Morphological Characterization of Indigenous Goats Breeds of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
Morphological Characterization of Indigenous Goats Breeds of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
Mohammad Nazeer* and Safdar Hussain Shah
ABSTRACT
Livestock play a significant role in the developing economy of Pakistan. Goat is population wise one of the major livestock specie of Pakistan. This study was conducted to analyze morphological traits of four indigenous goat breeds of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province of Pakistan. The breeds selected for this study were namely Damani, Surguli, Kaghani and Gaddi. Data was collected from two districts to the south (Dera Ismail Khan and Kohat) and two districts to the north (Kaghan and Naran) of KP province. Total number of 120 goat specimen (30 per breed) was selected for this study from random locations. A pretested questionnaire was used to record the morphological parameters of each individual. The results showed differences in morphological traits of different goat breeds. The facial appearance of Surguli and Damani was predominantly convex, whereas straight shape facial outline was observed in most of Gaddi and Kaghani goat individuals. The ears of Damani and Surguli goat were mostly straight, whereas Kaghani and Gaddi had rounded edge ears in most cases. Horn color was predominantly black, with a little percentage of brown and red in Damani and Gaddi goat. Body hairs were mostly straight with medium length in Damani and Surguli, and long in Kaghani and Gaddi breed. Body size manifested by weight, length and other body measurements, was highest in Gaddi, followed by Kaghani and then Surguli. The body size of Damani was the smallest compared to the other breeds; however, statistically it was similar to Surguli. Kaghani is the highest ranking along with similarities to Gaddi breed and also recommended for management to achieve the utmost benefits within goat breeds.
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