Productive performances of Guadeloupean Creole

goats during the suckling period

G. Alexandre*, G. Aumont, J.C. Mainaud, J. Fleury, M. Naves

Unite de Recherches Zootechniques, INRA Antilles-Guyane, Domaine Duclos-Prise d0Eau, 971710 Petit-Bourg, Guadeloupe

Accepted 6 May 1999

Abstract

Non-genetic sources of variation were investigated for preweaning performance of Creole goats of Guadeloupe using 6375

individual records collected from 1980 to 1994. The analyzed sources of variation were litter size, sex, rank of lactation, year and

season of kiddings. Age at ®rst kidding averaged 17.2�3.1 months and the mean kidding interval was 8.5�1.2 months. Litter size

(LS) at birth, during suckling and at weaning were 2.25, 2.05 and 1.95 kids per doe, respectively. LS at birth ranged from 1.7 kids at

®rst to 2.4 kids at sixth kidding. Body weights at birth (BW) and at weaning (WW) (for an average age of 82�15 days) were

1.73�0.34 and 7.75�1.76 kg, respectively. BWand WW were 10% and 8% higher for males than for females, respectively. Both

traits were 15% higher (P<0.01) for single than for multiple kids. Daily weight gain from 10 to 30 and from 30 to 70 days of age

were 84.3�25.9 and 65.7�24.1 g, respectively. Daily weight gain from 10 to 30 days of age (data adjusted for birthweight) varied

from 95 g for single kids to less than 70 g for multiples (P<0.01), and from 91 g for males to 86 g for females, respectively

(P<0.01). Kids' preweaning mortality averaged 13.6%, 60% of which occurred from birth to 15 days post-partum. It increased

with LS and was 5% higher (P<0.01) for males than for females. # 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Creole meat goat; Litter size; Growing performance; Mortality rate; Guadeloupe

1. Introduction

In Guadeloupe, meat productive abilities of the

native goats in intensive grazing systems have been

investigated since 1980. The local meat breed, named

Creole derived from the West African dwarf goat

(Pepin, 1994). This population has evolved naturally

through adaptation to agro-ecological conditions and

are mainly raised in suckling system for meat produc-

tion (Alexandre et al., 1991). These systems are based

upon good reproductive and maternal qualities of the

does, as it was stated for small ruminants by Peart in

1981.

The assessment of production potential of a breed is

the ®rst phase of an improvement research and devel-

opment program (Steinbach, 1987). It requires large

number of animals raised over several years and under

controlled management. Data on individual reproduc-

tive and productive performances of Creole goats have

been merged in a data base and provided the basis for

estimating ¯ock performance and phenotypic varia-

tion of traits. The purpose of this study is to estimate

the non-genetic effects of sources of variation on

reproductive traits, mortality rate and growing perfor-

mances of Creole goats in Guadeloupe.

Small Ruminant Research 34 (1999) 155±160

*Corresponding author. Tel.: +590-255-933; fax: +590-255-936

E-mail address: alexandre@antilles.inra.fr (G. Alexandre)

0921-4488/99/$ ± see front matter # 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

PII: S 0 9 2 1 - 4 4 8 8 ( 9 9 ) 0 0 0 5 1 - 6

2. Materials and methods

Guadeloupe is a humid tropical island in the Car-

ibbean (16.18 N; 61.68 W). The experimental farm in

which this study was conducted is located in the dry

zone of the country (monthly rainfall lower than

90 mm from December to May). Performance records

were obtained on the experimental ¯ock from 1980 to

1993.

2.1. Animals and their management

The animals were subjected to three kiddings within

2 years mating system. The mating periods were dry

season (DS: mid-March to mid-April), intermediate

season (IS: mid-July to mid-August) and rainy season

(RS: mid-November to mid-December). The kids

were weaned between 60 and 90 days of age. A regular

prophylaxis was applied: treatment against ticks every

2 weeks and anthelminthic drenchings every month

for the suckling kids and every 1.5±2 months for

weaned animals and adults.

2.2. Feeding management

The ¯ock grazed throughout the year on Digitaria

decumbens pastures managed in a rotative system (7

days in and 35 days out per paddock). These pastures

have been irrigated since 1984 and fertilized with

300 kg N/ha/y. Females in reproduction and during

suckling period received a supplementary feeding

based on commercial concentrates (10.3 MJ ME

and 180 g CP/kg of DM) supplied at various levels

depending on experiments.

2.3. Data base and statistical analyses

The data collected on 6375 kids from 1980 to 1993

were used. All experiments dealing with reproduction,

nutrition and management were coded in the data

base. At birth, kids were ear-tagged and identi®ed

for sex and viability. At every reproductive event,

dates and number of the animal concerned were

recorded. Age at ®rst kidding and kiddings intervals

(KI) were then calculated. Fertility rate (FR) was

de®ned as the number of females kidding on total

females joined. Litter size (LS) was de®ned as the

number of total born kids per kidding doe. Mortality

rates (MR) were calculated at birth, from birth to 15

days (MR 0±15), from 15 to 70 days (MR 15±70) and

from birth to weaning as proportion of the number of

total kids died during the given period to the total

number of kids present at the beginning of the period.

Kids were weighed at birth, then every 2 or 4 weeks

and at weaning. Individual live weights were used to

estimate weight at ®xed ages: 10 days (LW10), 30

days (LW30) and 70 days (LW70). The daily weight

gain between birth weight and LW10 (DWG 0±10);

between LW10 and LW30 (DWG 10±30); between

LW30 and LW70 (DWG 30±70) and between LW10

and LW70 (DWG 10±70) were calculated.

General linear model (SAS, 1988) procedures were

used to adjust data to the following sources of varia-

tion: year, experiments nested within the year, rank of

lactation, sex, LS at birth, number of suckling kids and

season.

3. Results

3.1. Litter size

Average age at ®rst kidding was 17.2�3.1 months.

Kidding interval was 8.5�1.2 months, 90.5% of which

ranged from 220 to 293 days. The mean FR reached

94�5% (91% and 95% for the primiparous and multi-

parous dams, respectively). The average number of

kids per doe at birth, during suckling and at weaning

were 2.25, 2.05 and 1.95, respectively. It ranged from

1.7 kids for does kidding for the ®rst time to 2.4 kids

for those kidding for the sixth time (Table 1), then it

decreased, up to the 11th kidding. Does weaned 1.39±

2.11 kids from the ®rst to the last ranks of kidding,

respectively.

3.2. Growth and mortality rates

Live weights at birth, at weaning and at different

intervals are presented in Table 2. Signi®cant differ-

ences occurred for all these traits according to LS size

and sex of Creole kids. The DWG 10±30 and DWG

30±70 were 84.3�25.9 and 65.7�24.1 g, respectively.

Kids' preweaning mortality averaged 13.6%, 60%

of which occurred from birth to 15 days post-partum

(Table 2). It increased with LS and was 5% higher

(P<0.01) for males than for females. MR was higher

156 G. Alexandre et al. / Small Ruminant Research 34 (1999) 155±160

(P<0.01) for primiparous does than for multiparous:

25.3% vs 13.2% (Table 1).

3.3. Kidding season effects

Season was a signi®cant source of variation of LS,

®xed age-LW, DWG and MR (Table 3). DWG from

birth to weaning declined signi®cantly during the

rainy season (6 or 7 g less compared to the other

seasons), while preweaning MR increased signi®ca-

tively (P<0.01) (12±8% points more than for DS and

IS seasons, respectively).

4. Discussion

4.1. Reproductive performances

The buck effect, inducing oestrus and ovulatory

activities, is very ef®cient for Creole goat in our

conditions as it was ®rst stated by Chemineau

(1987). KI are short and regular allowing an intensive

reproduction management: high kiddings frequency (3

kiddings within 2 years). The FR is higher than 80%, a

level reported only for a few tropical breeds such as for

the West African dwarf goats in Africa, the Kambing

Katjang in Asia (Devendra and Burns, 1983), the Thai

goat reared under intensive feeding (Kochapakdee

et al., 1994), the Criollo of Venezuela (Gonzalez-

Stagnaro, 1983) and Nubian goats in Northern Mexico

(Mellado et al., 1991). The proli®cacy rate (up to 2.25

kids/kidding) is higher than for other native or tropical

breeds reared in Latin America (Gonzalez-Stagnaro,

1983), for Nubian goats in Mexico (Mellado et al.,

1991) and for crossbred Mexican goats (Montaldo

et al., 1995). Our value is similar or higher than the

LS reported (1.93±2.25) for the Boer goat by Casey

and Van Niekerk (1988).

4.2. Growing performances

The low BW of Creole goats is related to the small

size of this hardy breed (Devendra and Burns, 1983)

and to their relatively large LS at birth. Classical

Table 1

Least square means of fertility rate (%), litter size at birth (number of kids per doe) preweaning mortality rate (MR, %), live weight (kg) and

daily weight gain at different intervals of the Creole goat reared in intensive grazing systems in Guadeloupe (FWI) according to rank of

kidding

Variable Rank of kidding

1 2 3 and 4 �5 SE

Number of kids per rank 1138 1122 1809 2306

Fertility rate (%) 91.0a 91.4a 94.1b 95.7b 4.59

Litter size at birth 1.74a 1.96b 2.27c 2.03b 0.14

Mortality rate (%)

MR 0±15 20.2a 5.7b 8.1c 6.5b 0.58

MR B-W 25.3a 9.8b 15.1c 12.7d 1.72

Live weight (kg)

At birth 1.44a 1.64b 1.75c 1.80c 0.01

At weaning 6.84a 7.65b 7.65b 7.98c 0.09

Daily weight gain* (g)

DWG 10±30 78.3a 82.9b 85.2b 90.8c 1.05

DWG 30±70 63.7a 66.6b 68.8b 72.0c 1.13

Rank of kidding 3 and 4: for both 3 and 4 ranks of lactation. Rank of lactation �5: rank of lactation equal or higher than 5 kiddings. SE,

standard error associated with LS means with the smallest number of kids. Mortality rate (MR) from birth to 15 days (MR 0±15) and from

birth to weaning (MR B-W).* Data adjusted for birth weight.a Means with different superscripts within the same row differ significatively (P<0.01).b Means with different superscripts within the same row differ significatively (P<0.01).c Means with different superscripts within the same row differ significatively (P<0.01).

G. Alexandre et al. / Small Ruminant Research 34 (1999) 155±160 157

effects of LS and of sex upon almost all studied

variables were observed, as in other tropical breeds:

the east African in Kenya (Ruvuna et al., 1988) or the

Thai goat (Kochapakdee et al., 1994). The growing

performances were higher or similar than the other

small-sized tropical breeds. For comparison with the

larger breeds, it is necessary to take into account their

higher BW.

Table 2

Least square means of liveweight (LW; kg) at birth and adjusted to fixed age, daily weight gain (DWG; g) and mortality rate before weaning of

suckling Creole kids reared in intensive grazing systems in Guadeloupe (FWI) according to their LS at birth and their sex (n�6375)

Variable Litter size Sex

Single Twins >2* SE Male Female SE

Number of kids 542 3806 2027 3360 3015

Live weight (kg)

At birth 2.16a 1.84b 1.51c 0.02 1.84a 1.66b 0.01

LW 10d 3.10a 2.81b 2.43c 0.21 2.74a 2.58b 0.02

LW 30d 5.32a 4.53b 3.91c 0.36 4.63a 4.21b 0.03

LW 70d 8.09a 6.87b 6.41c 1.00 7.28a 6.57b 0.06

At weaning 9.03a 7.75b 7.31c 0.06 8.21a 7.53b 0.05

Age at weaning (d) 80a 82b 84c 0.68 81a 82b 0.57

Daily weight gain**(g)

DWG 10-30 107a 85b 78c 1.08 91a 86b 0.85

DWG 30-70 77a 63b 59c 1.18 73a 65b 0.96

DWG B-W 84a 70b 58c 0.93 83a 76b 0.78

Mortality rate*** (%)

MR 0-15 1.1a 6.5b 14.2c 0.08 9.8a 6.4b 0.72

MR 15-70 2.4a 4.0b 4.3c 0.27 6.4a 4.4b 0.52

MR B-W 3.5a 10.5b 18.5c 0.63 16.4a 10.8b 1.98

* 2: triplets or more.** aily weight gain (DWG): data adjusted to birth weight; DWG B-W: Daily weight gain from birth to weaning.*** ortality rate (MR) from birth to 15 days (MR 0-15), from 15 to 70 days (MR 15-70) and from birth to weaning (MR B-W).

SE: standard error associated with LS means with the smallest number of kids.a eans with different superscripts within the same row differ significatively (P<0.01).b eans with different superscripts within the same row differ significatively (P<0.01).c eans with different superscripts within the same row differ significatively (P<0.01).

Table 3

Kidding season effects on litter size (kids/kidding), on birth weight (kg), on mortality rate (%) and on daily weight gain (g) from birth to

weaning, of Creole goats reared in intensive grazing systems in Guadeloupe (FWI): least square means for all variables and frequency for

mortality rate (n�6375)

Season

Trait Dry Intermediate Rainy SE

Number of kids 1977 2212 2186

Litter size 2.15a .38b 2.35c 0.18

Birthweight (kg) 1.74a 1.78b 1.74a 0.01

Mortality rate (%) 8.1a 12.4b 20.1c 1.40

DWG B-W* (g) 82a 81a 75b 0.8

* WG B-W: Daily weight gain from birth to weaning.a eans with different superscripts within the same row differ significatively (P<0.01).b eans with different superscripts within the same row differ significatively (P<0.01).c eans with different superscripts within the same row differ significatively (P<0.01).

158 G. Alexandre et al. / Small Ruminant Research 34 (1999) 155±160

Differences between DWG 10±30 and DWG 30±70,

could be explained by variations of the dam's milk

production according to the lactation stages. Daily

milk production of Creole does suckling twins lowered

from 1050 to 800 g/d, before and after the ®rst month

of the suckling period (Alexandre and Aumont, 1996).

The average MR of 14% can be considered as

normal in regards of frequent high levels recorded

for goats in adverse environments (up to 55%; Sher-

man, 1987; Hussain et al., 1995; Aumont et al., 1997).

4.3. Season effects

A signi®cant adverse effect of the rainy season was

recorded on LS, ®xed age-LW, DWG and MR. The

proli®cacy and the birthweight were lower during DS

conditions than during the other seasons. As a matter

of fact, these two traits depend on the end of the

gestation period centered on the rainy season. Our

results contrast with the general conclusions available

in the literature on the positive effect of the rainy

season occurring in dry tropical areas. Reproductive

performances and preweaning growth performances

decrease while MR increases during the humid season

in our intensive grazing system (irrigated pastures and

high stocking rate). Such negative effects of the wet

season were reported for preweaning growing lambs

in similar intensive and irrigated grazing systems by

Mahieu et al. (1997). This suggests a possible negative

effect of the gastro-intestinal parasitism, despite

monthly anthelmintic drenchings. Aumont et al.

(1991) have stated that infestation risk increased with

intensive grazing system including irrigation, heavy

stocking rate and high herbage mass (5±25 times more

than for less intensive conditions).

Nevertheless, all these parameters allow high level

of productivity. The Creole goat can produce 96 kg of

weaned kids during its 6 years-life, i.e., 3.4 times more

than its adult weight. However, it must be noticed that

such levels are dependant on the intensive manage-

ment carried out in our experimental system of pro-

duction.

5. Conclusion

Creole meat goats exhibit good mothering capaci-

ties provided management (prophylaxy and nutrition)

is adequate, which is not very frequent in tropical

conditions. The main non-genetic effects have been

estimated and this allows a well-documented charac-

terization of this native breed. More statistical ana-

lyses are now underway to determine the genetic

parameters of their productive traits in order to de®ne

a breeding improvement program. On the other hand,

this paper points out the importance of environmental

factors such as adverse effects of the rainy season.

Further studies are required to analyze complex graz-

ing systems including pastures and animal manage-

ment, nutritional levels and parasitism incidences.

Finally, there exists scope of improvement for tropical

goat breeders on the base of optimized use of hardy

breed, even if it is suggesting to reduce the input.

Acknowledgements

The authors express thanks to H. Borel, O. Coppry,

V. Dupuy, V. Gartizer, H. Mogne-Mali, D. Renard and

to F. ValleÂe for their collaboration and technical

assistance. They are also grateful to Dr. M.H. Fahmy

for his comments upon the paper.

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