Effects of Different Levels of Cottonseed Meal on Milk Composition and Blood Parameters of Zel Ewes

Effects of different levels of cottonseed meal on milk composition and blood parameters of Zel ewes were investigated. Eighteen ewes with an average body weight of 39±0.5 Kg with at least, lambed once, were selected and divided to three groups of six ewes. A ration was formulated for control group containing 13% soybean meal, group one; 5% soybean meal and 15% cottonseed meal, group two; 25% cottonseed meal, group three. Milk sampling was carried out weekly for seven weeks. Blood samples were collected twice at the end of each month. Data were analyzed using Minitab by the procedure of General Linear Model (GLM). Results showed that there was not significant differences between control and treatment groups (P>0.05). Means of percentages of milk fat, SNF, protein, density and freezing point for control and treatment groups were 8.38±0.2, 8.89±0.24, 8.86±0.27 and 9.7±0.09, 9.43±0.19, 9.5±0.14 and 3.61±0.04, 3.46±0.65, 3.54±0. 04 and 30.32±0.53, 28.43±0.81, 29.6±0.53 and 58.34±0.64, 57.59±1.12, 54.92±1.78 respectively. Differences between milk yields and lamb body weights were not significant (P>0.05). Ewes milk yield and lambs body weight for control group and treatments one and two were 839±0.05, 773±0.04, 895±0.05 g/d and 10.5, 10.36, 11.08 (kg), respectively. Results also showed that blood parameters, except mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration, were not significantly different between two months of experiment (P>0.05). The use of rations containing 15 and 25 percentage of cottonseed meal (830 PPM free gossypol) for feeding Zel ewes during lactation did not caused any negative effects on milk yield, milk composition and lambs body weight during lactation. Therefore, cottonseed meal can be used up to 25% in Zel ewes ration without any adverse effect on milk compositions and yield during lactation.