Qualitative and Quantitative Changes in Milk Fat during Lactation in the Tammar Wallaby (Macro pus eugenii)

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Abstract
There are major quantitative and qualitative changes in the milk lipids during lactation in the tammar wallaby, M. eugenii. The crude lipid content of the milk is relatively low during the first 10 wk of lactation; between 10 and 26 wk post partum the lipid content increases gradually but after that it increases rapidly. The triglyceride fraction of the lipid at early stages of lactation contains a large amount of palmitic acid and relatively little oleic acid whereas mature milk exhibits little palmitic and much oleic acid. In the early stages of lactation fat represents 15% of the total solids and carbohydrate 55%; around 26-30 wk post partum the carbohydrate moiety falls sharply to a level < 2% of the solids while lipids increase to .apprx. 60% of the solids. These changes coincide with increases in milk solids, emergence of the young from the pouch, ingestion of herbage, and fermentation of cellulose in the stomach.