Reproductive performance of Korean native goats under natural and intensive conditions

This study was conducted to compare the reproductive performance of Korean native goats (KNG) under range (n = 199) and intensive (n = 269) conditions. Ages at first kidding were 412.1±32.7 and 382.0±25.2 days, with the mean kidding interval being 207.8±1.7 and 211.6±2.7 days under range and intensive environments, respectively. The percentage of single, twins, triplets and quadruplets born were 40.6, 50.4, 8.0 and 1.0% under range and 33.8, 54.4, 11.4 and 0.4% under intensive environments, respectively. The mean litter sizes were 1.69±0.03 and 1.78±0.16 at birth and 1.31±0.03 (77.5%) and 1.52±0.17 (85.4%) at weaning for the range and intensive groups, respectively. The management system affected the reproductive performance of the KNG does, especially, the age at first kidding and litter size at weaning which were higher under intensive conditions. The kidding interval, birth type and litter size at birth were not influenced by rearing environment. The reproductive performance of KNG obtained in this study was higher than those found in the other breeds such as Saanen, Alpine and Anglo-Nubian. However, it agrees with the results obtained in the Boer goats. © 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.