Assessment of Nilotic goat’s Management System in Upper Nile State: A case Study-Malakal Town

Abstract

The present study summarises the results of the survey on livestock management that were intended to formulate an integrated rural development plan for the Malakal area. An extensive survey of the literature has revealed a total lack of information’s on the Nilotic goat in the completely Malakal area. This study was intended to obtain some information on herd structure, population size, breed, managerial practices and the production parameters, reproduction, socio-economic impacts and constrains of the Nilotic goats in the Malakal area. The major livestock species in the study area were goats, sheep, and cattle. At present, most livestock in Malakal area are kept extensively under traditional management and have acquired knowledge of livestock keeping through field experiences. This study was based on materials and methods to evaluate the approach to analyze the system of management, performance of Nilotic goats at their natural habitat and constraints of Nilotic goats raising in the area of study. The research involves collection of primary data and secondary data on the various parameters through direct field surveys using questionnaire, interviews and participatory observations. Means, standard error of means for tested quantitative traits and by Chisquare qualitative traits were calculated using STATISTICA software computer program. Study showed that the Nilotic goat is an important meat goat breed in the Malakal part. The native tract of the breed is the Nilotic goats’ district of Malakal. Nilotic goats are small animals, short hair ruff its colour is very variable; most common is a mixture of black and whitish hair. The Nilotic goat flock structure was 17.37 ± 6.66 . The heart girth, body length and height at withers of Nilotic goats at full mouth age were 57.90 ± 3.45 cm, 52.23 ± 2.09 cm and 55.47 ± 2.17 cm respectively in male and 59.73 ± 4.33 cm, 53.80 ± 3.69 cm and 55.93 ± 2.12 cm, respectively in the female. Body weight of Nilotic goats at full mouth age was 24.5 kg. The average age at first mating was 6.0 to 8.2 months and the average age xiv at first kidding was 15.6 months. The survey shows that the Nilotic goat has a sex ratio of male/female 1: 3. Herdsman kept breeding bucks, when available in the herds at all times and exercised no controlled mating. The birth weight of Nilotic goats in the present study is 2.2 ± 0.72 kg for both sexes. The weaning weight at 90 days (3 months) was 7.3 ± 1.79 kg for both sexes. Analysis of the current study is showing the means of mature weight are 17.3 ± 2.8 kg. The management of livestock during the wet season, a few of the respondents kept their animals inside Luaks during the rainy season, while the majority of the respondents do not keep their animals inside cattle-byres during the wet season. During the dry, season that at the end of the rainy season, all the Nilotic tribes take their animals in towards the riverine grazing land (Toich) by late February or early March. Several factors impede the productivity and reproductively of Nilotic goats in Malakal area including feed shortage, animal diseases, low productivity, socioeconomic, marketing and security situation.