Comprehensive Insights Into the Productivity and Reproductive Efficiency of Indigenous Goats in Ethiopia: Review

This paper reviews research on indigenous goat breeds in Ethiopia, focusing on economically important traits. The objective is to compile and document findings on the potential of these breeds while identifying research gaps and future directions. Relevant literature was collected for 3 months using Scopus-indexed Google Scholar and PubMed databases. The review highlights that the growth and reproductive efficiency of indigenous goats vary due to differences in management practices, breed characteristics, and community-based breeding programs. Selective breeding has effectively improved key traits in livestock, including birth weight, weaning weight, and yearling weight, leading to improved growth performance. Traditional management systems resulted in delayed puberty, lower litter size, longer kidding intervals, and high mortality rates. Improved management systems lead to higher milk yields, larger litter sizes, and better survival rates. Indigenous goats in lowland areas have longer kidding intervals, lower body weights, and less selection pressure compared to those in midland and highland regions. Although productivity is generally low under traditional systems, Ethiopian indigenous goats show great potential with improved management. Community-based breeding programs are crucial for improving these breeds in low-input production systems.