Comparison of milk production and composition, body condition score and the cost of commercial or selective mineral supplementation was made using two groups of 16 lactating goats during 164 days. No significant difference in milk production between treatments was found. There was no effect of the type of mineral supplement on the composition of milk fat, protein and lactose as well as on the somatic cell count (SCC). The average of daily intake of the commercial supplement was 1.76 times greater than the supplement containing only sodium chloride associated with copper sulfate. The use of the selective mineral mixture based on clinical-nutritional examination of the animals led to a reduction of about 7 times the amount spent by mineral supplementation of this goat herd.
Goats; milk; mineral deficiencies; mineral supplementation
