Morphological comparison between Begait and Maefur goat types in Tigray, Northern Ethiopia

This research aimed to evaluate the morphological variations of Maefur and Begait goats for use in the local goat selection program. Purposive and simple random sampling techniques were used. One hundred forty-one households (70 in Kafta Humera and 71 in Erob district) were selected to address the required animal sample size. Data were collected from randomly selected 614 goats (341 Begait, and 273 Maefur). The sampled goats were grouped into four age and two sex groups. χ2 test and GLM were used. The results indicated that Maefur goats were characterized by lateral ear (95.1%); concave face (54.9%); straight (74.6%) and spiral horn (16.2%), and medium body shape (71.8%), while Begait goats were characterized by dropping ear (98.6%), convex face (70%) and leggy body shape (98.6%). The Begait goats were superior (p < 0.05) at body weight (32.2 kg), height at the withers (71.3 cm), height at the rumps (72.8 cm), body length (65.6 cm), head length (23.7 cm), ear length (20.7 cm), and neck length (27.0 cm) than Maefur goats. The Maefur goats were also superior (p < 0.05) at chest width (28.5 cm), horn length (15.8 cm), and neck circumference (35 cm) than Begait goats. In conclusion, Begait and Maefur goats were morphologically distinguishable from each other.