An evaluation of colostrum quality of local goats in Libya

Abstract EN

Acquisition of high quality colostrum is an important factor influencing the neonatal health.

The present study was conducted to evaluate the quality of colostrum based on immunoglobulin G (IgG) content in local goats and to examine the effects of parity and litter size on it.

This study also provides an insight about the relationship between colostrum quality and neonatal kids mortality in local goats.

Colostrum samples were collected from 39 goats and analyzed for IgG concentration throughout 12 hours post partum using Refractometry.

The goats were divided into 3 groups based on their parity and the number of kids they carried : Group 1 included primiparous goats with a single kid (n = 11), Group 2 included multiparous goats with a single kid (n = 13), and Group 3 included multiparous goats with twin kids (n = 15).

The study showed that the goat parity did not influence colostrum quality.

Among the multiparous goats, the colostrum obtained from goats carrying twins showed better quality than that from those carrying a single kid (P < 0.05).

The mortality rate in neonatal kids of primiparous goats was 25.64 %, whereas was 15.38 %, 33.33 in kids of multiparous goats with single kids and twins, respectively.

The elevated mortality rate in neonatal twins may be related to the volume of colostrum they consumed.