A Study on Phenotypic and Genetic Correlations between Birth Weight and other Growth Traits in Teddy Goat

The Goat (Capra Hiricus) is also called as a poor man’s cow. This Livestock specie is important to poor farming community in the developing world, due to its usefulness due to its higher output as compared to inputs, small size and limited shelter requirements. However, it is highly neglected species and very little research in the past has been carried out on different aspects. The scenario has not changed, although the world goat population has increased. Teddy is one important breed of goat in Pakistan and its genetic potential has not been exploited efficiently due to poor knowledge owing to negligence on the part of research workers. There has no serious effort in the past to explore its genetic composition. The genetic composition of a population can be studied by considering the relative importance of heredity and environmental factors affecting the performance of individuals in that population [1]. The estimates of genetic parameters are helpful in determining the method of selection to predict direct and correlated response to selection, choosing a breeding system to be adopted for future improvement as well as in the estimation of genetic gains [2].