Breeding Practices and Reproductive Performances of Goat in Dollo Zone, Somali Regional State, Ethiopia
Keywords:
Goat, Breeding Practice, Reproductive PerformanceAbstract
The aim of this study was to assess the breeding practices and reproductive performance of goats in the Warder, Danod, and Daratole districts of Dollo zone, Somali Regional State, Ethiopia. A total of 156 households (52 from each district) who own goats were randomly selected for the study and interviewed using a pre-tested, semi-structured questionnaire. In addition, the relevant data for this study were collected through interviews with key informants, focus group discussions, and personal observations. The study revealed that the majority (41.7%) of the respondents herded goats together with sheep, followed by herding goats alone (39.7%). The majority (75.6%) of the goat owners practiced an uncontrolled breeding system. The use of communal grazing land, lack of awareness, and insufficient breeding bucks were the main reasons for the uncontrolled mating system. The breeding bucks are born in the flock, which indicates that inbreeding within the flock is expected to be high and knowledge of inbreeding appears to be limited. Furthermore, the findings of the study indicated pastoralists in the study area practiced castration of male goats, the main reason being the fattening purpose (50%) of increasing the sale price of animals at the market. Male Somali goats reached puberty at 9.17±0.12 months, while females reached 7.66±0.09 months. The average age at first kidding was 14.13±0.11 months, and the average interval was 7.69±0.05 months. The average reproductive life span of the doe was 13.34±0.05 years. The average number of kids per doe in her life span was 9.02±0.08. In conclusion, the study indicates that the reproductive performance of goats was generally found to be low. Therefore, goat productivity would be improved if adequate attention is paid to creating awareness about inbreeding, providing appropriate extension services and increasing the adoption of improved technologies. Further studies are needed to be conducted in order to determine the major factors driving the low reproductive performance of goats in the study locations.
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