title: Prolificacy and Its Relationship with Age, Body Weight, Parity, Previous Litter Size and Body Linear Type Traits in Meat-type Goats.
abstract: Data on age and body weight at breeding, parity, previous litter size, days open and some descriptive body linear traits from 389 meat-type, prolific Black Bengal goats in Tripura State of India, were collected for 3 and 1/2 years (2007 to 2010) and analyzed using logistic regression model. The objectives of the study were i) to evaluate the effect of age and body weight at breeding, parity, previous litter size and days open on litter size of does; and ii) to investigate if body linear type traits influenced litter size in meat-type, prolific goats. The incidence of 68.39% multiple births with a prolificacy rate of 175.07% was recorded. Higher age (>2.69 year), higher parity order (>2.31), more body weight at breeding (>20.5 kg) and larger previous litter size (>1.65) showed an increase likelihood of multiple litter size when compared to single litter size. There was a strong, positive relationship between litter size and various body linear type traits like neck length (>22.78 cm), body length (>54.86 cm), withers height (>48.85 cm), croup height (>50.67 cm), distance between tuber coxae bones (>11.38 cm) and distance between tuber ischii bones (>4.56 cm) for discriminating the goats bearing multiple fetuses from those bearing a single fetus.
authors: College of Fisheries, Central Agricultural University, Lembucherra- 799210, West Tripura, India .
authors: Avijit
authors: A
authors: Haldar
authors: College of Fisheries, Central Agricultural University, Lembucherra- 799210, West Tripura, India .
authors: Prasenjit
authors: P
authors: Pal
authors: College of Fisheries, Central Agricultural University, Lembucherra- 799210, West Tripura, India .
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Datta
authors: College of Fisheries, Central Agricultural University, Lembucherra- 799210, West Tripura, India .
authors: Rajesh
authors: R
authors: Paul
authors: College of Fisheries, Central Agricultural University, Lembucherra- 799210, West Tripura, India .
authors: Saumen K
authors: SK
authors: Pal
authors: Faculty of Agriculture, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Mohanpur, Nadia- 741252, West Bengal, India .
authors: Debasis
authors: D
authors: Majumdar
authors: Faculty of Agriculture, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Mohanpur, Nadia- 741252, West Bengal, India .
authors: Chanchal K
authors: CK
authors: Biswas
authors: Department of Livestock Production Management, West Bengal University of Animal and Fishery Sciences, 37, K. B. Sarani, Kolkata- 700037, West Bengal, India .
authors: Subhransu
authors: S
authors: Pan
keywords: Black Bengal; Goat; Linear Type Traits; Litter Size; Pregnancy; Prolificacy