The Composition of the Colostrum of the Dairy Goat

The composition of the fluids and secretions of the mammary gland under normal and abnormal conditions is of interest due to the light that may be shed on the process of milk secretion and the part played by the various hormones in stimulating the initiation and maintenance of lactation. The amount of secretion which may be obtained from the smaller experimental animals in most cases is insufficient for analysis and difficult to remove. For many studies of milk secretion, the dairy goat is ideal because of its small size and large yield of milk. In conjunction with a study of the normal and experimental development of the mammary gland and of milk secretion in progress in our laboratory, it seemed highly desirable to determine the normal composition of the first secretion (colostrum) of the dairy goat for comparison later with the secretions which may be stimulated experimentally.