Nine Saanen dairy goats, consuming diets composed of three different sources of roughage (alfalfa hay, corn silage, and oat hay) were used to study the effect of those diets on the ingestion of dry matter (DM), on milk production, milk composition, and plasmatic glucose and urea levels. The experimental design was a triple latin square 3x3. The intakes of DM and crude protein by the animals fed on alfalfa hay were higher than those fed ration based on corn silage (P<0.05), while those receiving oat hay presented a higher intake of the cellular wall compared to the others (P<0.05). There was no percentual effect (P>0.05) of the diets on the daily milk production and on the fat, protein, lactose, and total solids contents, and on the somatic cells count (SCC), but those cows that received diets with alfalfa hay produced higher amounts (g/day) (P<0.05) of protein, fat, and lactose than those that received diets with corn silage. There was no effect of the diets on the concentration of plasmatic glucose (P>0.05). It can be concluded that the forage sources affect the animal performance from changes in both DM and CP intakes and production of milk components (kg/day).
goat; alfalfa hay; oat hay; corn silage; voluntary intake; milk composition
