Association of Haemoglobin types with Age, Coat colour and Head Profile in Red Sokoto goats of Abuja Nigeria

Abstract

This study was conducted to determine the distribution frequency and the association of haemoglobin types with head profile, coat colour, and sex in smallholder goats of Abuja, Nigeria. The sex, coat colour and head profile were assessed by visual appraisal. The coat colour was categorized as dark brown (DB), brown (BR) and black (BL), while the head profile was categorized into sub convex (SCX) and sub concave(SCC). Haemoglobin type was analyzed by Electrophoresis in which 3 haemoglobin genotypes were identified; AA,AB, BB in addition with foetal haemoglobin (AC) .The association of the haemoglobin type with head profile, coat colour and age of goats were determine using chi-square analysis procedure of SAS. The result revealed that majority of the goats had SCX head profile (67%) with DB coat colour (68.1%). The frequency of heterozygote Hb AB (43.6%) was higher than the homozygotes Hb AA (32%) and Hb BB (11.7%) as well as the foetal haemoglobin (12.8%). However, the Hb A alleles had higher preponderance than Hb B allele. The distribution of Hb-types was found to be independent of age, coat colour and head profile of the goats. However, the foetal Hb type AC was mainly observed in young goats that were within one year of age (83%) and non beyond 2 years of age. The head profile was strongly (P<0.01) associated with sex of the goats, but independent of the coat colour. The SCX head profile was more peculiar to females than the males, while the SCC head profile was associated with males than females.