Morphometric characterization of Mawri goats in the Wadi Mawr area of northern Al Hudaydah governorate

This study was conducted to describe the phenotypic characteristics of Mawri goats in the Wadi Mawr area. The aim of this study was to characterize this breed via various morphometric traits and body indices. It involved 18 farmers who have a total of 74 heads of Mawri goats of varying sexes and ages. The data were analyzed via the general linear model. In this study, the average age at sexual maturity for males was 11.7 months, whereas the average age at first kidding for does was 15.3 months. The average BW, BL, WH, HG, SW, RW, CC, EL, HL and TL were 29.38 kg, 66.56 cm, 71.58 cm, 67.8 cm, 6.65 cm, 13.86 cm, 7.92 cm, 14.22 cm, 17.59 cm, and 15.50 cm, respectively. The results revealed that live body weight and morphometric traits significantly (P<0.05) increased as the animals aged (from 1st parity to ≥3rd parity). The interaction between sex and age had a significant effect (P < 0.05) on body weight and all morphometric traits, with the exception of ear length and horn length. The strong positive and significant correlation between body weight and heart girth suggests that this variable could provide a good estimate for predicting live body weight in the population. On the basis of the values of the structural indices, the goat populations can be characterized as a dairy type. The average body indices suggest that these animals are longiline, indicating that Mawri goats may have significant genetic potential for dairy production.