Performance and chemical composition of milk in Criolla Formoseña and Anglo Nubian goats from Formosa, Argentina
Main Article Content
Abstract
The average body weight, average daily and cumulative production, lactation peak, and chemical composition of milk were compared in Criollas Formoseñas and Anglo Nubian goats in Formosa (Argentina). A total of 18 third-kidding goats were evaluated, grouped by breed and under the same feeding and management system, for 13 weeks after weaning. Body weight and daily milk production were recorded, and two weekly samples were taken to determine the percentages of fat, protein, and lactose. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Kruskal-Wallis test, and Spearman correlations. The average body weight was higher for Anglo Nubian than for Criollas Formoseñas (50.81±4.01 vs. 43.56±4.03 kg; p=0.01), as well as the average daily production (1.15±0.17 vs. 0.77±0.14 kg/d; p<0.01) and the accumulated production (103.86±15.65 vs. 69.35±12.54 kg; p<0.01). The lactation peak (p<0.01) was higher in Anglo Nubian (1.80±0.38 kg/d, week 5) compared to Criollas Formoseñas (1.32±0.30 kg/d, week 6). In the dairy composition, Criollas Formoseñas showed higher fat contents (5.70±0.11 vs. 5.12±0.18 %) and lactose (5.11±0.16 vs. 4.63±0.14 %) than Anglo Nubian (p<0.01), without differences in proteins (4.18±0.13 vs. 4.22±0.09 %; p>0.05). The significant correlations were average body weight-average daily production (0.59), average body weight-fat (−0.66), average body weight-lactose (−0.48), average daily production-fat (−0.73), average daily production-lactose (−0.70), fat-lactose (0.69). It is concluded that the Anglo Nubian goats had higher milk production, while the Criollas Formoseñas showed a chemical composition with a higher fat and lactose content.
Article Details

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Those authors that have publications with this journal accept the following terms:
1. They will retain their copyright and guarantee the journal the right of first publication of their work, which will be simultaneously subject to the License Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) that allows third parties to share the work whenever its author is indicated and its first publication this journal. Under this license the author will be free of:
- Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format
- Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material
- The licensor cannot revoke these freedoms as long as you follow the license terms.
Under the following terms:
- Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
- NonCommercial — You may not use the material for commercial purposes.
- No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.
2. The authors may adopt other non-exclusive license agreements to distribute the published version of the work (e.g., deposit it in an institutional telematics file or publish it in a monographic volume) whenever the initial publication is indicated in this journal.
3. The authors are allowed and recommended disseminating their work through the Internet (e.g. in institutional telematics archives or on their website) before and during the submission process, which can produce interesting exchanges and increase the citations of the published work. (See the Effect of open access).
References
Akshit, F.N.U., Mao, T., Kaushik, R., Poswal, V. & Deshwal, G.K. (2024). Global comprehensive review and meta-analysis of goat milk composition by location, publication year and lactation stage. Journal of Food Composition and Analysis, 127: 105973, ISSN: 1096-0481. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfca.2024.105973.
Boshoff, M., Lopez-Villalobos, N., Andrews, C. & Turner, S. (2024). Modeling daily yields of milk, fat, protein, and lactose of New Zealand dairy goats undergoing standard and extended lactations. Journal of Dairy Science, 107(3): 1500–1509, ISSN: 1525-3198. https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2023-23926.
Catota-Gómez, L., Martínez-González, J., Hernández-Hernández, N. & Goyes-Vera, F. (2016). Curva de lactancia en cabras Saanen. XL Aniversario del Congreso Nacional e Internacional de Buiatría, 732–736. https://surl.li/lloxda.
De La Rosa Carbajal, S. (2011). Manual de producción caprina (1°). Editorial Gobierno de la Provincia de Formosa.
Di Rienzo, J., Casanoves, F., Balzarini, M., González, L., Tablada, M. & Robledo, C. (2020). InfoStat (2020e). Grupo InfoStat, FCA, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Argentina. Available at: https://www.infostat.com.ar.
Gama, L. (2024). Caracterización genética de los Recursos Genéticos Animales. En Mejoramiento Genético Animal (pp. 481–520). Acribia. Available at: https://www.editorialacribia.com/libro/mejoramiento-genetico-animal_155359/.
Ghosh, C.P., Datta, S., Mandal, D., Das, A.K., Roy, D.C., Roy, A. & Tudu, N.K. (2019). Body condition scoring in goat: Impact and significance. Journal of Entomology and Zoology Studies, 7(2): 554–560, ISSN: 2320-7078. https://www.entomoljournal.com/archives/2019/vol7issue2/PartJ/7-2-62-202.pdf.
Gobierno de la Provincia de Formosa. (2025). Laguna Yema. CEDEVA - Available at: https://www.formosa.gob.ar/cedeva/lagunayema.
González, M., Ricarte, R., Guzmán, L., Castro, O. & Díaz, R. (2021). Red de Innovación para el Desarrollo Rural del Gran Chaco Americano en el Contexto del Cambio Climático: La Producción Caprina en el Chaco Árido Riojano-Catamarqueño. En FONTAGRO, Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo. Available at: https://www.iadb.org/es/proyecto/RG-T3010.
Isidro-Requejo, L.M., Maldonado-Jáquez, J., Granados-Rivera, L.D., Salinas-González, H., Vélez-Monroy, L.I., Chávez, A.U. & Pastor-López, F.J. (2017). Suplementación pre y postparto durante la estación lluviosa en cabras locales del norte de México. Nova Scientia, 9(19): 134–153, ISSN: 2007-0705. https://doi.org/10.21640/ns.v9i19.977.
Lanari, M.R., Giovannini, N., Maizon, D.O., Deza, M.C.V., Bedotti, D.O., De la Rosa-Carbajal, S.A., Vera, T.A., Ricarte, R.A. & Mezzadra, C.A. (2019). Diversidad de razas caprinas criollas en Argentina. Actas Iberoamericanas de Conservación Animal, 13(2): 28–40, ISSN: 2253-9727. https://www.aicarevista.com/app/download/18078139025/AICA_Vol13_Trabajo007.pdf?t=1635175165.
Ledesma, R., Saracco, F., Coria, R., Epstein, F., Gomez, A., Kunst, C., Ávila, M. & Pensiero, J. (2017). Guía de forrajeras herbáceas y leñosas del Chaco seco: Identificación y características para su manejo. (1°). Fundación Vida Silvestre Argentina. Available at: https://repositorio.inta.gob.ar/handle/20.500.12123/8130.
Maldonado-Jáquez, J.A., Granados-Rivera, L.D., Hernández-Mendo, O., Pastor-Lopéz, F.J., Isidro-Requejo, L.M., Salinas-González, H. & Torres-Hernández, G. (2017). Uso de un alimento integral como complemento a cabras locales en pastoreo: respuesta en producción y composición química de la leche. Nova Scientia, 9(18): 55-75, ISSN: 2007-0705. https://www.scielo.org.mx/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2007-07052017000100055.
Maldonado-Jáquez, J.A., Torres-Hernández, G., Hernández-Mendo, O., Gallegos-Sánchez, J., Mora-Flores, J.S. & Granados-Rivera, L.D. (2025). Long-term supplementation affects the production, composition and lactation curve of local grazing goats. Revista de la Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias, Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, 57(2): 155-164, ISSN: 1853-8665. https://revistas.uncu.edu.ar/ojs3/index.php/RFCA/article/view/8051/7470.
Martínez, G. & Suárez, V. (2018). Lechería caprina: Producción, manejo, sanidad, calidad de leche (1°). Ediciones INTA. Available at: https://repositoriosdigitales.mincyt.gob.ar/vufind/Record/INTADig_2eb291442e8da3c416b90481f36d6ba7.
Maşner, O. (2020). The productivity of Anglo-Nubian goats in the conditions of the Republic of Moldova. Bulgarian Journal of Animal Husbandry, 57(4): 19–24, ISSN: 2534-9856. https://agriacad.eu/ojs/index.php/bjah/article/view/185.
Meng, Z., Fang, C., Zhao, Q., Yang, L., Jin, H., Qi, J. & An, X. (2025). Associations Between Milk Composition, Blood Metabolomics, and Systemic Physiological Indices in High-vs. Low-Yielding Guanzhong Dairy Goats During Early Lactation. Veterinary Sciences, 12(10): 990, ISSN: 2306-7381. https://doi.org/10.3390/vetsci12100990.
Mukaka, M.M. (2012). A guide to appropriate use of correlation coefficient in medical research. Malawi Medical Journal, 24(3): 69-71, ISSN: 1995-7270. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3576830/.
National Research Council. (2007). Nutrient Requirements of Small Ruminants: Sheep, Goats, Cervids, and New World Camelids. National Academies Press.
Ortega Chávez, I. (2016). Predicción de la producción de leche, grasa y proteína de acuerdo al nivel de células somáticas en leche de cabra. Tesis de Maestría, Universidad Autónoma de Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes, México. Available at: http://bdigital.dgse.uaa.mx:8080/xmlui/handle/11317/1211.
Praharani, L., Supryati, S. & Krisnan, R. (2015). Milk quality of Anglo Nubian × Etawah grade goats and Saanen × Etawah grade goats at first kidding period. The 6th International Seminar on Tropical Animal Production: Integrated Approach in Developing Sustainable Tropical Animal Production, 402–405. Available at: https://es.scribd.com/document/387873188/30675-70714-1-SM.
Revidatti, M., De la Rosa, S., Cappello-Villada, J., Orga, A. & Tejerina, E. (2013). Propuesta de estándar racial de la cabra Criolla del Oeste Formoseño, Argentina. Actas Iberoamericanas de Conservación Animal, 3(2): 111–122, ISSN: 2253-9727. http://www.uco.es/conbiand/aica/templatemo_110_lin_photo/articulos/2013/getfile.php?name=Trabajo018_AICA2013.
Salvador, A. & Martínez, G. (2007). Factores que afectan la producción y composición de la leche de cabra: Revisión bibliográfica. Revista de la Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias, 48(2): 61–76, ISSN: 2477-944X. http://ve.scielo.org/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0258-65762007000200001&Ing=es&nrm=iso.
Silva, I.W.H., Moura, J.F.P., Santos Júnior, E., Pereira Filho, J.M., Oliveira, J.P.F., Dias-Silva, T.P. & Bezerra, L.R. (2021). Dairy goat production in the semi-arid region: productive and reproductive analysis, and the influence of the adoption of hygienic practices on milk quality. Arquivo Brasileiro de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia, 73(5): 1147-1158, ISSN: 1678-4162. https://doi.org/10.1590/1678-4162-12364.
Stemmer, A. & Zárate, A. (2016). La crianza de caprinos en Bolivia y la función primordial de la cabra criolla. En: J. Vargas Bayona, L. Zaragoza Martínez, J. Delgado Bermejo, & G. Rodríguez Galván (Eds.), Biodiversidad caprina iberoamericana (1°, pp. 169–187). Universidad Cooperativa de Colombia. Available at: https://ediciones.ucc.edu.co/index.php/ucc/catalog/book/42.