Assessment of Gir cow milk for somatic cell count and milk composition traits in its native tract

The study was conducted with an aim to assess the milk somatic cell count (SCC) and milk composition during early and mid-lactation stages in Gir cattle from their native tract. The milk samples negative for California Mastitis Test were collected twice from each 232 Gir cows of up to 4th lactation during the year 2023 and analyzed for different milk composition traits including somatic cell count (SCC). The first milk sample was collected during early stage of lactation (averaging 78.879±0.548 days in milk) and the second milk sample was collected during mid-stage of lactation (averaging 137.228±0.782 days in milk). The estimated SCC values averaged 140939.65±8746.16 and 112025.86±5934.92 cells/ml of milk during early and mid-lactation stages, respectively with no statistically significant difference (p>0.05) observed between these stages. The estimated means and standard errors for fat, solids not fat, protein, lactose and salt percentage of Gir cow milk in present study were 4.611±0.110, 8.629±0.056, 3.152±0.020, 4.764±0.030 and 0.702±0.005%, respectively during early lactation stage whereas, 5.142±0.138, 8.586±0.066, 3.131±0.024, 4.743±0.036 and 0.699±0.005%, respectively during mid-lactation stage. The overall fat percentage was significantly (p