Effect of Stage of Lactation and order of Parity on Milk Composition and Daily Milk Yield among Local and Crossbred Cows in South Darfur State, Sudan

Abstract

Abstract The current study was designed to evaluate the influence of stages of lactation and parity order on chemical constituents and daily milk yield among local and crossbred cows in Nyala city (South Darfur State, Sudan). Within local cows, stage of lactation was significantly (p?0.05) affecting protein and solids not fat (SNF) contents, while parity order has significant (p?0.05) influence on all chemical constituents of milk excluding lactose. On the other hand, among crossbred cows, all milk constituents (but not protein) were affected by stage of lactation, whereas SNF was the single component affected by parity order. The mean daily yield was 4.89±0.65 and 8.44±0.38 L for local and crossbred cows, respectively. The daily milk yield among local cows after all parities (1st to 4th) and during different stages of lactation (early, mid and late) was significantly (p?0.01) lower than that of crossbred cows. It could be concluded that despite of been low yielders, local cows however, produce milk with rich chemical constituents (fat, SNF and protein).