Relationship between Testicular Traits, Body Measurements and Body Weight in Boer Goat Bucks
Relationship between Testicular Traits, Body Measurements and Body Weight in Boer Goat Bucks
Madumetja Cyril Mathapo and Thobela Louis Tyasi*
ABSTRACT
The study was conducted to evaluate the relationships between testicular traits, body measurements and body weight. A total of twenty-five (25) Boer goat males aged between one and two years were used in the study. Testicular length (TL), scrotal circumference (SC), body weight (BW), body length (BL), heart girth (HG), rump height (RH), withers height (WH) and sternum height (SH) were measured. Pearson’s correlation and simple linear regression were used for data analysis. Phenotypic correlation outcomes indicated that SC had a positive statistically significant (P<0.05) correlation with BW (r = 0.425) and non-significant correlation with BL (r = 0.108), HG (r = 0.082), RH (r = 0.038), WH (r = 0.097) and SH (r = 0.280), while TL had non-significant correlation with BW (r = 0.009), BL (r = -0.351), HG (r = -0.147), RH (r = -0.108), WH (r = -0.086) and SH (r = 0.052). Regression analysis model showed that SC had the highest coefficient of determination R2 (0.178) as compared with other testicular traits and body measurements. In conclusion, the relationship results suggest that by improving scrotal circumference might result in improving the body weight of Boer goat’s bucks. Simple linear regression results suggest that scrotal circumference is great trait to predict body weight of Boer goat’s bucks. The findings of the present study might be employed by the resource limited Boer goat’s farmers to select their bucks for breeding and also to improve their body weight.
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