Participatory definition of breeding objectives and breeding practice for goat population in northeastern Ethiopia: An input for in-situ conservation and genetic improvement program

Abstract

Knowing the production system and breeding objectives is a prerequisite for designing in-situ conservation and genetic improvement programs. This study aimed to characterize goats' breeding practices and relative importance and identify goat keepers' breeding objectives. Data were collected through three approaches: formal personal interviews, measurement of morphological traits of live animals, and own flock ranking methods. Several SAS procedures were used to analyze the data. The result revealed that goats were the second most economically important livestock species next to cattle. Income generation and home meat consumption were the major reasons for keeping goats. The mating method was an uncontrolled natural mating method. Most (90–100%) goat keepers select male and female goats to be a parent for the next generation. Coat color, physical appearance, twinning ability, milk yield, and kid growth were identified as breeding objectives for breeding females through the personal interview method. Similarly, the most crucial traits for selecting a buck were growth, physical appearance, and coat color. Based on own animal ranking method, coat color, physical appearance, milk yield, twining ability, and mothering ability were the most important traits. The rank of animals was in line with the phenotype of morphological traits and market price. In conclusion, coat color, physical appearance, milk yield, and twining ability were identified to be the most important traits. Therefore, these breeding objectives can be used as input for designing a genetic improvement program for this goat population.