Physiological and haematological indices of two Nigerian goat breeds reared under uniform conditions during dry season

Abstract

Introducing an indigenous or exotic breed to unfamiliar environment paves way for livestock improvement. This study examined the physiological and haematological indices of 24Red Sokoto (RS) and West African Dwarf (WAD) goats reared under uniform condition in Ilorin, to determine adaptability of RS goats over a period of 8 weeks. The goats were grouped based on gender and two age ranges (3 -5 months and 9 - 12 months). Rectal temperature (RT), heart rate (HR) and respiratory rate (RR) were monitored twice daily (morning: 7.00 – 8.00am; afternoon: 4.00 – 5.00pm) while blood samples for complete blood count were collected twice during the experiment. The result showed that the examined physiological parameters were within the normal threshold, and were more influenced ( P <0.05) by sex rather than breed or age. Breed influenced HR with RS exhibiting higher( P <0.05) value than WAD (Morning: 79.38 vs 76.28 beat/min; Afternoon: 92.88 vs 89.89 beat/min).Morning RT and HR were influenced ( P <0.05) by age (3 – 5 vs 9 – 12 months: RT - 39.21 vs 39.06 0 C; HR - 75.63 vs 80.89 beat/min). The female exhibited significantly ( P <0.05) higher HR and RR than male goat. Sex had significant ( P <0.05) interaction with breed and age for HR while the interaction between breed and age was significant ( P <0.05) for afternoon RT and HR. Haematological results showed inconspicuous variation between WAD and RS goat. It is therefore concluded that there was no adverse effect of unfamiliar environment on the physiology and hematology of RS goats when reared under semi-intensive system in Ilorin, Nigeria. Keywords: Adaptability, Breed, Haematology, Physiology, Sex