ABSTRACT
This research was conducted to determine the morphological traits, production capacity and
existing association between them in Red Sokoto goats in Kastina state. A total of 888 Red
Sokoto goats (RSG) were used for the study out of which 152 lactating does were used to
assess the milk production capacity of Red Sokoto goats. The morphological and
morphometric traits were identified and measured and their associations with production
capacity were assessed. The distributon and frequencies of the morphological traits were
investigated and scored for the presence or absence of wattle (Waw or Wa+), beard (Brb or
Br+), horn (Ho+ or Hop), supernumerary teat (Stt or St+) and head profile; straight or subconvex
(Hpsv or Hpst) . Wattle had a significant relationship (p<0.05) with beard (-0.12) but
was not significant with head profile. Frequencies of the dominant alleles for RSG were
0.04 (Waw), 0.11 (Brb), 0.00 (Hop), 0.02 (Hpsv), and 0.13 (Stt). The average body weight
(BWT), body length (BLT), heart girth (HG), thoracic depth (TD), height at withers
(HAW), average ear length (AEL) and average horn length (AHL) were 25.3kg, 53.5, 69.4,
36.0, 58.1, 9.5 and 8.3cm respectively and the CV of the morphometric traits ranged from
11.26-25.19 with body weight (25.19) being the most variable and HAW (11.26) being the
least variable trait. Wattle had no significant (P>0.05) influence on all body conformation
traits. Beard significantly (P<0.05) influenced BLT and HAW. Head profile significantly
influenced all body conformation traits except heart girth (HG). Zone had a significant
(P<0.05) influence on all the body conformation traits except AHL while sex had a
significant (p<0.05) influence on morphometric traits except AEL, and AHL. The average
litter size (LS), parity, first test day yield (FTDY), average daily morning milk yield
(ADMY), peak day (PD), last test day yield (LTDY) and total yield were 1.8, 3.8,
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216.1mls,253.1mls, 375mls, 34.8 days, 105.2mls and 25103.4mls respectively. LS, parity
and PD were more variable (21.44-43.5), while FTDY, ADMY, PY, LTDY and TY were
less variable (4.70-18.96). The relationship between body morphological traits and lactating
characteristics were also assessed. Parity significantly affected all body conformation traits.
LS significantly affected body conformation traits except HG and HAW while litter
composition (LC) significantly affected BWT, BLT and HG but not TD and HAW. Wattle
had a significant effect on FTDY, ADMY, PY and LTDY but had no significant influence
on PD and TY. Supernumerary teat had no effect on the lactation traits except for ADMY
and TY which were low when present. Parity on the other hand significantly (P<0.05)
affected FTDY, ADMY, PY and TY but had no significant (p>0.05) effect on PD and
LTDY. LS and LC had a significant effect on all measured lactation traits of goats except
FTDY, PD and LTDY. Zone had a significant (P<005) influence on lactation traits except
FTDY. All the body conformation traits and lactation traits of RSG were significantly and
positively (P<0.05; P<0.01) correlated. Qualitative traits had a low gene frequency of
occurrence. Presence or absence of wattles had no effect on body conformation traits but
had an effect on milk lactation characteristics. Goats with beards had longer bodies and
grew taller, while those with normal two teats produced more milk than those with extra
teats. Zone, sex and litter size influenced body conformation and milk yield characteristics
in RSG. High incidence of multiple births indicates that RSG are highly prolific. The
significant effect of parity on lactation traits, body weight and morphometric traits in this
study therefore, indicates that parity of dam is an important factor to consider in making
appropriate selectsion and /or culling decision in RSG.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title page – – – – – – – – – i
Declaration – – – – – – – – – ii
Certification – – – – – – – – – iii
Dedication – – – – – – – – – iv
Acknowledgement – – – – – – – – v
Abstract – – – – – – – – – vii
Table of contents – – – – – – – – ix
List of tables – – – – – – – – – xv
List of figures – – – – – – – – – xvii
List of plates – – – – – – – – – xviii
Abbreviations – – – – – – – – – xix
CHAPTER ONE
1.0 Introduction – – – – – – – – 1
1.1 Justification – – – – – – – – 5
1.2 Hypothesis – – – – – – – – 5
1.3 Objectives of the Study – – – – – – 6
CHAPTER TWO
2.0 Literature Review – – – – – – – 7
2.1 The Goat (Capra Hircus) – – – – – – 7
2.2 History of Goats- – – – – – – – 8
x
2.3 The Potentials of Small Ruminant Production in Nigeria – – 9
2.4 Some Benefits of Small Ruminant Animal Production – – 10
2.4.1 Milk Production – – – – – – – 10
2.4.1.1 Nutritional Importance of Goat Milk – – – – – 11
2.4.2 Meat Production – – – – – – – 12
2.5 Present Status of the World Goat Populations and Their Productivity 15
2.5.1 Number of goats in the world – – – – – 16
2.6 Advantages of Goat Keeping – – – – – – 24
2.6.1 Disadvantages of Goats – – – – – – 26
2.7 Indigenous Breeds of Goats – – – – – – 26
2.7.1 Sahalian Goat – – – – – – – – 26
2.7.2 Maradi (Red Sokoto) Goat – – – – – – 27
2.7.3 West African Dwarf Goat (WAD) – – – – – 28
2.8 Morphological Traits of Goats – – – – – 28
2.9 Descriptive Traits of Goats – – – – – – 29
2.10 Body Conformation Traits and Factors Affecting Them – – 31
2.10.1 Body Weight – – – – – – – – 31
2.10.2 Factors Affecting Body Weight and Linear Body Measurements. – 33
2.11 Relationship between Morphological and Conformation Traits – 37
2.12 Relationship between Body Weight and Linear Body Measurements 37
2.13 Relationship Between Descriptive and Body Conformation Traits – 39
xi
2.14 Genetic Parameters and Relationship Estimations – – – 39
2.15 Estimation and Improvement of Body Weight and Genetic
Parameters in Goats – – – – – – – 41
2.16 Morphometric Trait Values – – – – – – 43
2.16.1 Heart Girth – – – – – – – – 43
2.16.2 Height at Withers – – – – – – – 43
2.16.3 Body Length – – – – – – – – 44
2.17 Coat Colour Variations in Goats – – – – – 45
2.18 Goat Hair Types – – – – – – – 47
2.19 Wattles in Goats – – – – – – – 47
2. 20 Milk Yield, Composition and Estimations – – – – 47
2.21 The Red Sokoto Goat and Milk Production Potential – – 50
2.22 Efficiency of Milk Production – – – – – 52
2.23 Mammary Morphology and Relationship with Yield – – 54
CHAPTER THREE
3.0 Materials and Methods – – – – – 57
3.1 Study Location – – – – – – – 57
3.2 Animals and Their Management – – – – – 58
3.3 Measurements/Observation of Physical Parameters – – – 58
3.3.1 Body Conformation Traits – – – – – – 59
3.3.2 Qualitative Traits – – – – – – – 61
3.3.3 Production Capacity – – – – – – – 61
3.4 Milk Collection – – – – – – – 62
3.5 Milk Measurement – – – – – – – 62
xii
3.6 Data Computation and Statistical Analysis – – –
CHAPTER FOUR
4.0 Results – – – – – – – – – 67
4.1 Morphological Traits and Their Gene/Genotypic Frequencies – 67
4.1.1 The Frequency (%) of Qualitative Traits of Red Sokoto Goats
According to Zone, Coat Colour and Sex. – – – – 67
4.1.2 Correlation amongst Body Morphological Traits in Goats – – 75
4.1.3 Correlations between Dams Morphological Traits in Goats – – 75
4.1.4 Gene Frequencies of the Observed Qualitative Traits in Red Sokoto
Goats – – – – – – – – – 75
4.1.5 Matrix of Genetic Distance of Red Sokoto Goats by Zone and
Coat Colour – – – – – – – – 76
4.2 Conformation Traits and Factors Affecting Them – – – 84
4.2.1 Summary Statistics of Morphometric Traits of Red Sokoto Goats – 84
4.3 Milk Production Traits and Factors Affecting Them – – – 90
4.4 Relationship Estimations for Body Conformation and Milk Production
Characteristics – – – – – – – – 96
xiii
CHAPTER FIVE
5.0 Discussion – – – – – – – 101
5.1 Morphological Traits and Their Gene/Genotypic Frequencies – 101
5.1.1 The Frequency of Qualitative Traits of Red Sokoto Goats According to
Zone, Coat Colour and Sex – – – – – – 101
5.1.2 Gene Frequencies of the Observed Qualitative Traits in Red Sokoto
Goats – – – – – – – – – 104
5.2 Conformation Traits and Factors Affecting Them. – – – 105
5.2.1 Mean Values of Body Conformation Traits According to Wattle,
Beard and Head Profile – – – – – – 106
5.2.2 Mean Values of Body Conformation Traits According to Zone and
Sex – – – – – – – – – 107
5.2.3 Mean Values of Body Conformation Traits according to Parity, Litter
Size and Litter Composition. – – – – – 108
5.3 Milk Production Traits and Factors Affecting Them. – – – 109
5.3.1 Effect of Wattle, Supernumerary Teat, Parity, Litter Size and Zone
on Lactation Traits. – – – – – – 111
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CHAPTER ONE
1.0 Introduction
Small ruminants are important genetic resources in the tropics, where they play a
predominant role in the sustenance of the livelihoods of impoverished families especially in
the rural areas. In Nigeria, they represent about 63.70% of the total grazing domestic
animals (Yakubu et al., 2010). The goat is a household animal in Nigeria and its
importance cannot be over emphasized. It serves a number of purposes including sociocultural,
economic and nutritional needs of the producer (Gefu, 1992). Goats play an
important role in the social life of many African people, being used as gifts, dowry, in
religious rituals and rites of passage (Peacock, 2005). They are in fact the “small man’s
cattle”, they are kept primarily for meat and cash income especially by peasant farmers in
the country (Akpa, 2000). Goats perform the task of supplying human population with
meat, milk, skin, hair and other products.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommended protein requirement of an adult is
0.5- 1.0g per kg body weight per day (65g per day) and approximately 20g of this should
come from animal protein source (Flachowsky, 1999). On the average, about 25g of animal
protein per person per day and this ranges between 9g in Africa and 65g in North America
( Flachowsky, 1999). Thus indicating that protein of animal origin for Africa is far below
the recommended 20g per capita per day.
Animal milk source is one good source that can be used to bridge the gap. Out of 537403 ×
103 metric tonne of total milk production from popular dairy animals in the world (cow,
2
buffalo, sheep and goats), goat contribute 10144 × 103 metric tonne which is about 5%
(FAO, 2007). In Africa, goats contribute 2078 × 103 metric tonnes which is about 9.2% of
total milk production (22501 × 103 metric tonne ) from dairy animals in Africa (FAO,
1997).
Goat milk is a valuable source of protein, fat, calcium, iron, phosphorous, magnesium, and
vitamins, particularly vitamin A. Recent studies have shown that several of these vitamins
from goat milk are more easily absorbed than cow milk (Peacock, 2008). The small fat
globule of goat milk makes it more easily digestible than cow milk and therefore
particularly suitable for children and the sick (Peacock, 1996). Above all, goat milk fat and
protein are readily digested; and the constituent amino acids absorbed more efficiently than
those of cow (Jandal, 1996). Besides producing animal products, they also provide manure
to maintain soil fertility (Suradiastra, 1993).
The Red Sokoto goat (RSG) or Maradi is the most predominant goat breed and accounts
for about 70% of Nigeria’s total goat population which has been estimated at 17.5 million
(Ademosun, 1994). It is commonly found among the agro pastoralist mainly within the
northern sub-humid and semi-arid zones of the country (Akpa et al., 2001a). The breed is
predominantly reddish brown in colour and is found in the savannah zone of Nigeria (80N –
110N) where it constitutes more than 90% of the goat population in that area. The breed
weighs about 1.5 – 2.0kg at birth and reaches about 12.0kg when weaned at 3 months under
good management. Weight of adult does and bucks are 20 – 35kg and 25 – 40kg,
respectively (Osuhor et al., 2002). The skin of Red Sokoto goat is reputed to be of high
quality; therefore, it is used in the leather industry locally and internationally (Akpa et al.,
1998a).
3
The West Africa Dwarf (WAD) goat is widely distributed across the rainforest belt of
southern Nigeria. They are short legged and small bodied animals, weighing between 22
and 26kg. They also present variable coat colours, ranging from black, brown, grey, red and
white and sometimes combinations of these in a variety of patterns (Mourad et al., 2000).
According to Kiwuwa (1992), the broad genetic variability of African small ruminant
breeds enables them to survive under stressful environmental conditions, including disease,
poor nutrition, and high ambient temperature. Genetic variations among the small ruminant
varieties that are indigenous to Nigeria have been a point of interest to geneticists. This is
because the amount of genetic variation detectable in an animal population is related to the
magnitude of genetic improvement achievable within the species. Thus, genetic variation
has become the objective tool, traditionally used for improving animal species (Salako et
al., 2007).
The diversity of gene pool, different climatic conditions within the country, free mating and
natural selection have given rise to different local populations of goats and sheep.
Therefore, one would expect much differential adaptive development to be reflected in the
morphology (Hall, 1991). According to Oseni et al, (2006), varied expression of qualitative
traits may represent some adaptive mechanisms related to adaptation and survival in
different ecological zones in the country. This is substantiated by the report of Odubote
(1994) on the influence of certain qualitative traits on the genetic potential or adaptability
of Nigerian goats hence, the need for the conservation of these unique genes for present and
future use. This becomes evident in view of the fact that high level producing crossbreds do
not perform under the low-input management typical of the smallholder production system
(Rege and Gibson, 2003).
4
The first step of the characterization of local genetic resources falls on the knowledge of the
variation of morphological traits (Delgado et al., 2001). Based on previous studies carried
out on Mediterranean goats (Lauvergne et al., 1996) the morphometric criteria generally
used to c1assify West Africa goats (Dossa et al., 2007) are: height at withers (HAW),
thorax depth (TD) and ear length (EL). Bourzat et al. (1993) also proposed the use of two
combined indices that have shown good performance in differentiating homogeneous subpopulations
within the Cameroonian and the Chadian goat populations (Bourzat et al.,
1993; Zeuh et al., 1997); the slenderness index and the auricle thorax index. However, such
type of indices have limited power and multifactor analyses of morphological traits are
more appropriate to assess variation within and between goat populations (Capote et al.,
1998; Dossa et al., 2007; Herrera et al., 1996; Jordan et al., 1993; Lanari et al., 2003;
Zaitoun et al., 2005) and appropriately discriminate different goat types because all
measured morphological variables are considered jointly.
Research and development investments to improve the relatively low level of goat’s
productivity do not match their potential importance, resulting in many goat breeds that are
not genetically explored, especially in the developing countries. Nevertheless, goats are
going to be more important source of livelihood for many more people in coming years
and, thus, they deserve greater attention at both the micro and macro levels. Now, it is the
time to consider and pay attention to the value and capacity of goats for producing food.
5
1.1 Justification
Studies on diversity and variability between indigenous goats as well as sheep breed on the
basis of quantitative (Morphostructural) and qualitative (Morphological) variables have
been extensively carried out on-station and on-farm in Southern Nigeria (Ozoje and Kadir,
2001; Ozoje and Mgbere, 2002). However, similar works especially on the qualitative traits
of goats and sheep found in Northern parts of the country are scarce. This is inspite of the
fact that vast majority of indigenous small ruminant are concentrated in the northern axis.
Therefore, the present study will help in providing information on the distribution and
frequencies of some qualitative (Morphological) traits and there association with
production capacity in Red Sokoto goats traditionally managed in Northern Nigeria
(Katsina State).
1.2 Hypothesis
HO = There is no association existing between the morphological traits and production
capacity in Red Sokoto goats in katsina state.
HA = There is association existing between the morphological traits and production
capacity in Red Sokoto goats in katsina state.
6
1.3 Objectives of the Study
1. To describe the morphological traits of Red Sokoto goats in Katsina state.
2. To determine the production capacity of Red Sokoto goats in Katsina State.
3. To determine the association existing between the morphological traits and
production capacity in the goats studied.
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