Non-genetic factors affecting pre-weaning growth and morphometric traits in Assam Hill goat

Vet World Vol.12 August-2019 Article-22

Research Article

Veterinary World, 12(8): 1327-1331

https://doi.org/10.14202/vetworld.2019.1327-1331

L. Sarma¹, N. Nahardeka², R. N. Goswami¹, A. Aziz¹, G. Zaman¹, A. Das¹, and F. Akhtar²

1. Department of Animal Genetics and Breeding, College of Veterinary Sciences, Assam Agricultural University, Guwahati, Assam, India.
2. Goat Research Station, Assam Agricultural University, Burnihat -793101, Assam, India.

Background and Aim: This study aimed to determine the genetic and non-genetic factors affecting pre-weaning body weight (BW) and morphometry in Assam Hill goat along with the genetic parameters.

Materials and Methods: The detailed information in respect of BW and body measurements of 960 animals at birth and 3 months of age belonging to three different populations of Assam Hill goat maintained at field units, namely, Batabari, Nahira, and Tetelia under "All India Coordinated Research Project on Goat Improvement" were utilized in the present study. The data were analyzed using least squares technique.

Results: The least squares means for BW, height at withers (HW), heart girth (HG), and body length (BL) were 1.166±0.008 kg, 26.198±0.070 cm, 26.695±0.096 cm, and 29.482±0.119 cm at birth and 4.590±0.083 kg, 36.850±0.105 cm, 40.741±0.115 cm, and 39.703±0.108 cm at 3 months of age, respectively. Location had a significant effect on BW, HW, and BL at both birth and 3 months and on HG at 3 months of age. Season of birth exerted significant effect only on BL at birth, whereas the significant effect of sex was observed on HG and BL at 3 months of age. The heritability estimates for BW and body measurements were moderate indicating the scope of selection. The phenotypic and genetic correlations among BWs and body measurements at birth and 3 months of age were positive in direction and high in magnitude.

Conclusion: On the basis of the present findings, it could be concluded that the weaning weight of kids can be considered for the selection of parent stock to increase productivity and eventually the economic efficiency. Further, animals with higher body measurements at initial phases of growth will perform better with respect to even BW at later stages of growth. Keywords: Assam Hill goat, genetic parameters, morphometric traits, non-genetic factors, pre-weaning growth.

Keywords: Assam Hill goat, genetic parameters, morphometric traits, non-genetic factors, pre-weaning growth.

How to cite this article: Sarma L, Nahardeka N, Goswami RN, Aziz A, Zaman G, Das A, Akhtar F (2019) Non-genetic factors affecting pre-weaning growth and morphometric traits in Assam Hill goat, Veterinary World, 12(8): 1327-1331.

Received: 27-02-2019 Accepted: 09-07-2019 Published online: 25-08-2019

Corresponding author: L. Sarma E-mail: lopa.upa07@gmail.com

DOI: 10.14202/vetworld.2019.1327-1331

Copyright: Sarma, et al. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http:// creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.