Indirect Selection Amongst Small Scale Holders of West African Dwarf (WAD) Goats Based on Coat Pigmentation and Wattle Types in Ogbomoso, Nigeria

A research study was carried out on the indirect selection efforts amongst small scale holders of West African Dwarf (WAD) goats based on coat pigmentation and wattle types in Ogbomoso, Nigeria using personal interviews and structured questionnaires given using simple random on-farm techniques. The questionnaires were focused on the ownership distribution, preferred pigmentation and wattle types, disease susceptibility, death status, kidding status and market sales regarding coat pigmentation and wattle types. The questionnaires revealed that WAD goats with black pigmentation and two wattles had the highest ownership distribution, most preferred and better priced. It further revealed that black goats were highly diseased and died more, although this could be as a result of the preponderance of black goats in the study area. However, the respondents revealed that goats with two wattles were not easily susceptible to disease and lower deaths were often recorded. This showed that indirect selection of WAD goats based on coat pigmentation and wattle type is constantly going on amongst the small scale holders of WAD goats and this could be utilized for the breed genetic improvement.