Comparative study between sheep and goats on rumenic acid and vaccenic acid in milk fat under the same dietary treatments

A number of studies have shown that the rumenic acid (RA = cis-9 trans-11 C_18:2 CLA) content of milk fat is usually higher in sheep than in goats, due partly to different dietary regimens. An experiment was conducted with 12 lactating dairy ewes and 12 goats with the objective to compare the two animal species (sheep/goats) fed diet with the same forage/concentrate (F/C) ratio, on their milk fatty acids (FA) profile with emphasis on RA and vaccenic acid (VA) production. The experiment was carried out in three consecutive phases, lasted 3 weeks each, immediately after weaning of lambs and kids. In phase I, the ewes and the goats were fed according to their maintenance and lactation requirements, with 14 kg alfalfa hay, 4 kg wheat straw and 12 kg concentrate the 12 ewes (F/C ratio = 60/40), and with 14 kg alfalfa hay, 4 kg straw and 24 kg concentrate the 12 goats (F/C ratio = 43/57). In phase II, 14 kg alfalfa hay, 4 kg straw and 14 kg concentrate were offered daily to each group of sheep and goats, with a F/C ratio = 56/44. In phase III, all ewes and goats were fed individually with 0.8 kg alfalfa hay, 0.2 kg wheat straw and 0.8 kg concentrate daily with a F/C ratio = 56/44. The results showed that the different F/C ratio between sheep and goats diets, in phase I, changed significantly the milk FA profile, with no significant difference in RA and VA milk fat content between sheep and goats in phase I. In phases II (group feeding) and III (individual feeding), where sheep and goats fed with the same amount of food of the same F/C ratio, the sheep milk fat had higher RA and VA content compared to goats. In conclusion, these findings support the hypothesis that there are species differences, as RA and VA production concerns, which needs further investigation.