Goat Breeds Performance under Different Farming Systems and Conditions of Water Availability in the Karak Governorate, Jordan

This study aims to evaluate the productive performance of local goat breeds under different production systems and conditions of water availability in the Karak Governorate of Jordan. Data collection methods comprised a survey applied to 120 purposively selected goat keepers (59 in mountain zone, MZ and 61 in semi-desert zone, SDZ), group discussions, on-farm measurement of body weight (BW) and evaluation of body condition score (BCS) of goats. Goat keepers perceived Mountain Black (MB) and Dhaiwi (DW) goats to have higher water tolerance than Damascus goats and their crosses (CB). BW of adult does was significantly affected by age (P 0.001), interaction between system and breed (P 0.05) and between age and breed (P 0.01). BCS of adult does was significantly affected by age (P 0.01), breed (P 0.01) and season (P 0.01). BW of growing kids was significantly affected by age (P 0.001), breed (P 0.01), sex (P 0.05), feeding intensity (P 0.01) and interaction between age and sex (P 0.001). In contrast, only the age (P 0.001) of growing kids and watering frequency (P 0.05) significantly affected their BCS. CB does had higher BW and BCS than MB does whereas CB growing kids had lower BW than MB growing kids. The BW of CB for adult does in transhumant system was higher than BW of MB. BCS of adult does was significantly higher during the mid of dry season compared to that during end of dry season. The BCS of growing kids was higher at farms where goats drank once or twice a day than where goats were watered three times or had free water access. It could be concluded that water availability did not limit the body weight development of neither of the breed groups. Further investigations on the direct effects of water deficiency on performance of goat breeds under more extensive production system are recommended.