An-Najah Staff

This experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of feeding sesame oil cake (SOC) on milk and cheese quality of Anglo-Nubian goats. Sixteen lactating (20 days-in-milk) Anglo- Nubian goats were used in the experiment that lasted for 60 days. Goats were divided into 4 dietary treatment groups of 4 goats in each and the goats were disttributed between the groups in a way they represent age and lactation stage. Goats were housed in pens of suitable size and were managed as any other commercial goat flock. The animals had free access to water. Straw was fed at rate of 1% of live body weight. Four types of dietary treatment were prepared using SOC. The first diet was the control and the other three diets contained: 5, 10, and 15% SOC, respectively. Animals fed twice daily and were milked during the feeding time. Milk yield (MY) was recorded daily and samples were taken for chemical analysis. Cheese was made on a monthly basis and samples were taken for sensory evaluation for flavor and texture. Incorporation of SOC in goats’ diets at levels of 10 and 15% caused an increase (P<0.05) in MY compared to control and 5% SOC. Feeding SOC at all levels tested had a positive effect (P005) on goats milk fat (MF). However, the highest MF percentage was detected in milk of goats fed with 15% SOC. Sesame Oil Cake had variable effects on milk protein (MP) where the highest MP content was from milk of goats fed with 5% cake. Both total solids (TS) and solids non fat (SNF) were increased (P0.05) due to feeding different levels of SOC compared to control. Similar trends were observed on cheese composition in regard to fat content where feeding SOC at different levels increased significantly (P0.05) cheese fat content compared to control. Other cheese components such as protein and ash werenot affected by SOC feeding. Sensory results showed that flavor of cheese from goats consuming 10 and 15% SC (P0.05) was better than cheese from the other groups. However, an opposite trend was observed reggarding cheese texture. The cheese from goats fed the control diet had (P0.05) a better texture. The results of his study indicate that SOC can be used in goats’ diets during lacttation season. Similarly using SOC in goats’ diet proved to be economically feasible.

The aim of this study was to compare milk production and reproductive traits of sheep breeds in the West Bank. The data included 1711 milk records on 1243 ewes and 3682 lambing records on 1837 ewes from the local Awassi breed, Assaf breed, Awassi x Assaf crosses, and two Improved Awassi strains, one of which is carrying the Booroola FecB gene. The data were collected between 2003 and 20١٠ from 21 farms covering five locations in southern West Bank (Dora, Hebron, Bethlehem, Jerusalem, and Ramallah) and three locations in northern West Bank (Nablus, Qalqiliya, and Jenin). The results showed significant differences (P < 0.05) in performance among and within breeds in different locations. Milk production was highest for Awassi x Assaf in Nablus and Jenin (least-squares means of 330.6 kg and 267.6 kg for total milk yield in 150 d of lactation, respectively) and Assaf in Jenin (268.1 kg), and was lowest for Awassi in Jerusalem (124.6 kg). The Improved Awassi strain carrying the FecB gene had the highest reproductive performance (mean litter size of 1.69 lambs and mean lambing interval of 304.3d), while the lowest performance was for Awassi (mean litter size of 1.12 to 1.21 lambs and mean lambing interval of 347.3 to 416.6 d). The means of litter size and lambing interval for the Improved Awassi strain not carrying the FecB gene were 1.28 lambs and 353.5d. Introgression of the FecB gene may be utilized to improve reproductive performance of sheep breeds in the West Bank, particularly Awassi. Key words: milk yield, litter size, lambing interval, Awassi, Assaf, West Bank.