Assessment on rearing and husbandry practices of indigenous goats in North Shewa Zone, Amhara Region, Ethiopia

Figures & data

Figure 1. Map of Ethiopia, North Shewa, Basona-Worena, Berehet and Minjar-Shenkora district.

Table 1. The contribution of farming and non-farming activities for the source of food and cash income.

Importance	Levels	Berehet				Basona-Worena				Minjar-Shenkora
		R1	R2	R3	Index	R1	R2	R3	Index	R1	R2	R3	Index
Food source	Crop	65	7	0	0.73	67	5	0	0.72	70	2	0	0.81
	Livestock	4	12	14	0.17	1	16	24	0.20	0	6	17	0.11
	Trading	2	3	12	0.08	0	5	13	0.07	2	2	10	0.07
Cash income	Crop	55	17	0	0.49	32	37	0	0.45	48	21	3	0.48
	Livestock	17	49	6	0.38	40	24	6	0.46	21	35	4	0.35
	Trading	1	6	11	0.06	0	7	14	0.05	1	5	8	0.05
	Daily labour	0	2	7	0.02	0	1	5	0.02	0	6	14	0.06
	Charcoal & fuel wood	0	2	10	0.03	0	0	2	0.005	0	2	14	0.04

Note: R1, R2 and R3 = rank 1, 2 and 3, respectively. Index = sum of (3 X activity ranked first + 2 X activity ranked second + 1 X activity ranked third) for each contribution of work divided by the sum of (3 X activity first + 2 activity ranked second + 1 X activity ranked third) for all work in all districts.

Table 2. Livestock holding per household.

Livestock	Berehet	Basona-Worena	Minjar-Shenkora	Overall
	Mean ± SD	Mean ± SD	Mean ± SD	Mean ± SD
Goat	16.80^a± 10.95	9.80^b± 3.94	16.60^a± 11.36	14.40 ± 9.94
Sheep	4.71^b± 1.75	7.60^a± 2.67	4.90^b± 2.30	5.90 ± 2.68
Cattle	6.43^a± 2.43	3.90^b± 1.22	6.08^a± 2.16	5.47 ± 2.29
Chicken	7.89^a± 3.02	5.92^b± 2.02	8.88^a± 3.72	7.59 ± 3.25
Donkey	1.32 ± .61	1.13 ± .34	1.29 ± .46	1.25 ± .49

Note: SD = standard deviation.

Table 3. The flock structure of goats.

Flock structure	Berehet	Basona-Worena	Minjar-Shenkora	Overall
	Mean ± SD	Mean ± SD	Mean ± SD	Mean ± SD
Goat flock	16.80^a± 10.95	9.80^b± 3.94	16.60^a± 11.36	14.40 ± 9.94
Kids (<6 months)	2.9^a± 1.5	1.6^b± 0.6	2.6^a± 1.4	2.4 ± 1.4
Male kid (6–12 months)	2.0^a± 1.3	1.3^b± 0.5	1.8^a± 1.2	1.7 ± 1.1
Female kid (6–12 months)	2.6^a± 1.8	1.5^b± 0.7	2.8^a± 2.0	2.3 ± 1.7
Buck (>1year)	2.1^a± 1.3	1.2^b± 0.4	1.9^a± 1.0	1.7 ± 1.0
Doe (>1year)	5.4^a± 4.3	2.7^b± 1.1	5.7^a± 4.8	4.6 ± .4.0
Castrated	1.8 ± 0.9	1.5 ± 0.6	1.8 ± 0.8	1.7 ± 0.8

Note: SD = Standard deviation.

Table 4. The purpose of keeping goat.

Purpose	Berehet				Basona-Worena				Minjar-Shenkora
	r1	r2	r3	Index	r1	r2	r3	Index	r1	r2	r3	Index
Income	43	23	4	0.41	55	17	0	0.56	41	26	5	0.42
Saving	5	11	24	0.14	1	6	10	0.07	7	8	22	0.13
Meat	20	27	5	0.27	14	18	5	0.23	22	28	11	0.31
Ceremony	4	5	11	0.07	2	4	6	0.05	2	6	10	0.06
Skin	0	2	9	0.03	0	1	6	0.02	0	0	7	0.01
Manure	0	4	14	0.05	0	2	11	0.04	0	3	14	0.04
Gift	0	0	3	0.006	0	0	2	0.005	0	0	2	0.004

Note: R1, R2 and R3 = rank 1, 2 and 3, respectively. Index = sum of (3 X purpose of keeping goat ranked first + 2 X purpose of keeping goat ranked second + 1 X purpose of keeping goat ranked third) given for each district divided by the sum of (3 X purpose of keeping goat first + 2 X purpose of keeping goat ranked second + 1 X purpose of keeping goat ranked third) for all districts.

Table 5. Source of feed during the dry and the wet season.

Feed source		Berehet				Basona-Worena				Minjar-Shenkora
		R1	R2	R3	Index	R1	R2	R3	Index	R1	R2	R3	Index
Dry season	Natural pasture	23	42	0	0.38	24	41	0	0.40	17	42	0	0.36
	Shrubs	49	23	0	0.49	48	23	0	0.44	55	17	0	0.52
	Crop residue	0	3	15	0.05	0	0	21	0.06	0	3	11	0.04
	Crop aftermath	0	4	7	0.04	0	2	14	0.07	0	1	3	0.01
	Concentrate	0	0	11	0.03		0	6	0.01	0	0	21	0.05
Wet season	Natural pasture	58	14	0	0.56	54	18	0	0.53	55	17	0	0.55
	Shrubs	13	46	0	0.36	16	48	0	0.38	17	46	0	0.40
	Fallow land	0	6	14	0.07	0	5	20	0.08	0	2	11	0.04

Note: R1, R2 and R3 = rank 1, 2 and 3, respectively. Index = sum of (3 X source of feed ranked first + 2 X source of feed ranked second + 1 X source of feed ranked third) given for each district divided by the sum of (3 X source of feed ranked first + 2 X source of feed ranked second + 1 X source of feed ranked third) for all districts.

Figure 2. Grazing practice.

Table 6. Grazing method practiced.

Grazing practice	Berehet				Basona-Worena				Minjar-Shenkora
	DS		WS		DS		WS		DS		WS
	N	%	N	%	N	%	N	%	N	%	N	%
Free grazing	59	81.9	15	20.8	48	67.7	3	4.2	57	79.2	13	18.1
Herded	7	9.7	44	61.1	22	30.6	64	88.9	10	13.9	48	66.7
Rotational grazing	6	8.3	13	18.1	2	2.8	4	5.6	5	6.9	11	15.3

Note: DS = Dry Season, WS = Wet Season, N = the number of households, % = percentage.

Figure 3. Herding practice.

Table 7. Way of goat herding practice.

Way of herding practice		Berehet		Basona-Worena		Minjar-Shenkora		Overall
		N	%	N	%	N	%	N	%
Goat flock is herded	With sheep	17	23.6	26	36.1	11	15.3	54	25.0
	With cattle	10	13.9	15	20.8	16	22.2	41	19.0
	With equine	3	4.2	6	8.3	4	5.6	13	6.0
	Goats herded Separately	14	19.4	5	6.9	11	15.3	30	13.9
	All herded together	28	38.9	20	27.8	30	41.7	78	36.1
Way of herding	Goat of a HH herded together	28	38.9	48	66.7	25	34.7	101	46.8
	Goats >1 HH herded together	44	61.1	24	33.3	47	65.3	115	53.2

Note: HH = household.

Figure 4. The source of water.

Table 8. Source and quality of water for goats.

Source of water		Berehet		Basona-Worena		Minjar-Shenkora		Overall
		N	%	N	%	N	%	N	%
Dry season	River	43	59.7	41	56.9	42	58.3	126	58.3
	Pond	8	11.1	0	0.0	4	5.6	12	5.6
	Pipe water	8	11.1	4	5.6	10	13.9	22	10.2
	Spring	13	18.1	27	37.5	16	22.2	56	25.9
Wet season	River	31	43.1	37	51.4	34	47.2	102	47.2
	Pond	5	6.9	0	0.0	3	4.2	8	3.7
	Spring	24	33.3	30	41.7	21	29.2	75	34.7
	Rain water	12	16.7	5	6.9	14	19.4	31	14.4
Quality of water
Dry season	Clean	49	68.1	65	90.3	53	73.6	167	77.3
	Muddy	7	9.7	4	5.6	5	6.9	16	7.4
	Salty	5	6.9	0	0	4	5.6	9	4.2
	Smelly	11	15.3	3	4.1	10	13.9	24	11.1
Wet season	Clean	29	40.3	15	20.8	21	29.2	65	30.1
	Muddy	43	59.7	57	79.2	51	70.8	151	69.9

Note: N = the number of households, % =  percentage.

Figure 5. The type of house.

Table 9. Type of house and housing material.

Type of house and housing material		Berehet		Basona-Worena		Minjar-Shenkora		Overall
Type of house		N	%	N	%	N	%	N	%
	Family house with roof	0	0	58	80.6	0	0	58	26.9
	Separate house with roof	0	0	5	6.9	0	0	5	2.3
	Paddock (gatta)	47	65.3	0	0	52	72.2	99	45.8
	Verenda	12	16.7	9	12.5	9	12.5	30	13.9
	Wooden or thorny bushes enclosure	13	18.1	0	0	11	15.3	24	11.1
Are goats housed with other animals	Yes	15	20.8	25	34.7	19	26.4	59	27.3
	No	57	79.2	47	65.3	53	73.6	157	72.7
Housing material	Iron sheet	7	9.7	19	26.4	6	8.3	32	14.8
	Grass /bushes	0	0	14	19.4	0	0	14	6.5
	Wood	65	90.3	28	38.9	60	83.3	153	70.8
	Stones	0	0	11	15.3	6	8.3	17	7.9

Note: N = the number of households, % = percentage.

Table 10. Castration practices of goats.

Parameters		Berehet		Basona-Worena		Minjar-Shenkora		Overall		X^2 value
		N	%	N	%	N	%	N	%
Do you castrate	Yes	58	85.3	47	77.0	48	73.8	153	78.9	2.789^ns
	No	10	14.7	14	23.0	17	26.2	41	21.1
Castration reason	Better fattening	41	66.1	50	86.2	37	67.3	128	73.1	8.185^ns
	Control breeding	7	11.3	3	5.2	8	14.5	18	10.3
	Better temperament	14	22.6	5	8.6	10	18.2	29	16.6
Age of castration	6–12 month	5	8.6	7	15.2	3	6.2	15	9.9
	1–2 years	42	72.4	34	73.9	32	66.7	108	71.1	5.489^ns
	>2 years	11	19.0	5	10.9	13	27.1	29	19.1
Castration method	Modern	7	12.1	5	10.6	4	8.3	15	10.5	.394^ns
	Traditional	51	87.9	42	89.4	44	91.7	137	89.5
Do you supplement castrated goat	Yes	43	74.1	38	82.6	34	68.0	115	74.7	2.718^ns
	No	15	25.9	8	17.4	16	32.0	39	25.3

Note: N = No of households; *significant difference at p < 0.05.

Table 11. Breeding buck sources.

Parameter		Berehet		Basona-Worena		Minjar-Shenkora		Overall
		N	%	N	%	N	%	N	%
Do you have a breeding buck	Yes	68	94.4%	61	84.7	65	90.3	194	89.8
	No	4	5.6	11	15.3	7	9.7	22	10.2
Source of breeding buck	Own born	66	91.7	55	76.4	62	86.1	183	84.7
	Bought	6	8.3	17	23.6	10	13.9	33	15.3
Purpose of keeping the buck	Fattening	35	51.5	34	55.7	32	49.2	101	52.1
	Mating	22	32.4	19	31.1	20	30.8	61	31.4
	Socio-cultural	11	16.2	8	13.1	13	20.0	34	16.5
Can you able to identify the sire of the kid	Yes	22	30.6	12	16.7	24	30.6	56	26.9
	No	50	69.4	60	83.3	48	66.7	158	73.1

Table 12. Selection criteria for breeding buck.

Criteria	Berehet				Basona-Worena				Minjar-Shenkora
	R1	R2	R3	Index	R1	R2	R3	Index	R1	R2	R3	Index
Body size/appearance	17	30	5	0.26	21	27	5	0.29	20	32	2	0.30
Colour	5	12	30	0.15	8	11	20	0.16	6	8	27	0.14
Growth rate	53	18	1	0.44	37	26	4	0.40	41	20	8	0.41
Pedigree	0	5	4	0.03	2	3	5	0.04	0	5	11	0.05
Adaptability	3	4	6	0.05	3	4	9	0.06	1	4	6	0.04
Age	2	3	9	0.04	1	2	4	0.02	2	1	5	0.03
Libido	0	2	1	0.01	0	0	3	0.007	0	1	3	0.01

Note: R = rank 1, 2 and 3. Index = sum of (3 X selection criteria ranked first + 2 X selection criteria ranked second + 1 X selection criteria ranked third) for each selection criterion divided by the sum of (3 X selection criteria ranked first + 2 X selection criteria ranked second + 1 X selection criteria ranked third) for all buck selection criteria.

Table 13. Selection criteria for breeding doe.

Criteria	Berehet				Basona-Worena				Minjar-Shenkora
	R1	R2	R3	Index	R1	R2	R3	Index	R1	R2	R3	Index
Body size	15	28	10	0.27	17	23	7	0.27	23	17	10	0.31
Litter size	30	19	7	0.33	36	15	6	0.37	34	11	7	0.35
Pedigree	6	15	9	0.14	10	6	11	0.13	5	13	5	0.12
Kidding interval	3	1	11	0.05	1	5	10	0.06	1	7	10	0.07
Age at sexual maturity	2	11	10	0.09	5	8	11	0.11	4	11	8	0.11
Kid survival	1	7	8	0.06	1	3	7	0.04	1	5	6	0.05
Colour	1	1	12	0.04	2	4	6	0.05	2	1	5	0.03

Note: R = rank 1, 2 and 3. Index = sum of (3 X selection criteria ranked first + 2 X selection criteria ranked second + 1 X selection criteria ranked third) for each selection criterion divided by the sum of (3 X selection criteria ranked first + 2 X selection criteria ranked second + 1 X selection criteria ranked third) for all doe selection criteria.

Table 14. Major goat diseases.

Type of Disease	Local name	Berehet				Basona-Worena				Minjar-Shenkora
		R1	R2	R3	Index	R1	R2	R3	Index	R1	R2	R3	Index
Diarrhea	Qizen	4	15	21	0.15	6	17	14	0.17	7	18	4	0.16
Pasteurellosis	Azore	27	11	4	0.25	30	7	2	0.27	27	2	14	0.26
PPR	Afiret	10	24	2	0.19	1	4	3	0.03	10	20	11	0.21
CCPP	Ankert	5	2	11	0.06	2	1	2	0.02	1	7	3	0.05
Fasciolosis	Berer	0	0	0	0	12	23	8	0.23	0	0	0	0
Antrax	Qurba	0	0	1	0.002	0	1	5	0.01	0	0	2	0.005
Shot pox	Agurebrib	20	4	10	0.18	7	11	9	0.13	19	2	5	0.17
Mange mite	Ekeki	5	16	12	0.14	3	5	16	0.09	5	17	1	0.13

Note: R = rank 1, 2 and 3. Index = sum of (3 X disease ranked first + 2 X disease ranked second + 1 X disease ranked third) for each disease divided by the sum of (3 X disease ranked first + 2 X disease ranked second + 1 X disease ranked third) for all diseases.

Table 15. The major goat production constraints.

Constraint	Berehet				Basona-Worena				Minjar-Shenkora
	R1	R2	R3	Index	R1	R2	R3	Index	R1	R2	R3	Index
Disease	18	21	13	0.27	6	27	13	0.22	17	24	11	0.25
Lack of feed	30	25	2	0.35	40	21	5	0.45	45	21	5	0.42
Drought	6	8	12	0.11	1	8	10	0.07	4	10	18	0.11
Lack of superior genotype	4	6	8	0.07	2	7	12	0.08	2	3	10	0.05
Predator	1	2	7	0.03	1	5	11	0.06	1	3	8	0.04
Lack of labour	5	11	15	0.12	2	7	14	0.09	2	9	20	0.10
Lack of water	0	1	5	0.01	0	0	0	0.0	1	2	3	0.02

Note: R = rank 1, 2 and 3. Index = sum of (3 X constraint ranked first + 2 X constraint ranked second + 1 X constraint ranked third) for each production constraint divided by the sum of (3 X constraint ranked first + 2 X constraint ranked second + 1 X constraint ranked third) for all production constraints.

Data availability statement

The datasets used to support that the finding of the present study is available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.