WEIGHT AND LINEAR GROWTH OF THE 3rd GENERATION DOE KIDS OBTAINED FROM CROSSING LOCAL DAIRY GOATS WITH BOER MALE GOATS IN THE ASTRAKHAN REGION

Abstract

In the Russian Federation, including the Stavropol Territory, the shortage of lamb and goat meat is becoming more acute every year. One of the options for solving this problem is the method of absorptive crossing. In order to improve meat qualities, “Agro-Boier” LLC in the Astrakhan Region worked with local aboriginal goats in 2023. In order to conduct the experiment of absorptive crossing, sperm of Boer meat goats was used on the breeding stock of local goats. For the experiment, 35 goats were selected from second-generation crossbreeds. Artificial insemination was carried out on November 15 with sperm of a Boer goat of outbred selection. The growth and development parameters of the resulting third-generation crossbreeds were studied in 2024. The live weight of the doe kids at 60 days increased by 4,06 times in comparison to the live weight at birth and amounted to 17,04 ± 1,10 kg. At 210 days, the live weight of the doe kids was 44,10±0,95 kg with an average daily gain of 170,00±11,93 g. The results indicate intensive growth and good development of the third-generation crossbred doe kids. With this growth rate, the doe kids can be inseminated at the age of 10 months. The harmonious development of the doe kids is evidenced by the measurements and body indices. In the age period from 0 to 210 days, the doe kids increased their height at the withers by 47,4%, the oblique body length increased by 56,7%, the chest depth in doe kids – by 93,3%, the chest width – by 122,9%, the chest girth index – by 79,0%. The legginess and pelvic-thoracic indices decreased by 9,82 and 23,82 abs. %, the chest index increased by 9.75 abs. %, the blockiness index – by 13,11 abs. %; the massiveness index – by 19,34 abs. %. At each specific age, the body indices corresponded to zootechnical standards. The crossbred doe kids (B x LD) of the third generation in the process of growth and development were characterized by pronounced meat qualities, which were inherent with the Boer breed (deep wide chest, elongated body, arched face, hanging long ears).