Research Article | | Peer-Reviewed

Characterization of Indigenous Goat Mating Experiences and Production Performances in North Western and Western Zones of Tigray Region, Ethiopia

Received: 29 October 2023     Accepted: 27 November 2023     Published: 8 December 2023
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Abstract

The survey was conducted before the ignition (before October 2020) of the war in Tigray Regional State, Ethiopia. Although Ethiopia is a host for many goat populations, productivity is below their potential. Goats are essential for the resource-poor-farmers of the country. Randomly selected respondents of Begait (102), Hassan (106) and Arado (181) which totaled 389 participated in the survey. Statistical Package for Social Science software was used for data analysis. About 93% of the interviewees were male headed households. Almost all (99%) of the respondents did not practice goat fattening, and was a neglected activity. About 59% of the respondents reported that their bucks were born in their own flock. The respondents used a combination of own buck (68%) and bucks outside of their flocks (83.3%). Uncontrolled mating (77%) was mainly practiced due to the fact that most goats browse in communal lands. Unknown ratios (25%) of buck to does were practiced, and a ratio of one buck to all does in the flock (32%) used. Begait (Tahtay Adiabo) and Hassan (Kafta Humera) goat populations were significantly different (P<0.005) in age at first mating (AFM) of both male and female, age at first kidding (AFK), number of kids born per doe Reproductive Life Time (RLT), kidding to mating interval, and single and twin births. Mean (±SD) age at first kidding (AFK) of Begait, Hassan and Arado goats was 13.15±1.9, 12.45±1.4 and 14.56±3.1 months whereas the mean number of kids born in reproductive lifetime of Begait, Hassan and Arado does were 12.41±4.5, 15.15±4.9 and 12.85±4.8, respectively. It was also noted that the mean kidding to mating interval (days) of Begait, Hassan and Arado does was 98.32±26.3, 79.90±41.9 and 112.79±67.9, respectively. There was lower single birth in Hassan goats (70.65%) than in Begait (74.53%) and Arado (73.50%) goats. It was also noted that the litter size at birth of Hassan goat (1.33) was better than the litter sizes of Begait (1.29) and Arado (1.27) goats. However, there was high mortality rate of kids in Begait (26.4%) than in Hassan (16.5%) and Arado (15.7%) kids. The wet season mean (±SD) daily milk yields (liters) and lactation lengths (months) of Arado does (0.38±0.1; 0.75±0.3) were lower and shorter than Begait (0.67±0.3; 1.77±0.4) and Hassan (0.70±0.2; 1.79±0.5) does, respectively. Selection and mating, buck to doe ratio, Begait and Hassan milking practice should be a focus of goat keepers and stakeholders. On-station performance evaluations and genetic characterizations of Begait and Hassan goat populations are essentially needed.

Published in American Journal of Life Sciences (Volume 11, Issue 6)
DOI 10.11648/j.ajls.20231106.11
Page(s) 83-92
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Characterization, Production Performances, Begait Goats, Hassan Goats, Arado Goats, Buck Source, Ratio of Buck to Does, Controlled Mating

References
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    Mekonnen, T., Markos, S., Esak, K., Ataklti, T. (2023). Characterization of Indigenous Goat Mating Experiences and Production Performances in North Western and Western Zones of Tigray Region, Ethiopia. American Journal of Life Sciences, 11(6), 83-92. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajls.20231106.11

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    Mekonnen, T.; Markos, S.; Esak, K.; Ataklti, T. Characterization of Indigenous Goat Mating Experiences and Production Performances in North Western and Western Zones of Tigray Region, Ethiopia. Am. J. Life Sci. 2023, 11(6), 83-92. doi: 10.11648/j.ajls.20231106.11

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    AMA Style

    Mekonnen T, Markos S, Esak K, Ataklti T. Characterization of Indigenous Goat Mating Experiences and Production Performances in North Western and Western Zones of Tigray Region, Ethiopia. Am J Life Sci. 2023;11(6):83-92. doi: 10.11648/j.ajls.20231106.11

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ajls.20231106.11,
      author = {Teweldemedhn Mekonnen and Shishay Markos and Kibrom Esak and Tesfay Ataklti},
      title = {Characterization of Indigenous Goat Mating Experiences and Production Performances in North Western and Western Zones of Tigray Region, Ethiopia},
      journal = {American Journal of Life Sciences},
      volume = {11},
      number = {6},
      pages = {83-92},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ajls.20231106.11},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajls.20231106.11},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajls.20231106.11},
      abstract = {The survey was conducted before the ignition (before October 2020) of the war in Tigray Regional State, Ethiopia. Although Ethiopia is a host for many goat populations, productivity is below their potential. Goats are essential for the resource-poor-farmers of the country. Randomly selected respondents of Begait (102), Hassan (106) and Arado (181) which totaled 389 participated in the survey. Statistical Package for Social Science software was used for data analysis. About 93% of the interviewees were male headed households. Almost all (99%) of the respondents did not practice goat fattening, and was a neglected activity. About 59% of the respondents reported that their bucks were born in their own flock. The respondents used a combination of own buck (68%) and bucks outside of their flocks (83.3%). Uncontrolled mating (77%) was mainly practiced due to the fact that most goats browse in communal lands. Unknown ratios (25%) of buck to does were practiced, and a ratio of one buck to all does in the flock (32%) used. Begait (Tahtay Adiabo) and Hassan (Kafta Humera) goat populations were significantly different (P<0.005) in age at first mating (AFM) of both male and female, age at first kidding (AFK), number of kids born per doe Reproductive Life Time (RLT), kidding to mating interval, and single and twin births. Mean (±SD) age at first kidding (AFK) of Begait, Hassan and Arado goats was 13.15±1.9, 12.45±1.4 and 14.56±3.1 months whereas the mean number of kids born in reproductive lifetime of Begait, Hassan and Arado does were 12.41±4.5, 15.15±4.9 and 12.85±4.8, respectively. It was also noted that the mean kidding to mating interval (days) of Begait, Hassan and Arado does was 98.32±26.3, 79.90±41.9 and 112.79±67.9, respectively. There was lower single birth in Hassan goats (70.65%) than in Begait (74.53%) and Arado (73.50%) goats. It was also noted that the litter size at birth of Hassan goat (1.33) was better than the litter sizes of Begait (1.29) and Arado (1.27) goats. However, there was high mortality rate of kids in Begait (26.4%) than in Hassan (16.5%) and Arado (15.7%) kids. The wet season mean (±SD) daily milk yields (liters) and lactation lengths (months) of Arado does (0.38±0.1; 0.75±0.3) were lower and shorter than Begait (0.67±0.3; 1.77±0.4) and Hassan (0.70±0.2; 1.79±0.5) does, respectively. Selection and mating, buck to doe ratio, Begait and Hassan milking practice should be a focus of goat keepers and stakeholders. On-station performance evaluations and genetic characterizations of Begait and Hassan goat populations are essentially needed.
    },
     year = {2023}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Characterization of Indigenous Goat Mating Experiences and Production Performances in North Western and Western Zones of Tigray Region, Ethiopia
    AU  - Teweldemedhn Mekonnen
    AU  - Shishay Markos
    AU  - Kibrom Esak
    AU  - Tesfay Ataklti
    Y1  - 2023/12/08
    PY  - 2023
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajls.20231106.11
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ajls.20231106.11
    T2  - American Journal of Life Sciences
    JF  - American Journal of Life Sciences
    JO  - American Journal of Life Sciences
    SP  - 83
    EP  - 92
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2328-5737
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajls.20231106.11
    AB  - The survey was conducted before the ignition (before October 2020) of the war in Tigray Regional State, Ethiopia. Although Ethiopia is a host for many goat populations, productivity is below their potential. Goats are essential for the resource-poor-farmers of the country. Randomly selected respondents of Begait (102), Hassan (106) and Arado (181) which totaled 389 participated in the survey. Statistical Package for Social Science software was used for data analysis. About 93% of the interviewees were male headed households. Almost all (99%) of the respondents did not practice goat fattening, and was a neglected activity. About 59% of the respondents reported that their bucks were born in their own flock. The respondents used a combination of own buck (68%) and bucks outside of their flocks (83.3%). Uncontrolled mating (77%) was mainly practiced due to the fact that most goats browse in communal lands. Unknown ratios (25%) of buck to does were practiced, and a ratio of one buck to all does in the flock (32%) used. Begait (Tahtay Adiabo) and Hassan (Kafta Humera) goat populations were significantly different (P<0.005) in age at first mating (AFM) of both male and female, age at first kidding (AFK), number of kids born per doe Reproductive Life Time (RLT), kidding to mating interval, and single and twin births. Mean (±SD) age at first kidding (AFK) of Begait, Hassan and Arado goats was 13.15±1.9, 12.45±1.4 and 14.56±3.1 months whereas the mean number of kids born in reproductive lifetime of Begait, Hassan and Arado does were 12.41±4.5, 15.15±4.9 and 12.85±4.8, respectively. It was also noted that the mean kidding to mating interval (days) of Begait, Hassan and Arado does was 98.32±26.3, 79.90±41.9 and 112.79±67.9, respectively. There was lower single birth in Hassan goats (70.65%) than in Begait (74.53%) and Arado (73.50%) goats. It was also noted that the litter size at birth of Hassan goat (1.33) was better than the litter sizes of Begait (1.29) and Arado (1.27) goats. However, there was high mortality rate of kids in Begait (26.4%) than in Hassan (16.5%) and Arado (15.7%) kids. The wet season mean (±SD) daily milk yields (liters) and lactation lengths (months) of Arado does (0.38±0.1; 0.75±0.3) were lower and shorter than Begait (0.67±0.3; 1.77±0.4) and Hassan (0.70±0.2; 1.79±0.5) does, respectively. Selection and mating, buck to doe ratio, Begait and Hassan milking practice should be a focus of goat keepers and stakeholders. On-station performance evaluations and genetic characterizations of Begait and Hassan goat populations are essentially needed.
    
    VL  - 11
    IS  - 6
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Tigray Agricultural Research Institute; Humera Begait Animals Research Center, Tigray, Ethiopia

  • Tigray Agricultural Research Institute; Humera Begait Animals Research Center, Tigray, Ethiopia

  • Tigray Agricultural Research Institute; Humera Begait Animals Research Center, Tigray, Ethiopia

  • Tigray Agricultural Research Institute; Humera Begait Animals Research Center, Tigray, Ethiopia

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