Ayana Selamu Dessie* and Gizachew Nibret Tilahun
Department of Veterinary Medicine, National Institute for Tsetse Fly and Trypanosomiasis Control and Eradication, Ethiopia
*Corresponding Author: Ayana Selamu Dessie, Department of Veterinary Medicine, National Institute for Tsetse Fly and Trypanosomiasis Control and Eradication, Ethiopia.
Received: October 06, 2021; Published: November 09, 2021
A retrospective study was conducted from November 2013 to April 2014 at Hawassa university goat farm. The aim of the study was to assess the variation of birth weight, weaning weight and pre-weaning mortality of Boer goat and there cross with native Ethiopian goats. Records of 537 kids that were born alive from 2008 to 2013 were used in this study. The factors considered for birth weight, weaning weight and mortality of kids were birth type, parity, sex, season of birth, year of birth, genotype and dam weight while birth weight was also used as risk factors for kid mortality and weaning weight of kid. In this study the mean birth and weaning weight of kids was 3.04 (± 0.4sd) kg and 13.27 (± 0.18sd) kg respectively. All factors except season of birth had significantly (at least p < 0.05) affect birth weight of kids. Parity and season of birth had not significant (p > 0.05) effect on weaning weight of kids but all the other factors were significant effect at weaning weight of kids. Birth weight, parity and year of birth significantly (p < 0.05) affect pre-weaning mortality rate of kids but not other factors. Male kids had higher (P < 0.05) birth weight (3.1 ± 0.8 kg vs. 2.9 ± 0.7 kg), and weaning weight (13.65 ± 0.25 kg vs. 12.81 ± 0.23 kg) than female kids, but sex had not significant (p > 0.05) effect on pre-weaning mortality rate of kid. Single born kids were heavier birth and weaning weight than twins and triplets, however, type of birth was not significant (p > 0.05) effect on pre-weaning mortality rate of kids. In this study birth weight was increased as parity increased. Dam weight had linear relationship with birth weight and also birth weight had linear relationship with weaning weight. The overall pre-weaning mortality rate of kids in this study was 24.4%. Out of 126 deaths encountered before three months of age, 80 (15.5%) deaths occurred within 30 days of age and the highest mortality (65.4%) was recorded for kids had 2kg or less birth weight, while the lowest mortality rate (13.2%) was recorded for kids had 3 kg or more birth weight. Pre-weaning mortality (birth to 90 days) was affected (p < 0.01) by parity of does, high Pre-weaning mortality was recorded in kids born from the second and first parity of does. Season of birth had not significant effect on pre-90-day mortality of kids. Generally, mortality rate was found to be highest in kids weighing ≤2 kg birth weight and in kids born in the later year. So, improving supplementary feeding for pregnant, very young and old does is recommended to get moderate birth weight and to minimize pre-weaning kid mortality rate.
Keywords: Birth Weight; Weaning Weight; Pre-weaning Mortality; Goats
Citation: Ayana Selamu Dessie and Gizachew Nibret Tilahun. “Factors Affecting Pre-weaning Kid Mortality in Boer Goats and their Cross with Native Ethiopian Goats Under an Intensive Management". Acta Scientific Veterinary Sciences 4.5 (2021): 03-12.
Copyright: © 2021 Ayana Selamu Dessie and Gizachew Nibret Tilahun. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.