2014•Indian Journal of Small Ruminants (The)Requires access
Factors affecting body weight and morphometric characters of Berari goats
Kranti Kharkar, S. V. Kuralkar, Prajakta Kuralkar, P. S. Bankar, Mahesh Chopade, K. A. Hadole
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Abstract
An investigation was conducted to study the effect of non-genetic factors on body weight and body measurements (body length, height at wither, chest girth and paunch girth) at birth, 3, 6 and 12 months of age of Berari goats. Least squares means for body weight were 2.43±0.04, 10.60±0.67, 15.08±0.30 and 21.14 ± 0.39 kg for birth, 3, 6 and 12 months of age, respectively. The effect of type of birth and sex were significant (P<0.05/0.01) sources of variation for body weights at birth and 12 months of age, respectively. The effect of season of kidding was significant (P< 0.05/0.01) source of variation for body weights at 3 months and 12 months, respectively. Summer and winter born kids had higher body weight at 12 months, which suggested that necessary steps should be taken in overall management for kids born in rainy season to achieve optimum growth.