Individual milk samples were weekly collected from 48 ewes during eight weeks. Ewes
were at the second month of lactation and they were fed the same dietary regimen. The animals were
grouped according to the amount of daily milk fat yield: A) 38-57g/d, B) 58-63g/d, C) 64-73g/d, D) 75-110g/d.
Milk from group D showed a higher content of FA from C4 to C10 and a lower content of monounsaturated
FA (MUFA) and conjugated linoleic acids (CLA) than Group A (+12%, -11%, and -18%, for C4 to C10, MUFA
and CLA, respectively), while Group B and C showed intermediate values. CLA content increased with days
of lactation in a similar way for all groups. The mean correlation among all records within each individual
lactation was 0.45 for CLA content. Six milk FA pair ratios representing a proxy for SCD activity were also
evaluated: group A showed higher values of FA ratios than Group D (+26% on average for all FA pairs). In
conclusion, increasing ability of daily milk fat yield was associated with lower milk content of MUFA and
CLA and higher content of FA from C4 to C10
