Physiological response of local (West African Dwarf) and adapted Switzerland (White Bornu) goat breed to varied climatic conditions in South-South Nigeria

Abstract

A comparative study was carried out to compare performance and adaptation of two goats genotypes raised in Nigeria, 20 females (10 local and 10 white Bornu x local) were used in this experiment. During the late raining season the goats were monitored for the following parameters: Body Weight (BW),rectal temperature (RT), Body temperature (BT),skin temperature (ST),Respiratory Rate (RR)and Heart Rate(HR)as well as the air temperature (R.T), Body temperature (B.T), Skin temperature (S.T),  Respiratory Rate (R.R), And Heat Rate (HR) as well as the air temperature (AT), in the pens in the morning (MR), and afternoon (AR), from June to August, the crossbred (White Borne X West African Dwarf) goats showed a significant gain ; the live weight f1was superior to the local goats at the end of the experiment. The physiological response during the AR was significantly superior to MR for all parameters. The local goats achieve the highest values of BT and ST during the experiment. On average, the physiological rhythms (RR and HR) were higher in crossbred than the local goats. In conclusion, crossbred goats show to be at risk to environmental stress condition in southern Nigeria.