Comprehensive Evaluation of Physiochemical, Nutritional and Quality Characteristics of Milk from Pakistani Dairy Goats under Different Feeding Regimes
Abstract
A comparative study was conducted to assess the effects of fodder and concentrate feeding on milk production and physico-chemical characteristics of two indigenous Pakistani dairy goat breeds, Beetal and Dera Din Panah (DDP). Twenty goats from each breed were randomly selected for feeding trials. Milk samples were analyzed using the Generalized Linear Model procedure in SAS 9.1. Results showed that concentrate supplementation significantly (P<0.05) increased milk yield, lactation length, milk fat, total solids (TS), solids-not-fat (SNF), and body weight in both breeds. Beetal goats produced higher milk yield (0.964 L/day) and longer lactation length (128.2 days) than DDP goats (0.832 L/day and 125.6 days, respectively). Specific gravity was not significantly affected (P>0.05) by feeding regime or breed. Overall, concentrate feeding improved milk quality and production traits, while Beetal goats demonstrated superior performance compared to DDP goats. These findings suggest that concentrate supplementation can enhance dairy goat productivity under Pakistani farming conditions.
Key Words; Dairy goats, Beetal, Dera Din Panah (DDP), concentrate feeding, fodder feeding, milk yield