Review of Reproductive Performance and Selection Criteria of Goats

Goats are small ruminants which have a vital role in the livelihood of the Ethiopian community. Their prolificacy and fecundity, short generation interval, adaptation in harsh environment and their ability to thrive under limited feed resources, all these make them favorable as an investment and insurance. Reproductive performance is one of the most important economic traits in terms of goat production. Reproductive performance determines several aspects of goat production and their reproduction and thus important for flock expansion and replacement. Reproduction efficiency of an animal helps in evaluating the strength and weakness of the genotypes across different production environments. Therefore, optimum reproductive efficiencies in the flock are fundamental to the success of any production system. The trait influences the overall productivity of the flock. Reproduction failure is the first indicator of low profitability of the flock. The reproductive efficiency of goats is accumulation of several correlated traits. The reproductive traits of goats are age at puberty, age at first kidding, post-partum heat period, kidding interval, litter size, parity order and service per conception. In Ethiopian communities the phenotypes of the goats have important influence on socio-cultural and economic values; as a result, most farmers pay special attention for the shape of the horn, presence/absence of wattles, color of the eyes, shape of the udder, coat colors and body sizes.