Phenotypic Characterization of Indigenous Goats Population in Buldiglu District of Assosa Zone, Beneshangul Gumuz Region

Abstract

An exploratory field study was conducted to phenotypically characterize the goat population in Buldiglu district, Asssosa Zone of Beneshangul Gumuz Region, Ethiopia. Data for qualitative and quantitative traits were collected from 630 randomly selected goats. The data was analyzed using the Generalized Linear Model procedures of SAS statistical software version 9.4. The result indicated that coat color types of indigenous goats are variable, and the most commonly observed coat color was white (36.34%), followed by white with different colors (red, brown, black, and fawn), uniform fawn, and gray coat color. The majority of the goat population has smooth hair (79.1%), and the remaining small proportion has long straight hair (9.4%), curly rough (6.4%), dull (3.8%), and glossy hair (1.9%). The most observed horn shapes for both sexes were straight (69.8%), curved (24.6%), and spiral (5.5%). The overall least square means of matured goat body weight, body length, heart girth, rump height, and height at withers were 29.48±0.22kg, 60.14±0.21cm, 71.70±0.20cm, 68.83±0.18 cm, and 67.45±0.19cm, respectively. The highest correlation coefficients of chest girth with body weight for female (r = 0.91) and male (r =0.93) goat populations demonstrated a strong association between these variables. The result of the multiple regression analysis showed that chest girth explained more variation than any other linear body measurements for does (81.4%) and bucks (87.7%). The prediction of body weight could be based on the regression equations for the female (y (body weight) =-41.7+0.98x (chest girth)) and male (y=49.6+1.10x) sample goat populations. This indicated that the heart girth alone to be the most important variable for predicting body weight in both sexes, and therefore the live body weight estimation, using only the heart girth would be better under extensive management conditions. The morphological variations obtained in this study could be complemented by performance data and molecular characterization using DNA markers to guide the overall conservation of goats and the formulation of appropriate breeding, selection, and conservation strategies.