Abstract
The present study was conducted with the objective to study the effect of oestrus on somatic cells count, fat and
protein contents in milk of Nili-Ravi buffaloes. The research was carried out on twenty lactating Nili-Ravi buffaloes
during October to November 2007 at Buffalo Research Institute, Pattoki, District Kasur. All buffaloes were in their
second lactation and were above sixty days postpartum. Estrus was recorded daily for 8 week in experimental
buffaloes. Once weekly, during the morning milking, 100 ml of milk was sampled from all animals for the
determination of somatic cell count, protein and fat. There was significant difference (P<0.01) in the somatic cell
count during proestrus/ estrus (383 ± 39 x 103
cells/ml) as compared to metestrus (241 ± 65 x 103
) and diestrus
(236 ± 44 x 103
cells/ml) stages while a non-significant difference was observed between somatic cell count
during metestrus and diestrus stage of estrus cycle. Protein contents were significantly higher (P<0.01) during
proestrus/ estrus (3.7 ± 0.10%) compared with metestrus (3.4 ± 0.16%) and diestrus (3.4 ± 0.12%) while nonsignificantly differ between metestrus and diestrus stages of estrus cycle. There was non-significant difference
(P>0.01) in fat contents during proestrus/ estrus (4.8 ± 0.16%), metestrus (4.7 ± 0.13%) and diestrus (4.8 ±
0.18%) stages of estrus cycle. It was concluded that somatic cell count and protein percentage in milk of Nili-Ravi
buffalo were affected by stage of estrus cycle. The somatic cell count in milk could be used to identify the animals
in estrus.
