​Impact of Non-genetic Factors on Kleiber Ratio in Field Flocks of Marwari Goat

Abstract

Background: The Kleiber ratio in a goat is an important parameter related to feeding and health care. The present study was undertaken to assess the kleiber ratio of 3079 Marwari goats (born from 2016 to 2021) of registered farmers under the All India Coordinated Research Project on goats (Marwari goat field unit) in semi-arid region of Rajasthan. Methods: The linear mixed model used for kleiber ratio estimation included: year of birth, sex, cluster, birth type and age of dam as fixed factors. Result: Overall least-squares means (LSM) for Kleiber ratio (KR) from birth to 3 months (KR1), 3 to 6 months (KR2) and 6 to 12 months (KR3) were 12.89±0.03, 9.69±0.05 and 4.59±0.06, respectively. Year of birth and cluster had highly significant effect on all KR. The birth type had significant on all KR except KR1. The non-significant effect of sex and age of dam were observed on all KR except KR1. The study revealed that the KR was affected by different non-genetic factors. The heritability estimates for KR1, KR2 and KR2 were 0.66±0.28, 0.07±0.07 and 0.54±0.26, respectively.