Comparative Assessment of Nutritional Effects on Milk Composition in Mares and Jennies

Le résumé fourni par la source

The growing interest in alternatives to bovine milk has highlighted mare and donkey milk as valuable resources due to their compositional similarity to human milk and their potential applications in nutrition and veterinary practice. This study aimed to evaluate the influence of feeding regimes on the physicochemical composition of milk in mares and jennies under farm conditions. Milk and feed samples were collected from different farms in western Romania during the first three months of lactation. Sampling was performed at defined stages (colostrum, early, mid, and late lactation). Milk parameters analyzed included protein, fat, lactose, and total solids, while feed composition varied between farms, with crude protein ranging from 11.07% to 18.21% and crude fiber between 19.40% and 23.12%. Milk composition differed between species and lactation stages. In mares, fat content ranged from 1.06 to 2.58%, protein from 3.14 to 3.62%, lactose from 4.44 to 5.61%, and total solids from 9.75 to 12.09%. In jennies, fat content ranged from 0.06 to 1.40%, protein from 0.74 to 1.44%, lactose from 6.13 to 6.83%, and total solids from 8.45 to 9.53%. Mares showed greater variability in response to dietary differences, whereas jennies maintained more stable values, reflecting higher efficiency in utilizing fibrous diets. These results emphasize the role of nutrition in modulating milk composition and support the use of equine and donkey milk in veterinary and functional nutrition.

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