalsiyum (mg) 1260 1950-2000 1200 320
Fosfor (mg) 970 1240-1580 920 150
Potasyum (mg) 1900 1360-1400 1500 550
Sodyum (mg) 380 440-580 450 200
Klor (mg) 1600 1100-1120 1100 450
Magnezyum (mg) 130 180-210 110 40
Çinko (μg) 3400 5200-7470 3800 3000
Demir (μg) 550 720-1222 460 600
Bakır (μg) 300 400-680 220 360
Mangan (μg) 80 53-90 60 30
Selenyum (μg) 20 31 30 20
Table: Mineral matters of different species milk
Figure: Lactation curves for various breeds
Milk yield (g)
Lactation duration (Months) 1 Meat breeds 2, 3 Milk breeds 4 Wool breeds
5 Native breeds (fat tailed)
Figure: Lactation curves for Bafra sheep breed
(Ünal et al., 2008)
Udder-teat measurements
In generally, there are positive and significant phenotypic correlations between udder – teat measurements and milk yield.
a: Udder depth
b: Udder circumference c: Udder width
d: Teat length e: Teat diameter f: Teat distance
g: Teat-floor distance
Machine milking in sheep
Figures: Mobile machine milking in ewes (Photos were taken by the author)
Machine milking in goats
Figure: Machine milking in parlor (Photos were taken by the author)
Items n
Days of Lactation
Total
42 70 98
Mean MD Mean MFR Mean MD Mean MFR Mean MD Mean MFR Mean MD Mean MFR Milk yield estimation
methods ns *** ns * ns * ns *
OMM 25 90.1±5.31 12.2±0.97 80.3±4.91 8.2±0.66 53.8±6.61 5.1±0.62 74.7±3.94 8.5±0.43
MM 25 95.5±5.53 7.0±0.94 84.7±4.92 6.5±0.77 59.8±5.92 3.8±0.73 80.0±4.15 5.8±0.64
Lactation numbers ** * ns ns ns ns ns ns
1 22 103.4±5.63 8.2±0.98 84.2±5.15 6.9±0.74 57.4±5.90 4.2±0.64 81.7±4.11 6.4±0.59
2 28 82.2±5.59 11.0±0.90 80.8±5.13 7.8±0.70 56.2±6.67 4.2±0.75 73.1±4.16 7.8±0.68
Udder types ns ns ns ns ns ns ns ns
I 5 80.9±10.11 11.9±1.95 82.8±9.83 8.0±1.60 56.5±11.30 4.7±1.30 73.4±8.87 8.2±0.93
II 7 98.7±9.74 9.1±1.56 73.3±9.44 7.9±1.28 61.5±9.78 3.3±1.39 77.8±7.46 6.8±1.14
III 16 96.7±6.16 9.5±0.94 91.6±5.42 6.6±0.77 61.0±6.98 4.0±0.66 83.1±4.54 6.7±0.76
IV 22 94.8±5.15 7.9±0.84 82.4±4.56 6.8±0.64 48.2±5.63 4.8±0.53 75.1±3.75 6.6±0.65
Total 50 92.8±4.24 9.6±0.73 82.5±3.85 7.3±0.52 56.8±4.84 4.2±0.52 77.4±3.16 7.1±0.58
