Morphological characterization of Arab and Oromo goats in northwestern Ethiopia: implications for community-based breeding programs

Abstract Background: An exploratory field research was conducted in Northwestern Ethiopia, to characterize the morphological features of Arab and Oromo goat populations as a first step to design breeding programs. Ten qualitative and nine quantitative traits were considered from 747 randomly selected goats. All data collected during the study period were analyzed using R statistical software, version 3.5.2, 2018. Results: Plain white coat color was predominantly observed in Arab goats (33.72%) while plain brown (deep and light) coat color was the most frequent in Oromo goats (27.81%). The morphometric measurements indicated that Oromo goats have significantly (P < 0.001) higher body weight and linear body measurements than Arab goats. Positive, strong and highly significant (P < 0.001) correlations were obtained between body weight and most of the body measurements in both goat populations. The highest correlation coefficients of chest girth with body weight for Arab (r = 0.95) and Oromo (r = 0.92) goat populations demonstrated a strong association between these variables. Live body weight could be predicted with regression equations of y = -33.65 + 0.89x for Arab goats (R2 = 90) and y = -37.55 + 0.94x for Oromo goats (R2 = 85), where y and x are body weight and chest girth, respectively, in these goat types. Conclusions: The morphological variations obtained in this study could be complemented by performance data and molecular characterization using DNA markers to guide the overall goat conservation and formulation of appropriate breeding and selection strategies.