Production Objectives and Breeding Practices of Local Goat Keepers Across Agroecological Zones of Central and North Gondar Zones of Amhara Region

Goat production is a vital component of agriculture that supports the livelihoods of rural households in Ethiopia. This study assessed management practices, production objectives, and breeding strategies of goat‐rearing farmers in the Central and North Gondar Zones of the Amhara Region. Data were collected from 396 households across three agroecologies using a semi‐structured questionnaire. Descriptive statistics and general linear model (GLM) procedures in SPSS were used for data analysis, and indices were calculated for trait ranking. The average flock size was 11.4 goats per household, with breeding does comprising 46.11% of the total. Income generation (index = 0.45) and home meat consumption (index = 0.33) were the primary production objectives. Most farmers selected replacement does (80.15%) and bucks (85.48%), using criteria such as parental performance (index = 0.20) and kid survival (index = 0.22) for does, and coat color (index = 0.24) and body conformation (index = 0.21) for bucks. Despite selection practices, 86.62% of mating was uncontrolled, mainly due to flock mixing during communal grazing (58.89%). Castration was commonly practiced (75.25%), predominantly using traditional methods (73.48%). Mean age at sexual maturity was 6.0 months for males and 5.92 months for females, with an average kidding interval of 7.75 months. The productive lifespan and lifetime kid production of does were 7.36 years and 11.43 kids, respectively. The findings provide essential baseline information to guide the design of context‐specific breeding programs aimed at enhancing goat productivity in the region.