Influence of nutritional supplements on microbiological composition of raw sheep milk

Abstract

The aim of this study is to examine the effect of plant fat sources in sheep feed on somatic cells and the total number of microorganisms in raw milk samples obtained from 210 sheep, breed Pramenka in Una-Sana Canton. The research was conducted in three periods: winter, spring and summer. The herd was divided into experimental and control groups of sheep. In the experimental groups of sheep in each period of the study, omega-3 supplements were added to the diet, namely extruded flaxseed in the amount of 3.5%. The influence of added omega-3 supplements on the microbiological parameters of raw sheep milk, which was milked from experimental and control groups of sheep every fifteen days of the experiment in all periods of the study, was examined.  Analysis of variance (ANOVA) found that during the winter and summer feeding period there is a statistically very significant influence of both experimental factors (treatment and period) on the total number of microorganisms and somatic cells in raw sheep milk (p <0.001). In the spring diet in somatic cells, factor treatment did not show a statistically significant effect (ns).