Tropentag, September 19 - 21, 2012 in Göttingen "Resilience of agricultural systems against crises"

Production Characteristics of Tagger Goats in Southern Kordofan State, Sudan

¹Peace University, Animal Production and Range, Sudan
²University of Khartoum, Meat Production, Sudan

Abstract

A survey was carried out using a questionnaire on randomly selected farmers in the eastern mountains of southern Kordofan, Sudan. The study attempted to define the phenotypic characteristics of the Tagger goats, their management practices and production potential with particular emphasis on their meat producing abilities.
The mean flock size was 29 goats. Total females were 66.7%, breeding males 7.5% and castrates 8.0%, with a buck to doe ratio of 1:6. Breeding was uncontrolled and kidding occurred all year round, but a peak was noticed in the wet season. Age at first kidding was 13.5 months which is older than in many African goat breeds . Average kidding interval was 7.7 months which was similar to many other African breeds. Twining rate was 57%. The average birth weight was 1.4 kg and average mature weight was 20 kg for males and 18.5 kg for females. Mortality rate was 16.1% in young kids and 7.9% in adults.
The slaughter data involved twelve males and an equal number of females slaughtered at different age (young and adult). No significant differences were observed between both sexes in slaughter weight. The hot dressing percentage was not significantly different but it tended to be higher in young male kids and adult females than in young females and adult males. The total carcass muscle was greater in young females but the total carcass bone was greater in young male kids and adult female goats, while the fat content was greater in young male kids than in adult female goats. The yield of commercial cuts was generally higher in adult males than in females but the leg, the chump and best end of neck were heavier in female goats.

Keywords: Production characteristics, southern Kordofan, Sudan, tagger goats

Contact Address: Hasseb Elbukhary, Peace University, Animal Production and Range, Gar Elnabi, 11111 El Fulla, Sudan, e-mail: elbukhary11yahoo.com