Factors affecting the production and composition of Egyptian buffalo milk

The data comprise 254 first and 150 second 305-day lactation records of buffaloes and their dams at Mahalet Mousa Experimental Station. These records were used for the evaluation of the effect of various factors upon 305-day milk yield. The average daily milk yield and percentage constituents were measured on 58 lactation records. Samples were taken on the seventh, fourteenth and thirtieth day post-partum and at 30 day intervals throughout the lactation. The parameters studied were: age at first calving, 305-day milk yield and butter fat, protein and total solids contents percentages. Average age at first calving was 42.9 and 40.9 months for heifers and their dams, respectively. Average 305-day milk yield was 1,004.3 kg and 1,552.7 for first and second lactations, respectively. The later age at which buffalo cows produce their first calf, the greater the milk production in first lactation. Buffaloes that calve in summer produce more milk than those which calve in winter months. Average fat, protein and total solids percentages were 6.59, 4.11 and 16.52 respectively, in the first lactation and 6.63, 3.99 and 16.48 respecitvely in the second lactation. Phenotypic correlations between milk yield and yields of constituents were high and positive. Those among constituent percentages were positive and moderate. In general, correlations between milk yield and constituents content were negative. Milk yield increased after calving towards a peak ranging between 30 and 90 days for the first and second lactations, respectively. Constituent percentages were high at the beginning, declining thereafter as milk yield increased, followed by a gradual rise till the end of lactation.