Effect of the parity and the production year on the longevity of the kids in saneen dairy goats

Abstract

The basic objective of the dairy goat farmers is to produce healthy and fertile animals at appropriate age, with maximum genetic expression and long productive duration. Longevity is an important economical parameter in the breeding program of the dairy goats. There are various factors which directly influence the production and longevity of the newborns such as age at birth, season, herds flock and breed. The present study aimed to study the effect of the parity and the production year on the kids’ longevity in Saanen dairy goats. The 5 year data (2012 to 2016) of total 222 Saanen female goats collected from the Research and Applied Center at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Bursa Uludag University. The effect of parity on the kids’ longevity was found non-significant (P>0.05). Non-significant (P>0.05) difference was observed while comparing the data of kids from primiparous and multiparous within the production year. However, a significant (P<0.05) difference among the mean values was found while making comparison between the production years. The litter size in the present study ranged from 1.57 to 1.75 and non-significant (P>0.05) difference was found in the kids born over the evaluated years. The present study did not investigate the voluntary and involuntary culling reasons and the management practices at the farm are more standardized than a normal commercial farm. Hence, further research is required at the commercial farms having large number of the animals and herds in order to use the parity and longevity in the present genetic evaluation programs.