Blood metabolites of extensively reared croatian multi-coloured goats during early lactation and early gravidity

Abstract

Goat breeding has been one of the most important activities of the rural population in Dalmatian Zagora for decades. The predominant breed was, and still is, the Croatian coloured goat, bred almost exclusively for meat. Extensive farming is currently a dominant farming system with some flocks being bred under organic conditions. In this research we monitored an organic flock in the area of Dinara Mountain during one season. Blood samples were randomly collected from 80 does on two occasions: in March in their early lactation and in October in their early gravidity, and were analysed for the most common biochemical parameters (glucose, urea, bilirubin, total proteins, albumin, triglycerides, cholesterol, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) and two parameters of metabolic profile (non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA), β-hydroxybutyrate (BHB)). Significant differences were found between all of the parameters, except BHB and AST. The obtained results from multi-coloured goats may represent a contribution to a better understanding of metabolic processes during early lactation and early gravidity in indigenous Croatian goats.