Full Length Research Paper
E. N. Nwachukwu, C. C. Ogbuand
Abstract
The study was conducted to evaluate the growth characteristics and meat yield of a selected line of best performing Red Sokoto (RS) mated to West African Dwarf (WAD) goats in rainforest zone of SouthEastern Nigeria. Previous studies (Nwachukwu et al, 2012; 2013) showed that main crossbred RS x WAD progenies outperformed their reciprocal crossbred (WAD x RS) and pure line WAD x WAD counterparts in growth performance and percentage heterosis. In the present study, a total of 54 RSxWAD hybrid kids produced from main crossing of the parental stock were evaluated to revalidate earlier claims. Data obtained showed that at birth, buck kids of the rainforest hybrid goats weighed significantly (1.72 ± 0.03kg) more than the doe kids (1.56 ± 0.40 kg). However, subsequent growth data showed that doe kids had equivalent final body weight as the buck kids as well as similar growth parameters at 20 weeks of age. Carcass characteristics were however significantly higher in bucks than does while dressing percentages were similar in both sexes. The correlation coefficients for investigated growth traits showed strong and positive association between body weight and all the body parameters examined. It was therefore concluded that this selected line of rainforest hybrid goats are promising meat goats in the humid tropics which should be further selected until most desirable traits were stabilized and their meat yield potentials were fully realized and exploited in Nigeria and beyond.