The experiments reported in this Research Paper aimed to study the effects of mustard and cumin seeds inclusion on feed utilisation, milk production, composition, and profile of milk fatty acids in lactating Damascus goats. The study was a completely randomised design with repeated measurements in time using fifteen goats (6 ± 2 d of lactation) divided into 3 treatments (5 goats per treatment). Goats were offered a control diet of berseem clover and concentrates (1 : 1 dry matter (DM) basis) or the control diet supplemented with either 10 g/d of dried mustard seeds (mustard treatment) or 10 g/d of cumin seeds (cumin treatment) for 12 weeks. Treatments had no effect (P > 0·05) on feed intake, but enhanced (P < 0·05) digestibility of DM, organic matter, non-structural carbohydrates, and fibre fractions. Digestibility was greater (P < 0·001) with cumin treatment compared with mustard treatment. Mustard and cumin seeds had greater (P < 0·05) ruminal total short chain fatty acids (SCFA) production, and molar proportion of propionate, with greater (P < 0·001) SCFA production for cumin vs. mustard treatment. Mustard and cumin seeds increased (P < 0·05) concentrations of serum total proteins, globulin, and glucose and lowered (P < 0·05) serum cholesterol concentration. Mustard and cumin seeds inclusion elevated milk production (P = 0·007), while cumin increased milk contents (P < 0·05) of fat and lactose. Cumin treatment lowered (P < 0·05) milk saturated fatty acids (SFA) and had greater total unsaturated fatty acids (UFA) and total conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) contents. Overall, supplementing diets of Damascus goats with mustard or cumin seeds at 10 g/daily enhanced feed digestion, ruminal fermentation, milk yield (actual production by 6·8 and 11·1%, and energy corrected milk yield by 10·1 and 15·4%, respectively) and positively modified milk fatty acid profile with a 3·9% decrease in milk individual and total SFA, and an increase in individual and total UFA by about 9·7%, and total CLA by about 23·1%.

Replacement of conventional feedstuffs with cheap non-conventional ingredients may improve livestock performance and the quality of their products, particularly milk. The study considered the effects of Moringa oleifera (MO) foliage in replacement of berseem clover (BC) on feed utilisation and lactational performance in Nubian goats. A total of 16 lactating Nubian does, weighing 36.2±0.8 kg, were randomly assigned to four experimental treatments containing 0, 125, 250 and 375 g of MO per kg diet to replace 0 (M0), 25 (M25), 50 (M50) and 75% (M75) of BC (on dry matter (DM) basis) in a quadruplicated 4×4 Latin square design. The MO diets increased (P<0.01) feed intake and nutrient digestibility. Feeding MO diets improved (P<0.01) ruminal volatile fatty acids, acetate and propionate but reduced (P<0.01) valerate and iso-butyrate. Moringa diets increased (P<0.01) serum total protein, albumin and glucose but decreased (P<0.05) cholesterol and triglycerides. Milk yield and energy corrected milk, and milk total solids, fat and energy content were increased (P<0.01) in MO diets. Yields of milk components and energy were greater (P<0.05) for MO diets than for control diet. Milk total saturated fatty acids and athrogenicity index were lower (P<0.01), and unsaturated fatty acids, conjugated fatty acids and UFA/SFA ratio higher (P<0.05) for MO diets. It is concluded that feeding MO to replace 75% DM of BC improved feed utilisation, ruminal fermentation, and milk yield and quality in lactating Nubian goats.