Milk Composition and Milk Quality of Saanen Crossbreed Goats Supplemented by Mineral Blocks

Abstract

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of urea molasses multi-nutrient mineral block (UMMB) and medicated urea molasses multi-nutrient mineral block (MUMB) supplemented group on milk composition and milk quality of Saanen lactating does. A 90-day feed trial was conducted at a dairy goat farm in Felda Kemahang, Tanah Merah, Kelantan, Malaysia. Twenty four (24) Saanen lactating does (average milk yield 0.05) on milk composition and total bacteria count. Meanwhile, iron milk content in goat supplemented with MUMB (1.46 mg/g) was significantly lowered (p<0.05), approaching the optimum value (0.36-0.75) compared to the control (4.08 mg/kg). In conclusion, UMMB and MUMB supplements had improved milk quality in terms of iron content and fatty acid concentration, which potentially can be utilized as feed supplements to increase the productivity of lactating goats.

Keywords

• milk composition
• Saanen goats
• UMMB
• MUMB