Breeding practices and trait preferences of goat keepers at Lepelle-Nkumpi Local Municipality, South Africa: implication for the design of breeding programmes

Identification of breeding practices and trait preferences by livestock keepers for the selection of breeding animals to be parents of the next generations is the crucial step to the successful implementation of community-based breeding program (CBBPs). The study aimed to detect breeding practices and trait preferences by farmers at Lepelle-Nkumpi Local Municipality, South Africa to determine their relevance in establishing a CBBP. A well-structured questionnaire was designed and administered to 183 randomly selected goat keepers from four villages. Chi-square statistics were used to compare categorical variables among villages. Socio-economic factors and reasons for keeping goats were not significantly different (P > 0.05) between the four villages. Methods of controlling mating, reasons for not controlling mating, keeping breeding bucks, source of breeding bucks, reasons for culling, and culling methods were significantly different (P < 0.05) among villages. The most common trait preferences of goat keepers among the surveyed villages were twinning ability, mothering ability, and body size in breeding does, while in breeding bucks were mating ability, growth rate, and body size. The results from this study are useful for designing CBBPs for goat production in the communal areas of Lepelle-Nkumpi Local Municipality.