Arabian mare's milk characterisation and clotting ability.

The objective of this study is to characterize purebred Arab mares' milk through monitoring its physicochemical and microbiological composition during different lactation stages and to test its ability to coagulate. Sixteen purebred Arabian mares were selected among 45 mares with approximately the same foaling dates. Milk samples were collected once a week for each mare during 4 months of lactation and analysed in three replicates for physicochemical composition, nitrogen fractions, somatic cell count and total bacterial count.

Comparison of In Vivo and In Vitro Digestibility in Rabbits.

The apparent dry matter digestibility of diets for rabbits was measured in vivo (ADMD) and in vitro with the Ankom Daisy Incubator. Four diets were tested: low fiber (LF), LF + 5% of pregerminated fenugreek seeds (PGFS) (LF5), LF + 10% PGFS (LF10), and high fiber (HF). For the ADMD, feces samples were collected from 56 White New-Zealand × Californian rabbits fed the 4 diets; animals were randomly allocated into 4 groups and housed in individual cages.