Husbandry practices and animal health

The way animals are housed and managed plays a fundamental role in their health and welfare, and thus has a profound effect on the quantity and quality of milk production. Non-cow dairy animals can be found both in developed and developing countries, and under very different geographic and climatic conditions. They can be bred with traditional methods by pastoral communities or with advanced methods in more developed countries, reflecting the economic and social conditions of local populations. Housing and management systems should therefore be flexible and adapted to specific conditions in order to produce the best dairy products, maximizing the productive efficiency of the herd, protecting animal health, and respecting animal welfare. In this chapter, we review the most common strategies for housing, management, and breeding of non-cow dairy species, paying particular attention to aspects that have a pronounced effect on milk production.