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Dairy goat's lactation persistence forces farmers at limiting nutrient supply to reduce yield at dry-off. Omitting dry period could be a solution, but metabolic effects of this practice have never been tested. Eight Alpine (AL) and 12 Saanen (SA) goats approaching their second kidding blocked by breed and number of kids carried (single - SIN - or double - DOU) were allocated to one out of two groups (4 AL and 6 SA; 5 SIN and 5 DOU in each group). At −42 ± 7 days from kidding (DFK), they were either dried off (DR) or milked continuously until kidding (CL). Body condition score (BCS) was assessed, and blood samples were collected at −10, −3, 5, 12, and 29 DFK to determine metabolic profile. Milk yield and composition were assessed at −56, 7, 31, 62, and 97 DFK. Compared with DR, CL had higher plasma reactive oxygen metabolites and liver enzymes. Compared with DR counterparts, AL-CL had higher nonesterified fatty acids (NEFA) at −10, whereas SA-CL had lower NEFA at −3 DFK. CL goats had lower BCS, higher plasma beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB) and urea before kidding, but higher glucose at −3 and 5, lower NEFA at 5 and 12, and higher BCS at 29 DFK. CL goats had lower haptoglobin and myeloperoxidase at −3 and 5 DFK, paired with higher albumin, cholesterol, and paraoxonase at 12 DFK. Omitting dry period mitigated the inflammatory condition around kidding in dairy goats, possibly accounting for an improved energy balance in early lactation, despite body reserve mobilisation prepartum was greater under continuous lactation. HIGHLIGHTS: Omitting dry period accrued prepartum energy deficit in dairy goats but improved their postpartum energy balance. Omitting dry period mitigated acute phase response and inflammation in dairy goats during the late gestation and early lactation phases. Omitting dry period in high-yielding goats could allow for a smoother transition to the new lactation coping with the limitations hindering the dry-off procedures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clinical lameness has an impact on animal welfare and profitability in different livestock industries. The objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence and incidence rate of clinical lameness within New Zealand dairy goat farms. Up to 3246 goats on three dairy goat farms were observed 4–5 times over one year. Data on locomotion scores and animal information were collected between June 2019 and June 2020. A 5-point (0–4) locomotion scoring scale was used, where scores 3 and 4 were classified as clinical lameness. The average herd-level prevalence of clinical lameness for farms A, B, and C were 23, 12, and 10%, respectively. The annual incidence rate of clinical lameness for farms A, B, and C were 104, 56, and 55 cases per 100 goat-years, respectively. Lameness appears to be a significant welfare issue, with incidence varying between farms and between goats. Investigating both farm-level and goat-level factors is required to understand the epidemiology of lameness and design evidence-based control and prevention measures. Further investigation should be undertaken to identify variables affecting the goat's odds of becoming clinically lame. This study sets the foundation for future study of lameness in commercial dairy goat farms nationally and internationally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Including grape pomace in goat diets presents a potentially valuable strategy for enhancing the sustainability of goat farming and mitigating environmental risks. This work aimed to investigate the impact of dietary dried grape pomace (DGP) on milk yield, milk composition and milk fatty acid (FA) profile in goats. Gas chromatography was utilised to obtain an extensive profile of FA in milk fat. Dry matter intake, as well as milk yield and composition were not altered by dietary DGP. Despite the predominance of linoleic acid (LA, 18:2 cis-9,cis-12) in the lipids of DGP and the presence of phenolic compounds, its inclusion in the diet did not negatively affect the quantitatively main groups of FA. Furthermore, there was no significant impact on butyric, caproic, caprylic, and capric acids, the major 18:1 trans isomers, including vaccenic acid (18:1 trans-11), LA, α-linolenic acid (18:3 n-3), and the long chain polyunsaturated n-6 and n-3 FA. However, rumenic acid in milk fat was significantly reduced from 0.36 to 0.30 g/100 g of total fatty acid methyl esters. This study supports that up to 6%, DGP can be safely included in conventional dairy goat diets without compromising the production results or altering to great extent the milk FA profile. Milk changes due to dried grape pomace (DGP) consumption were assessed in goats. Milk yield increased without changes in milk composition following DGP consumption. Some minor FA contents were modified by DGP. DGP had no impact on most FA related to milk fat's nutritional properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of replacing jackfruit leaves (JF) for Para grass (PG) on intake, digestibility, nitrogen balance, ruminal fermentation, milk yield and composition in lactating goats. Four crossbred Saanen lactating goats in mid-lactation and milking 1676 ± 112 g/day were used in a 4 × 4 Latin square design. A basal diet consisted of concentrate and PG (C:F 40:60). Treatments were dietary replacement of JL for PG at ratios of 0, 50, 75 and 100% corresponding to JL0, JL50, JL75 and JL100 diets, respectively. Feeding JL increased linearly (P < 0.01) DM intake, but decreased linearly (P < 0.05) nutrient digestibility. A linear increase in fecal N (P < 0.01) and N retention (P = 0.04), but a linear decrease in urinary N (P = 0.03) was detected when increased the JL in the diets. Total VFA concentration increased quadratically (P = 0.04), and the highest value was observed in JL75 compared with JL0 (85.9 vs. 72.8 mM). Milk production increased linearly (P = 0.03), but no change was observed in milk composition and blood urea nitrogen (BUN). Overall, combined data suggest that the substitution of JL for PG in lactating goat diets is effective in the improvement of nutrient intake, N retention, ruminal VFA concentration and milk yield without affecting milk composition and BUN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective was to characterize the adaptive profile and thermoregulatory responses of Saanen goats raised under tropical conditions. Twenty dairy goats were used. Its rectal temperature (RT, °C), respiratory rate (RR, breaths min−1), and heart rate (HR, bpm) were collected biweekly for two consecutive years. Individual blood samples were collected for determination of thyroxine (T4; μg dL−1). All physiological responses were higher in the afternoon, except for RR which was higher in the morning. The RT and RR were higher in the rainy season, and HR and T4 levels had no effect between periods of the year. The RT, HR, RR and T4, in this order of importance, are the most important variables to characterize the adaptive profile of the animals. The thermoregulatory responses during the morning and afternoon shifts were similar, whereas between periods of the year the animals used different mechanisms to maintain homeostasis. Saanen goats mainly use the latent thermoregulation mechanisms in the rainy season as a form of endogenous heat dissipation and the sensitive mechanisms in the dry season. The RT is a physiological variable that presents discriminatory power for evaluation of adaptive aspects in Saanen goats in tropical conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this work was to evaluate the influence of non-genetic factors on milk yield, its composition (fat, protein, dry matter and lactose) and the count of somatic cells in Murciano-Granadina goat breed, through the application of alternative nonparametric tests to routine parametric tests to explain the variability found in the population with respect the aforementioned traits. 2594 milk yield and composition records belonging to 159 goats from the selection nucleus were analysed. Predictors evaluated were farm, type of birth and parity order, live kids, parturition month, season and year, control number, control type, control month, season and year, days in lactation, days from first control, days from last control to drying, drying month, season and year. All of them presented a significant influence (p <.0001) on all the variables studied with the exception of the number of stillborn kids which did not significantly influence the percentage of each component and the year of drying which seemed not to significantly influence dry matter percentage. Conclusively, nongenetic factors affect milk yield and its compositions in the Murciano-Granadina goat breed. Additionally, the inclusion of the type of milk control and information related to the drying period in models predicting for milk yield and content may provide interesting information, which must be included in genetic evaluations to promote higher and better-quality milk production improving the profitability of autochthonous breeds. Non-genetic factors may affect milk components more than milk yield. Including factors related to lactation cycle can help identifying critical points. Drying-off period information promotes milk yield and quality. Studying nongenetic factors helps maximising milk predictive model potential. Factor combinations studied explain up to 41.8% of variability of milk yield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dairy goats can mobilize considerable body fat for support of milk production, but this can necessitate a high nutritional plane later for replenishment. Tissue mobilization during gestation should be controlled so as not to impair lactational performance. Dairy goats can markedly vary feeding behaviour in response to factors such as restricted periods of access; however, further studies are needed to address the efficiency of production. With some tolerance of goats to plant secondary metabolites and voluntary consumption of a wide array of materials, regionally available byproducts and other nonconventional feedstuffs can be used to minimize production costs. Dairy goats are resilient to moderately harsh environmental conditions, but more extreme ones should be addressed with anticipated future climate change. Some differences in the effects of dietary inclusion of fats and oils between dairy goats and cattle may relate to ruminal microbial conditions as well as the susceptibility of mammary gland enzymes to bioactive conjugated linoleic acid isomers. Much research is being conducted to improve the fatty acid composition of fat in goat milk in regard to effects on human health through the use of fats and oils as well as plant secondary metabolites, and effects on antioxidant status are increasingly being considered as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Limited sample sizes imply parametric assumptions could be violated, even if traits have been reported to fulfil parametric assumptions. Parametric studies have addressed a non-significant influence of CSN1S1 genes on Murciano-Granadina milk yield, fat, protein and dry extract. We used non-parametric categorical tests to find alternative statistical methods to analyse the power to explain the variability found in the population regarding milk yield and its components. We analysed 2090 records for milk yield, and its components from 710 Murciano-Granadina CSN1S1-genotyped goats. Categorical regression equations were issued to predict which and at what level these factors may determine milk yield (kg), fat (kg), protein (kg) and dry extract (kg). All environmental (farm and parturition year) and animal-inherent factors (genotype, birth type and age) resulted statistically significant (p <.05) except for birth season and month. CSN1S1 genotype was highly statistically significant and explained from 8.3% to 9.2% of protein and fat content variability, resembling the values for highly selected French breeds. Seasonal peaks and lows resembled other breeds'. Heterozygote advantage of certain combinations of E allele with those alleles strongly or weakly influencing milk components and yield such as A, B, B2, F and homozygote BB genotype reported the highest statistically significant effects on milk components and yield. Our results suggest that non-parametric tests may report contextually valid results when having a large sample size is not possible. Selecting for certain CSN1S1 genotypes may promote the efficient production of better-quality milk in greater amounts, improving the international competitiveness and profitability of local breeds. Non-parametric tests are crucial if normality and heteroskedasticity analyses fail. Murciano-Granadina milk traits compared with highly selected international breeds'. E allele combinations and BB reported highest effects on milk components and yield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fifty Alpine goats at 125 ± 3.0 days-in-milk were given access in Calan gate feeders to a 40% forage diet for 12 wk continuously (Control), during daytime (Day) or night (Night), or for 2 or 4 h/day after milking in the morning and afternoon (2Hour and 4Hour, respectively), resulting in few significant effects. In a second 12-wk experiment, average daily gain (ADG) by 40 Alpines at 14 ± 0.7 days-in-milk (73, 39, 11, 24, and 21 g) was greater for Control than for the average of other treatments, milk yield was similar among treatments, milk fat was lower (P = .089) for Control (3.41%, 3.88%, 4.21%, 3.70%, and 3.49%), and milk energy was not affected (8.20, 7.36, 9.53, 8.56, and 6.91 MJ/day for Control, 2Hour, 4Hour, Day, and Night, respectively). Metabolizable energy intake (31.25, 22.69, 25.92, 26.69, and 23.46 MJ/day) and heat energy (17.51, 13.34, 14.09, 15.54, and 15.25MJ/day) were greater and milk energy relative to ME intake was lower for Control (26.0%, 31.9%, 37.6%, 31.4%, and 30.0% for Control, 2Hour, 4Hour, Day, and Night, respectively). In conclusion, continuous diet access of dairy goats in early to mid-lactation can affect partitioning of nutrients between milk synthesis and tissue accretion differently than some restricted feeder access treatments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intramammary infection affects quality and quantity of milk. Having as final target the improving of animal health' monitoring, this research studied the gland milk electrical conductivity (EC) signal in order to identify a possible parameter more representative of the EC variations that can be observed, during a milking, when not healthy (NH) glands are considered. Two foremilk gland samples, from 40 Saanen goats, were acquired for three weeks and lactation stages (LS: 0-60 Days In Milking; 61-120 DIM; =>120 DIM), for a total amount of 1440 samples. Bacteriological analyses and somatic cells counts (SCC) were used to define glands health status. In case of negative bacteriological analyses and SCC <1,000,000 cells/mL, glands were classified as healthy; alternatively, when bacteriological analyses were positive or SCC higher than 1,000,000 cells/mL, for two or more consecutive days, glands were classified as NH. A spectral analysis, to calculate the frequency spectrum and the bandwidth length of the milk EC signal, was performed. To validate data acquired, A MIXED procedure was used considering the HS, LS and the LS x HS as explanatory variables of the statistical model. Results showed that spectral analysis allows characterizing the milk EC variations thorough the bandwidth length parameter. This parameter has a significant relationship with the gland health status and it provides more accurate information than other traits, like the statistical variance of the signal. Therefore, it could be useful to improve the performances of multivariate models/algorithms that detect dairy goat health status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intramammary infection affects the quality and quantity of dairy goat milk. Health status (HS) and milk quality can be monitored by electrical conductivity (EC). The aim of the study was to determine the detection potential of EC when measured on-line on a daily basis and compared with readings from previous milkings. Milk yields (MYs) were investigated with the same approach. To evaluate these relative traits, a multivariate model based on fuzzy logic technology - which provided interesting results in cows - was used. Two foremilk samples from 8 healthy Saanen goats were measured daily over the course of six months. Bacteriological tests and somatic cells counts were used to define the HS. On-line EC measurements for each gland and MYs were also considered. Predicted deviations of EC and MY were calculated using a moving-average model and entered in the fuzzy logic model. The reported accuracy has a sensitivity of 81% and a specificity of 69%. Conclusions show that fuzzy logic is an interesting approach for dairy goats, since it offered better accuracy than other methods previously published. Nevertheless, specificity was lower than in dairy cows, probably due to the lack of a significant decrease of MY in diseased glands. Still, results show that the detection of the HS characteristics with EC is improved, when measured on-line, daily and compared with the readings from previous milkings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a clinical study regarding the carbamate poisoning in a dairy goat herd. It states that the 55 animals showed signs of poisoning after the consumption of carnations. Findings of the study indicate that the affected animals experience urination, tympany and miosis which were suspected to come from an acetylcholinesterase-inhibiting insecticide.