Harnessing linear body measurements of four indigenous beef cattle for superior breed selection in the humid tropics

This research evaluated linear body measurements across four indigenous breeds of beef cattle in a completely randomized design (CRD). Linear body dimensions of 16 cattle, evenly distributed among the four breeds: White Fulani (WF), Sokoto Gudali (SG), Adamawa Gudali (AG), and Red Bororo (RB) were randomly measured with a calibrated weighband. Data generated were analyzed using the General Linear Model for CRD. Results indicated that all sampled traits were similar (p > 0.05) among the cattle breeds, except for body length (BLT), tail length (TLT), and rump length (RLT). The WF had longer (p < 0.05) BLT than other breeds, whereas TLT were longer (p < 0.05) in WF (73.00 ± 1.10 cm) and AG (72.00 ± 1.15 cm) compared to SG (63.25 ± 1.05 cm) and RB (60.25 ± 1.20 cm) at week 2, just as RLT of WF (34.63 ± 0.60 cm) and AG (34.50 ± 0.55 cm) were longer (p < 0.05) than SG (30.63 ± 0.50 cm) and RB (30.00 ± 0.45 cm) at week 4. Consequently, WF is a superior beef cattle compared to SG, AG, and RB.