Effect of Coat Color and Wattle Genes on the Morphometric Characteristics and Scrotal Dimensions of Traditionally Reared West African Dwarf (WAD) Bucks
2011
Adedeji, T.A. | Ozoje, M.O. | Peters, S.O. | Ojedapo, LO | Sanusi, O.A.
Pleiotropic effect of coat color and wattle genes on the morphometric characteristics and scrotal dimensions of five hundred and ten traditionally reared West African Dwarf (WAD) bucks were studied on-farm using purposive sampling technique. The parameters measured include, bodyweight, body length, height-at-wither, chest girth, sacral pelvic width, scrotal length and scrotal circumference. Data obtained were corrected for age effect and analyzed for the fixed effect of coat color and wattle genes using General Linear Model procedure of SAS (2003). Body weight (BDW), body length (BDL), height-at-wither (HATW), chest girth (CGTH), sacral pelvic width (SAPW) and scrotal dimension (SD) were significantly (P < 0.05) influenced by coat color genes. Brown bucks with white markings (aabbss) had the highest values of BDW, BDL, HATW, CGTH, SAPW and scrotal length while Bezoar (Aᵇᶻ) bucks had the widest scrotum diameter. The interactions of coat color × wattle genes significantly influenced (P < 0.01) scrotal parameters. The highest scrotal length and circumference were observed in the non-wattle brown bucks with white markings respectively. The results therefore established that the adaptive potentials of WA D bucks could be genetically improved using qualitative trait loci as criteria for selection.
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