A review of productive and reproductive characteristics of indigenous goats in Ethiopia

摘要

GoatproductioninEthiopiacontributessignificantlytonationalexportearningsandthelivelihoodsofruralhouseholds.Inthepast,anumberofresearchworkswereconductedtoevaluateandimprovetheperformanceofindigenousgoats.However,systematicallycompiledinformationisnotavailableconcerningthelevelofperformanceofindigenousgoatsinthecountry.Inthispaper,levelofperformanceformajoreconomictraitsofindigenousgoatsisreviewedanddiscussed.ItisapparentfromtheinformationpresentedinthisreviewthattheperformanceofindigenousgoatbreedsofEthiopiaishighlyvariablebetweendifferentmanagementsystems.Manyoftheresearchreportsshowthatageatfirstkiddingandkiddingintervalsappeartobeshorterinthetraditionalsystemswhilereproductiveefficiencyintermsofgrowthrate,carcassyield,milkyield,littersizesandsurvivalratearehigherunderimprovedmanagementsystems.Intermsofbodyweightandgrowthrate,lowlandgoatsarenotbetterthanthoseintheotheragro-ecologies.Thoughproductivityofindigenousgoatsisgenerallyconsideredaslow,thereishighpotentialamongtheindigenousEthiopiangoatbreedsunderimprovedmanagementsystems.Theyalsoproduceskinssuitableforproductionofhighqualityleatherproducts.