Genetic Evaluation of Body Condition Score, Reproductive Performance and Blood Parameters in Shami Goat

Volume 26, Issue 2
Spring 2026
Pages 178-193

Document Type : Articles

Authors

1 Ministry of Agriculture, Iraq

2 Department of Animal Production, College of Agricultural Engineering Sciences, University of Baghdad, Iraq.

3 Office of Agricultural Research, Ministry of Agriculture, Iraq

Abstract
This study was conducted at the Ruminant Research Station of the Ministry of Agriculture using 50 Shami goats aged 2-3 years, aimed at studying the relationship between BCS and reproductive performance and haematological parameters in goats, as well as estimating genetic parameters. Significant differences were recorded in reproductive traits between the different BCS groups, Significant differences were recorded in reproductive traits between the groups of goats with different BCS. The study revealed highly significant differences (P≤0.01) in fertility rate, length of pregnancy, twins rate, barrenness ratio, and reproductive infections ratio. Significant differences (P≤0.05) were also found in both prolificacy and abortion rate. The best performance across these indicators was observed in goats with the highest BCS (3.5-4.5). Regarding blood traits, albumin, LDL cholesterol, and HDL cholesterol were significantly affected by the different BCS groups in the goats. Heritability estimates ranged from 0.06 to 0.28 for reproductive traits and BCS, and from 0.08 to 0.38 for blood traits. The genetic and phenotypic correlations were positive (P≤0.01) at 0.45 between BCS and prolificacy, and ranged from -0.02 to 0.52 between BCS and blood traits. The BLUP values for BCS ranged from -0.139 to 0.492. We conclude that selection based on BCS in breeding programs is feasible based on the average genetic estimates and positive genetic and phenotypic correlations with some studied traits.

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