LIFETIME PERFORMANCE TRAITS AND ESTIMATE OF THEIR GENETIC PARAMETERS IN ZARAIBI GOATS

ABSTRACT
This study included data on 626 Zaraibi does, raised at El-Serw station (Damietta Governorate) of the Ministry of Agriculture and Agrarian Reform during the period 1991-2008. Estimates of least squares means per doe of total number of kids born (TNKB), total number of kids weaned (TNKW), total kilograms born (TKGB), total kilograms weaned (TKGW), total milk yield (TMY), weaning weights (WW) and yearling weights (YW) of kids were 5.82, 5.08, 10.90, 56.21, 887.91,10.7 kg and 23.35kg, respectively. The differences between years of birth were significant on TNKB, TKGB, TMY, WW and YW. Season of birth and type of birth had no significant effect on any of lifetime production traits but had significant effect on WW and YW. The effect of age of dam was not significant on any of studied traits. Partial correlation coefficients between all presented traits in this study are positive and ranged from 0.07 to 0.98. Heritability estimates for TNKB, TKGW, TMY and YW ranged from 0.13 to 0.14, from 0.12 to 0.14, 0.11 to 0.14 and 0.29 to 0.32, respectively, while heritability of WW was estimated as 0.10. Genetic correlations between the studied traits were positive except that between WW and each of TKGW and TMY and ranged from high estimate (0.98) between TMY and each of TNKB and TKGW to low estimate (-0.42) between TMY and WW.