Morphological and Morphometric Characterization of Indigenous Goat in Their Native Environment in West Omo and Bench-Sheko Zone, Southwestern Ethiopia

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