Rump

Abstract: Assessment of genetic diversity is a prerequisite for the management and conservation of animal genetic resources. Appropriate design of breeding programmes is therefore impossible for breeds that have not been adequately characterized either phenotypically and/or genetically. Phenotypic characteristics are important in breed identification and classification in ways that farming communities can relate with. This study phenotypically characterized two breeds of zebu cattle in Kenya. A total of 12 measurements (face length, ear length, horn length, heart girth, height at withers, chest depth, body length, height at rump, pelvis width, corpus length, pin bone width and tail length) were collected on 373 Maasai and 277 Kamba zebu kept by traditional farmers in south-east Kenya. The data were classified on the basis of breed group, age group, sex and coat colour pattern. Breed group, age group and sex significantly influenced all measurements. Coat colour pattern significantly influenced only height at withers, corpus length, ear length and tail length. Except for horn and ear length, all the other measurements were significantly higher for the Maasai zebu. Additionally, the Maasai zebu was taller than it was long. The opposite was true for the Kamba zebu. The Maasai and Kamba zebus can be classified as medium-sized breeds; however, great variations exist in their body sizes within and between the breeds.

Abstract: The population variability of three breeds of Nigerian sheep was investigated using multivariate discriminant analyses. The sampled populations comprised mature 331 Yankasa, 296 Uda and 166 Balami sheep kept by traditional farmers in northern Nigerian. A total of ten morphological traits (withers height, rump height, body length, face length, rump length, tail length, chest circumference, head width, shoulder width and rump width) were collected on each animal. The body measures of Balami sheep were significantly higher (P<0.05) than the others with the exception of tail length. Uda sheep also had comparative advantage over their Yankasa counterparts in all the morphological traits analysed. The stepwise discriminant analysis revealed that head width chronologically followed by tail length, chest circumference and body length were more discriminating in separating the three populations. The Mahalanobis distance between Yankasa and Balami sheep was highest (4.83) while the least differentiation was observed between Uda and Yankasa sheep (1.79). Nearest neighbour discriminant analysis showed that most Balami sheep (61.45%) were classified into their source genetic group. While 41.22% of Uda sheep were misclassified as Yankasa sheep, 35.35% of Yankasa were wrongly assigned as Uda sheep, showing the level of genetic exchange that has taken place between the two breeds overtime. The present information could be complemented with genetic analyses geared towards designing appropriate breeding and selection strategies.

Abstract: Two hundred and forty four (244) West African Dwarf (WAD) Goats comprising one hundred and sixty (160) females and eighty-four (84) males in five (5) age groups in years (0 - 1, 1 - 2, 2 - 3, 3 - 4 and 4 - 5) for female and two (2) age groups also in years (0 - 1 and 1 - 2) for males were investigated. The aim was to document the body characteristics of the WAD goats in the deciduous forest of Southwest Nigeria. Results showed that the body weights (BDW) for female and male goats averaged 5.97, 10.59, 14.59, 19.23, 20.06 males; 4.33 and 7.55 kg females respectively. The body linear measurements for male and female goats varied between 33.70 and 39.58 cm, 28.98 and 31.50 cm, 25.68 and 30.49 cm, 28.94 and 34.73 cm and 6.47 and 7.72 cm for male goats and 41.53 and 59.51 cm, 37.07 and 53.55 cm, 31.30 and 45.22 cm, 37.08 and 50.23 cm, 9.06 and 13.08 cm for female goats for heart girth (HTG), body length (BDL), height at wither (HTW), rump height (RPH) and sacral pelvic width (SPW), respectively. Age significantly (P 1 and 1 - 2 years, sex significantly (P be predicted accurately from heart girth, sacral pelvic width, body length, wither height and rump height.