© 2012 -
At present none of the types of goat available in Uganda are ideal. Local goats are
slow growing and give little milk. The existing milk breeds are adapted to temperate
climates; they have only moderate tolerance for high temperatures and have limited
resistance to local diseases. Similarly the best meat goat -
For this reason we want to develop a new breed which combines the persistent milking character of European dairy breeds with the hardiness of local Ugandan goats. We are focusing on milk because it is economically favoured in much of Uganda. We are not considering a dual purpose breed, because a female that maintains a high body weight will necessarily need higher feed requirements than a thinner goat. However a dual purpose breeding system is feasible.
Most of the milk produced will be for home consumption, which means that there will be no money available for buying feeds, and consequently the goats will largely be fed on green roughage. The result of this is that the diet will support a maximum of 2½ litres of milk a day. So we are not looking for a very big peak production. However, a typical 50% cross peaks at only 1½ litres per day and drops to only ½ litre per day 6 months after delivery. So some improvement in peak yield and a substantial improvement in in the persistence of the lactation is needed. We are looking for around 2½ litres at peak (1 month after delivery) and 1½ litres per day at 6 months. (We do not need to consider much beyond this, because under tropical conditions the does can come on heat at any time of year and the resulting short kidding intervals mean short lactations.)
Goats for meat have a ready market, so farmers will want goats with high fertility
and fast-
A high incidence of twins and triplets would be desirable, but this is difficult to select for because of low heritability. Something which may be easier to select for is a short kidding interval.
As far as meaty conformation goes, it has been explained above that we cannot simultaneously
select for that and for that and for efficiency of milk production (which is critical
on a roughage-
It is difficult to select explicitly for disease resistance. But, survival selects for itself, and high productivity and fast growth are good indicators of health. So implicit selection for disease resistance will occur. If an open herd book is maintained, then there will be a steady influx of disease resistance genes over time.
The long term breeding will be in the hands of farmers groups, and they will select according to what is important to them. This may include skin quality (for leather), temperament, appearance (colour, large or small horns etc.)