Effect of Oxytocin Administration before Milking on Milk Production, Somatic Cells Count and fat Contents in Milk of Nili-Ravi Buffaloes

This study was escorted to know the effect of oxytocin administration before milking on milk production, somatic cells count and fat contents in milk of buffaloes. Twenty lactating Nili-Ravi buffaloes were randomly divided into two groups. Group A (n = 10) buffaloes were treated intramuscularly with 30 IU of oxytocin daily before the start of milking for the period of 7 days, whereas group B (n = 10) buffaloes were given no treatment and served as control. Milk samples were collected from all buffaloes 7 days before (Phase I), during (Phase II) and after (Phase III) the treatment. There were significantly higher (P 0.05) milk production (liters) during phase-II in group A (8.57±0.07 liters) buffaloes as compare to group B (8.40±0.04 liters) whereas non-significant differences were recorded in the mean milk production between group A and B during phase-I (8.46 vs 8.43 liters) and III (8.54 liters). Somatic cells count varied from 72.96 to 97.01 × 10^3 and 71.86 to 77.14 × 10^3 cells per ml in group A and B, respectively. Mean somatic cells count were significantly higher (P 0.05) in group A as compared to group B during phases II of study. During phase I, II and III, there were non-significant differences in fat percentage between two groups of buffaloes. It was concluded that milk production and somatic cells count in milk of Nili-Ravi buffalo were affected by oxytocin injection before milking whereas there was no effect of oxytocin on milk fat percentage.