Abstract

Goat being low maintenance, resilient livestock for tough times plays a significant role for small and marginal farmers and landless labourers particularly in the rainfed areas where crop production is uncertain and rearing large animals is restricted due to acute scarcity of feed and fodder. Goat husbandry has to be addressed with priority not only for rural development but also for its contribution towards the rural economic upliftment. The data of 10148 kids born during the period 2008 to 2019 maintained at farmers’ fields at the different districts of West Bengal were analyzed. The heritability, phenotypic and genotypic correlation were evaluated for the body weight at birth, 3, 6, 9 and 12 months of age. The heritability estimates of birth weight, 3, 6, 9 and 12 months body weight in the present study were 0.515 ± 0.507, 0.247 ± 0.169, 0.325 ± 0.548, 0.511 ± 0.322 and 0.311 ± 0.209, respectively. The genetic and phenotypic correlations between body weights at different ages were positive except at birth. Positive genetic correlations among the body weight traits suggested that the kids at 3 months age and 6 months age can be used to bring about improvement at 12 months age.

Keywords : Black Bengal goat, Genetic parameter, Genetic correlation, Growth traits, heritability, Phenotypic correlation