Comparative Assessment of Growth Performance between Indigenous Mubende and Kigezi Goat Kids from Birth to Sexual Maturity at Ruhengyere Field Station

Abstract

The study assessed the comparison between the growth performances of Indigenous Mubende and Kigezi goat kids from birth to sexual maturity in Ruhengyere Field Station. The objectives of the study were; to determine the growth rate of Indigenous Mubende and Kigezi goat kids in the same environment from birth to sexual maturity at Ruhengyere Field Station; to assess the factors responsible for the differences in the growth performance of Mubende and Kigezi goat kids from birth to sexual maturity at Ruhengyere Field Station; and to establish the differences in the growth performance of Mubende and Kigezi goat kids from birth to sexual maturity at Ruhengyere Field Station. An experimental study methodology was employed where both qualitative and quantitative data approaches were used to collect data. An experiment was carried out on both breeds of goat kids and details recorded at every stage of development to identify the differences in the growth and performance of the breeds of goat kids. Ninety four (97) goats were included in the final analysis where 48 were from Mubende and 46 were Kigezi goats. The data collected was mainly on kid’s body weight, sex, height, length, and scrotum circumference, observation of any sexual sign, development of beards plus feed rations and their varieties. Microsoft Office Excel 2013 was used to enter all quantitative and coded qualitative data for later analysis using the Statistical Analysis System Version 9.2, the analysis of the growth performance attributes of the kids was done with the kids' sex, type of birth, and dam's parity acting as fixed effects. According to the results of the study, Mubende goats perform better in growth, while Kigezi goats are well adapted to the conditions but perform less compared to Mubende in their growth performance. Mubende goats were the heaviest at birth, with an average live weight of 2.70±0.05 kg, followed by Kigezi goats at 2.42±0.05 kg. At 90 days of age, the average live weights of the two goat types was nearly equal, despite the significant (p<0.05) difference in average birth weight. However, Kigezi goat kids' overall growth rate began to show a retarding trend after 90 days of age, while Mubende goat kids continued to be superior after 90 days of age.The study recommended that differences in environmental characteristics need to be considered during breed choice so that a breed is raised in a zone where its production efficiency can be maximized.