Abstract:
This study was conducted on Morphological and Morph metric characterization of indigenous goat in West Omo
and Bench-Sheko zone of in their native environment. About 660 goats were taken for body measurements of both
sexes from 1PPI to 4PPI. Sex, districts and age class effect were considered in this study. The main frequently
observed coat color patterns of goats were patchy and plain in Meanit Goldiya and Guraferda area, respectively.
The main dominantly observed coat color type were white dominate with black for both sexes in Meanit Goldiya
and brown for female and white for male goats were dominantly observed coat color in Guraferda area. Majority
of goats had concave head profile in both districts. Body weight of goats increased as the age increased from 1pair
of permanent incisor (PPI) to 4 PPI in the studied areas. Body weight and all the body measurements were
significantly (P<0.01) affected by age group. Average body weight of males at age of 1PPI, 2PPI, 3PPI and 4PPI
were 23.4±0.29, 26.4±0.81, 31.6±0.99 and 34.0±0.55kg, respectively. The corresponding values for female goats
were 20.2±0.12, 23.6±0.44, 26.2±0.18and 30.0±0.16kg, respectively. Therefore, the present study suggests that
indigenous goat population might possess useful genetic potential for improving productivity under extensive
feeding-based production system. Similarly, morphological and phonotypical variations have been observed
between the indigenous goat populations; hence a profoundly molecular evaluation is needed to show the level of
genetic differentiation and relation between them
