Effect of Lambing Season on Milk Quality and Hygiene of Awassi Sheep

Abstract The current study was carried out from October 15, 2021, to June 15, 2022, in the area of animal production at the Agricultural Technical College, Northern Technical University, Mosul, Iraq. 24 Awassi ewes between the ages of 2-3, were employed in the study and split into two groups. In the first group, 12 ewes had winter lambs in December–January and 12 ewes had spring lambs in March–April. This was required to determine how the season affected some productive and biochemical blood features. The milk yield and its component of Awassi sheep, in addition to measuring the weights of the ewes and lambs, the weight gain every two weeks, final weight gain, relative growth rate, and some biochemical characteristics, as well as the number of somatic cells in milk, the estrus of the ewes was standardized using vaginal sponges. The results revealed that the body weight of ewes with spring births in the second, fourth, sixth, eighth, tenth, and twelfth weeks was significantly (P0.05) greater than that of ewes with spring births. There was a substantial (P0.05) rise in the average weight of lambs with spring births in the tenth and twelfth weeks of the trial, as well as a significant increase in the relative growth rate of lambs with spring births in the tenth week. In addition, the total rate of weight gains increased. The season had a noticeable effect on milk production, as ewes with spring births produced significantly more milk in the second, fourth, eighth, and tenth weeks after birth. In the eighth and tenth week of the experiment, nonfat solids were consumed. Except for the fourth week of the trial, the number of somatic cells in the milk of spring-born ewes increased significantly (P0.05) in all other weeks of the study. The weights of ewes and lambs, as well as the total weight gain, increased during the spring. furthermore, the proportions of fat, protein, and solid non-fat percentage increased significantly. In addition to an increase in the number of somatic cells and the prevalence of mastitis, the milk of spring-born ewes is non-fatty.