THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BODY CONDITION AND AGE IN SAANEN GOAT HERDS AS ECONOMIC FACTORS

MYRTILL GRÁFF, EDIT MIKÓ, KUKOVICS SÁNDOR

Abstract


The authors examined the changes of body condition with increasing age on 5 Saanen goat farms. They examined the body condition with a method based on a system developed by themselves. The scale of BCS is ranging from 0.5-4.5 increasing by 0.5. They registered these data monthly. They tried to find an answer how the body condition changes with the age, and which body condition and which age is best for production. There were 37 ewes on the first farm, 17 on the second, 45 on the third, 17 on the fourth and 80-90 on the fifth.

Based on the examinations we can conclude that the best body conditions were at 2-4 years old animals, after that BCS decreased (r = -0.37; P<0.05). The condition was very different on each farm, which was associated with the feeding. The goats had the best body condition in every age group on farm No.1 (BCS= 2.71-3.08).The most milk was also produced on farm No. 1.


Keywords


goat, body condition, age,

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References


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LUCRĂRI ȘTIINȚIFICE MANAGEMENT AGRICOL

ISSN print 1453-1410
ISSN online 2069-2307
(former ISSN 1453-1410, E-ISSN 2069-2307)

PUBLISHER: AGROPRINT Timisoara, Romania
PAPER ACCESS: Full text articles available for free
FREQUENCY: Annual
PUBLICATION LANGUAGE: English

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Banat`s University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine “King Michael I of Romania” from Timisoara
Faculty of Management and Rural Tourism
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