Milk yield and composition and body weight of offsprings of mixed-breed goats on semi-arid rangelands with different rai
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Milk yield and composition and body weight of offsprings of mixed-breed goats on semi-arid rangelands with different rainfall M. J. Flores-Najera 1 & L. I. Vélez-Monroy 1 & J. I. Sánchez-Duarte 1 & V. Cuevas-Reyes 2 & M. Mellado 3 & C. A. Rosales-Nieto 4 Received: 5 May 2020 / Accepted: 24 September 2020 # Springer Nature B.V. 2020
Abstract The objective was to characterize milk yield and composition from mixed-breed goats kidding in winter and grazing rangelands with 221 (n = 15), 334 (n = 20), or 441 (n = 12) mm of annual rainfall in northern Mexico (22–25°N). Weekly milk yield and composition were recorded and progeny growth performance assessed. Body weight loss during lactation was the highest (6.4 kg) for goats on rangeland with 441 mm of rainfall than goats on 221 mm (1.6 kg), or 334 mm (1.8 kg; P < 0.01). The highest daily milk yield was for goats on 221 mm (498 mL; P < 0.01). There was not an evident peak of lactation and milk yield increased uninterruptedly at the end of lactation. Milk fat was negatively related to milk yield and goats on rangeland with 334 mm had the greatest milk fat content (P < 0.001). Milk protein and lactose content were higher in goats on rangeland with 221 mm (P < 0.01). Goat kids on rangelands with 221 and 441 mm grew faster and were heavier (P < 0.001) at weaning than kids reared in other rangelands. Weaning weight was positively related to milk yield (P < 0.001); but not milk components (P > 0.05). In conclusion, moderate milk yield of mixed-breed goats on rangeland is feasible with parturitions in winter, and milk yield is not affected by reduced annual precipitation in rangelands of northern Mexico. Offspring growth performance depends on maternal milk yield, but not milk composition. Nevertheless, slow growth to weaning of offspring had adverse effects on time to reach adequate market weight. Keywords Milk yield . Milk components . Mixed-breed goats . Progeny development . Rangeland
Introduction Goats are widely distributed across diverse geographical and agro-ecological zones around the world and nearly 95% of them are reared in developing countries (Miller and Lu 2019). Their distribution is mainly associated with harsh environments and, generally, goats represent the principal
* C. A. Rosales-Nieto [email protected]; [email protected] 1
Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Forestales, Agrícolas y Pecuarias, Campo Experimental La Laguna, 27440 Matamoros, COAH, Mexico
2
Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Forestales, Agrícolas y Pecuarias, Campo Experimental Valle de México, 56250 Texcoco, CDMX, Mexico
3
Departamento de Nutrición Animal, Universidad Autónoma Agraria Antonio Narro, 25315 Saltillo, COAH, Mexico
4
Facultad de Agronomía y Veterinaria, Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí, 78321 San Luis Potosí, Mexico
economic output, and contribute a large share to the revenue of low-income farmers, in arid and semiarid regions (Gonzalez-Bulnes et al. 2011). These areas are characterized by overgrazing, poor-quality soils, and low
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