Effects of seasonal breeding on productive performance of pastoral goat herds in northern Kenya: a longitudinal analysis of growth in kids and body weight development of does

Abstract

This paper investigates whether liveweight development of kids and dams can be improved by introducing a seasonal breeding regime in goat herds maintained under pastoral management in northern Kenya. The experimental treatment consisted of six consecutive mating seasons. Traits studied comprise relative growth rates of kids (g kg−0·75 day−1) from birth until 2 years of age, liveweight development of kids (kg) from birth until 2 years of age, and body weight development (kg) of does over a reproductive cycle of 1 year duration. No systematic effect of mating season on birth weights of kids could be detected, whereas the experiment succeeded in demonstrating that mating season has an impact upon body weight development of kids. The highest average preweaning weight gains were achieved by kids born in the period from October to May, while growth performance was seriously compromised when birth took place at the middle of the long dry season. However, the differences between mating season groups had almost completely disappeared by 1 year of age. The mating season treatment produced marked differences in weight development curves in does. During gestation, does were advantaged when they were mated just prior to the long rainy season, while the largest relative liveweight gains over the entire reproductive cycle were achieved by does mated during the short rains. It is concluded that seasonal breeding does not confer any major advantage in terms of liveweight production of young livestock, except that mating during the short dry season from December to January should be avoided. Similarly, a clear effect on body weights of does at the end of the reproductive cycle could only be observed when mating occurred during this period.