ABSTRACT
The study was to examine the morphometric characterization of some breeds of goats. The experiment was carried out in group pens at the Aduwawa market, Edo State and at the pens at the University of Benin Farm Project, Benin City, Edo state, Nigeria. A total of sixty goats (having different ages and breeds) were used for the experiment. The age range of goats used were between Ages one to four (1-4) and the breeds used were the West African Dwarf (WAD), Red Sokoto or Maradi, West African Long Legged (WLL), of which twenty animals belong tone breed. The experiment ran from June 2023 to August 2023. Data on body weight and body morphometrics were measured, recorded and subjected to statistical analysis using machine learning. From Table 4.1, it shows that most parameters, such as WH, RH, BL, SH, BD, BC, EL, RW, HW, RL, HL, HG, CB, and MD, exhibit variations across different age groups. For example, WH increases from 36.89 cm (at 1.00 years) to 63.98 cm (at 4.00 years), indicating a growth in wither height as goats increase in age. From the result obtained using ANOVA, the Sigma value is less than 0.05, indicating a significant difference in the morphometric parameters across different age groups. From Appendix 1, from which Table 1 was derived, since p < 0.05, it suggests a significant effect of age on goat parameters.
