Milk yield and composition in Swedish landrace goats (Capra hircus) kept together with their kids in two different systems
Swedish goats are mainly held for cheese production and therefore, both milk quality and composition are of great importance for dairymen. Today, only few data exists on milk composition from Swedish dairy goats and the casein content is still unknown. One way to reduce the work load for goat farmers and increase animal welfare can be to keep goats and kids together for longer periods. The aims of this study were to investigate how milk yield and composition were affected when kids suckled their dams during 8 weeks, and to measure the casein content on farm level by a mid-infrared spectroscopy method, previously calibrated for goat milk. Lactating goats were kept in two different MIX- systems where the dams are both suckled and milked. All goats were machine milked twice daily. Group 1 (n=5) was kept together with one kid for 16 hours a day (T-16h), kids and dams were separated daytime between 7:30 and 15:00, kids were allowed to suckle before each milking. In group 2 (n=6) the dam and kid were kept together for 24 hours but the kid was only allowed to suckle one teat as the other teat was covered with a bra. The daily milk yield was higher in T-16h goats (P