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The reported study investigates the relationship between animals and pasture in an effort to improve the management of sheep in West Macedonia, Greece. The experiment was conducted at the Animal Breeding and Training Center of Vlasti, Kozani's district during 1994, 1995 and 1996. Five different altitudes of the region were examined in the study to record botanical composition and herbage yield under grazing conditions. The botanical composition of herbage of pasture was dominated by graminaceous species (63–71% of total species). The average yield of herbage was 1910 kg DM/ha. The average utilization of herbage mass was 86%. Declines in herbage yield and nutritive value occurred as a result of seasonal changes, which were affected by temperature and precipitation. The grassland was overgrazed and had the overgrazing continued the future productivity of the pasture would have decreased and the botanical composition would have been altered.

Effects of vacuum level, pulsation rate and pulsator ratio on machine milking efficiency in local Greek goats were studied in three separate experiments lasting 12, 10 and 11 weeks in three different years. After weaning (49 days) all goats were milked for 14 days at a vacuum level 44 kPa, a 90-pulsations/min and a 50:50 pulsator ratio (this 2-week interval was considered the familiarization period). In the first experiment, three groups (treatments) of goats were subjected to 70, 90 and 120 pulsations/min at milking. For the second experiment another three groups were milked with a vacuum level of 36, 44 and 52 kPa. For the third and final experiment, three pulsator ratios; 65:35, 50:50, 35:65 were compared in three groups. Results suggest that a faster rate (120 pulsations/min) and a higher vacuum level (52 kPa) decreased the percentages of machine milk (MM; from 60.6 to 55.1% for the rate and from 77.3 to 67.9% for the vacuum) and total machine milk (TMM) while increasing the percentage of machine stripped milk (MSM) and hand stripped milk (HSM; from 17.1 to 20.3% for the rate and from 5.7 to 10.0% for the vacuum). Milking time decreased as vacuum levels increased from 36 to 52 kPa and as pulsator ratios increased from 35:65 to 50:50 and 65:35. The pulsator ratio did not modify the percentage of the above milk fractions (MM, MSM, HSM and TMM) but did increase the average milking rate. Optimum conditions for machine milking of local Greek goats appears to be a vacuum level of 36–44 kPa, a pulsation rate of 70–90 and a pulsator ratio of 65:35.

The effects of month of lambing, level of feeding and number of lactation periods on milk yield, duration of lactation period and prolificacy of Karagouniko ewes were studied in the region of West Thessaly in Greece. In two consecutive production periods (1980–1981 and 1982-1982), 1416 lactation records collected from 21 dairy sheep units were analysed. These data represent a good random samples of − 30% of the records available in the Milk Recording Scheme. The lambing period October–December favourably influenced milk yield, while the late lambing period January–February was associated with a short milking period and low milk production. Statistically significant increases in milk yield and prolificacy resulted as a function of the successive lactation periods ( P P