Abstract
Body weight is a crucial trait that aids farmers in decision-making regarding vaccinations, feeding, marketing and selection during the breeding programs. The study was conducted to investigate the effect of sex and age on body weight (BW), body condition score (BCS) and some blood biochemical parameters (BBP) and to determine the correlation amongst BW, BCS and BBP of non-descriptive goats at Santombe communal farming system. Blood samples were collected from 33 apparently healthy goats (27 females and 6 males) aged 6 - 8 tooth with a mean BW (32.62 ± 11.39 kg) while BCS (3.17 ± 0.39) was taken by means of palpating the lumbar area, sternum and the ribs. The BCS was rated on a scale of 1 to 5 with 1 being emaciated and 5 being extremely fat. The blood samples were analyzed using Cobas intergra 400 plus chemistry analyzer, Roche for biochemical parameters such as total protein (TP), urea, cholesterol (Chol), magnesium (Mg), phosphorous (P) and calcium (Ca) with mean values of 72.79 ± 5.84 mg/l, 2.76 ± 1.16 mmol/l, 2.08 ± 0.40 mmol/l, 1.09 ± 0.09 mmol/l, 2.30 ± 0.49 mmol/l and 2.45 ± 0.12 mmol/l respectively. Sex and age had significant effects on BW, BCS and some biochemical parameters. The BW and BCS for males were significantly higher than for females. Correlation results indicated that BW had a positive relationship with BCS (r = 0.677), TP and BW (r = 0.400), Chol and BCS (r = 0.4025) and Mg and TP (r = -0.075). Age and sex had significant influences on BW, BCS and some blood biochemical parameters. Consideration of the factors can aid in determining the accurate diagnosis of the nutritional status of goats.
Highlights
Goats play an important role in the socio-economic and cultural aspects of the rural population [1] [2] [3]
The study was conducted to investigate the effect of sex and age on body weight (BW), body condition score (BCS) and some blood biochemical parameters (BBP) and to determine the correlation amongst BW, body condition scoring (BCS) and BBP of non-descriptive goats at Santombe communal farming system
Body weights (BWs), body condition scoring (BCS) and blood metabolite profiling have been used to evaluate the nutritional status of livestock under communal breeding systems [15] [16] [17]
Summary
Goats play an important role in the socio-economic and cultural aspects of the rural population [1] [2] [3]. In comparison with other livestock species such as cattle, goats are renowned for their high ability to survive harsh environmental conditions [4] [5] [6] and their lower feed and capital requirements [7] [8] [9]. South Africa has approximately 2 million goats of which 29.6% are in the Eastern Cape Province [13]. Farmers in the communal areas of South Africa can accomplish this objective through devising strategies aimed at efficiently and effectively raising goats. Such strategies should, be grounded on the determination of the nutritional status of livestock. Body weights (BWs), body condition scoring (BCS) and blood metabolite profiling have been used to evaluate the nutritional status of livestock under communal breeding systems [15] [16] [17]
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