Husbandry Practices, Reproductive and Production Performanceof Indigenous Goats in Ahferom District, Tigray, Northern Ethiopia

Abstract

A study, conducted in Ahferom district (Tigray), Northern Ethiopia, aimed to investigate indigenous goats’ husbandry practices, productive and reproductive performances, and constraints. Two Tabias from midland and one from lowland in the district were purposively selected based on their potentiality. Twenty-four household (HH) goat keepers, eight from each Tabia, were randomly selected. A pretested semi-structured questionnaire wasused to gather data. Focus group discussions were also held with knowledgeable farmers and key informants. The collected data was analyzed using SPSS statistical software Version 28.0. In the study area, the goat flock structure (16.6±3.5) consisted of does (4.7±1.4), bucks (1.6±0.9), doe kids (3.6±1.2), and buck kids (2.9±0.8). The overall mean litter size, age at first kidding and kidding interval were 2.06±0.13, 12.9±0.2 years and 7.6±0.5 months, respectively. The mean amount of milk produced/day from a lactating goat was estimated to be 0.2 liters. Goats were kept by smallholder farmers for sale (52.5%), home consumption (24.4%), saving (13.1%), manure (10%), and prestige (1.0%) in the midland. Nevertheless, goats were kept for sale (33.3%), home consumption (33.3%), saving (12.5%), manure (16.6%), and prestige (4.1%) in the lowland. Goats in the study area were mainly dependent on browsing plants in both wet and dry seasons. The overall sources of water in the study area were water wells (40.1%), hand pumps (32.7%), and ponds (27.2%). Most (89.8%) farmers used separate houses for their goats. Diseases, drought, predators, inadequate extension support, feed and water shortages were the most important problems identified in the study area.