The objective of this study was to evaluate the lactation curve and milk quality of Saanen goats receiving diets with different forage:concentrate ratios. Twenty goats averaging 59.59 ± 6.97 kg of body weight were assigned to a completely randomized design. The following forage:concentrate ratios were used: 40:60, 50:50, 60:40, 70:30, or 80:20 and provided 2.95, 2.83, 2.70, 2.58, or 2.46 Mcal ME/kg DM, respectively. Animals were confined during 152 days in individual stalls with daily measurements of intake and milk yield. Body weight of goats fed increasing levels of forage did not change significantly in this trial but the opposite was observed for DM intake (kg/day) with the progress of lactation. Milk yield also was affected by treatments; in fact, milk production was highest in the diet with the greatest energy content. However, different forage:concentrate ratios did not affect milk components, initial milk yield, incremental production rate until lactation peak, and decline production rate after lactation peak. Conversely, day that goats reached peak production and production at peak were both reduced linearly when forage was increased in the diet. The diet with the greatest forage:concentrate ratio and energy level improved animal production with no compromise of milk quality.
goat milk; intake; energetic level; body weight
