Phenotypic Characterization of Indigenous Goat Population Reared in Uba Debre-Tsehay and Zala Districts of Gofa Zone, South Ethiopia

The objective of this study was to describe the morphological features of indigenous goats in two lowland districts of Gofa zone in their home tract, Ethiopia. A total of 170 goats (50 males and 120 females) were used for the morphological characterization. Results confirmed that there were morphological variations in terms of coat color patterns. Accordingly, about 49.2% of goats showed plain followed by patchy (27.8); the dominant coat color was brown (44.7%) followed by white (32.7%). About 98.5% goats were characterized by possessing horn, 80.5% curved horn-shape, 54.5% with obliquely-upward horn orientation, 75.2% horizontal ear-orientation, 88.0% straight head-profile, 92.0% partially-sprit scrotum-type, 6% wattle presence, 38.0% beard and 2.5% ruff. There were no statistically significant morphological variations between males and females (p>0.05). These may be due to the high off-take rate of male goats at an early age. A significant difference (p<0.05) was observed between age and linear body measurements. There were significant correlations found among body weight with body length (r=0.81), wither height (r=0.67), chest girth (r=0.82), head length (r=0.64) and horn length (r=0.61). Morphological traits’ variations suggest that this goat population has not yet been selected through structured selective breeding.