Milk production from subtropical non-dairy sheep. 2. Method of measuring

Abstract

SummaryMilk yield of 240 single-suckled ewes from Rahmani, Ossimi and Barki subtropical non-dairy Egyptian sheep, in addition to 64 twin-suckled Rahmani ewes, was estimated over two lambing seasons using three methods of measuring, i.e. lamb-suckling (plus residual milk), oxytocin technique and hand milking.For single-suckled ewes, the oxytocin technique resulted in higher (P < 0·05) estimates of milk yield during the first 4 weeks of lactation than lamb-suckling. However, over 12 weeks of lactation the two methods showed closely similar estimates. Hand milking produced 31·6% less milk than the other two methods.For twin-suckled ewes, the lamb-suckling method produced significantly (P < 0·05) higher estimates than the oxytocin technique. Estimates obtained by hand milking were 65·2 and 50·8% less than that of the other two methods, respectively.