Phenotypic characterization of Ethiopian indigenous goat populations

Abstract

A survey was conducted to study the morphological characteristics of indigenous goats in representative zones and districts of Amhara Region of Ethiopia as a first step towards characterization and designing of breeding programs. A pre-tested questionnaire was used for recording morphological features, body weights and linear body measurements. Both qualitative and quantitative traits were recorded on 158 goats randomly sampled from six goat populations and the data were analyzed using GenStat version 13 software. Live body weights were also associated and predicted using linear body measurements. Results confirmed that six distinct indigenous goat populations were identified and characterized in the region viz. Gumuz, Begia-Medir, Agew, Bati, Central Abergelle and Abergelle. There were clear morphological variations between and within these goat ecotypes in terms of body coat color, head profile, horn orientation, ear form and head shape. The Ethiopian goat ecotypes found in Amhara Region of Ethiopia could be clustered into two main groups viz. Gumuz, Agew and Begia-Medir cluster as one group and Bati, Abergelle and Central Abergelle as the second group. The high variations observed in the morphological traits suggest that these goat ecotypes have not yet been selected through structured selective breeding. The high correlation coefficients of heart girth with body weight for west (r = 0.899) and east (r = 0.832) Amhara Region goat populations demonstrated a strong relationship between these variables with regression equations of y = 1.273x – 61.329, R² = 0.807 and y = 0.486 x – 5.798, R² = 0.095, respectively, which allows for predicting live weight from heart girth in these goats. In general, the observed morphological characteristics of the goats’ genetic resources in Amhara region together with the characterization at molecular level will contribute to designing of improvement strategies for these goat populations, which will need to be complemented with performance data.

Keywords: Ethiopia, goat types, Amhara region, morphological features