Kid growth performance and reproductive characteristics of Hair goats raised under breeder conditions

Authors: AYHAN CEYHAN, MAHMUT ÇINAR, UĞUR SERBESTER

Abstract: In the study, fertility parameters of Hair goats and the growth performance of kids raised under farmer conditions were investigated. The data of birth weight of 28,768 kids, the body weight of 27,541 kids aged d 90, and reproductive parameters of 26,693 does were used between 2013 and 2017 years. The birth weights of Hair goat kids born in 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017 years were 2.36, 2.46, 2.56, 2.61, and 2.61 kg, whereas body weights detected on the d 90 were 15.2, 12.7, 12.8, 13.1, and 14.5 kg, respectively. Year, sex, birth type, and age of does affect significantly the birth and body weight of the kids on d 90 (p < 0.01). The survival rate detected on d 90 of kids was 100%, 98.7%, 94.5%, 93.9%, and 91.8% in 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017 years, respectively. The effect of year on the viability of kids was found to be statistically significant (p < 0.01). Twinning rates of does were 3.5%, 5.7%, 9.5%, 12.4%, and 6.5%; kid yields per birth was 1.00, 1.00, 1.09, 1.12, and 1.00 in 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017 years, respectively. The average birth rate was 91.9%, whereas the infertility rate was 8.1%. It was concluded that year, sex, and birth type influenced the kid growth performance of Hair goats due to variations in environmental factors such as management and feeding system. Therefore, if the management practices, nutrition, and health issues are improved, the growth performance of Hair goat kids and some reproductive parameters of Hair goats may be better.

Keywords: Hair goat, birth weight, growing performance, viability, the twinning rate

Full Text: PDF