Flock structure, level of production, and marketing of three Ethiopian goat types kept under different production systems

摘要

ThisstudywasconductedtocharacterizethreeEthiopianindigenousgoattypesintermsoftheircompositionanddynamics,productivity,andmarketing.Asetofsemi-structuredquestionnairewasusedtocollectinformationfrom155goatownersbasedonsingle-visit-interviews.nbsp;Thestudyindicatesthatbreedingfemalesconstitutedthelargestaverageflockcompositionfollowedbyweanersandkids.Goatownersinthestudyareasreliedmainlyonbirthsandpurchasestobuildtheirflockwhilesalesanddeathswerethemajorroutesofdisposal.Lowercommercialofftake(28%)andhighermortality(24%)rateswereestimatedforallstudyareasbutthefigureswerelowerinpastoralandagro-pastoralsystems.Onaverage,femalegoatsinthestudyareagavefirstbirthattheageof1.4years,kiddedevery8.6monthsandstayedonproduction/kiddingforabout5years,givingdailymilkyieldof0.37liter.Basedontheestimatesgivenbyrespondents,Somaliandnbsp;highlandgoatswerecharacterizedtohavebiggerageatfirstkiddingandlongerkiddinglifetime,respectively.Forothertraitssuchaskiddingintervalanddailymilkyield,nosignificantperformancedifferencewasobservedamongthegoattypes.Inallstudyareas,goatsweresoldmainlyatthefarmgatewhenmoneyisneededtobuygrainsandotherfarminputs.Averageageatsale/slaughterofmalegoatswasabout1.4years.Consumers,producers,traders,butchersandbrokerswerethemajorbuyersoflivegoatsinthestudyareas.Theparticipationofgoatproducersinthemarketwasconstrainedbyseasonalityofmarket,lowprice,andlackofmarketinformationandinfrastructure.nbsp;