Goat reproductive performance as affected by stocking rate on caatinga vegetation in the semiarid Northeast Brazil.
This study was aimed at determining the influence of native goats grazing caatinga under different stocking rates on production either per animal or per unit area. In April 1981, 90 goats were allocated by stratified randomization, on the basis of liveweight, into three treatments with two replications of each. Stocking rates applied were 3.0 (low), 2.0 (moderate) and 1.0 per hectare (high) per doe. Kids were removed from the plots at weaning (112) days). Does were continously exposed for mating throughout the 3-year experimental period. Results show no evidence of any effect of stocking rate on either fertility or fecundity (P > 0.05). Neam values for kids weaned per kid born were also similar for all treatment groups (P > 0.05). Number of kids weaned per doe exposed increeased with decrease in stocking rates ( P < 0.05). At the low stocking rate, 77 percent more kids were weaned than at the high one. When performance was expressed per unit area of land, 70 porcent more kids were weaned at the high stocking group than at the low one ( P < 0.05). Such stocking rates are likely to increase the goat raisers' ability to withstand drought without adversely affecting profits, since most of them continue to stock caatinga at rates heavier than those.
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Parte de livro biblioteca |
| Language: | English eng |
| Published: |
1996-07-04
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| Subjects: | Semi-arido, Nordeste, Goat, Northeast, Semi-arid region, Caatinga, Caprino, Produção Animal, Reprodução, Vegetação, animal production, reproduction, vegetation, |
| Online Access: | http://www.alice.cnptia.embrapa.br/alice/handle/doc/132210 |
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