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Body dimensions of Nigerian cattle, sheep and goats

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2010

S. J. G. Hall
S. J. G. Hall
Affiliation:
Research Group in Mammalian Ecology and Reproduction, Physiological Laboratory, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EG
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Abstract

One hundred and thirty-six multiparous cows, 63 goats and 71 sheep were measured in breeding flocks and herds in Nigeria. The humped cattle breeds, and the large-bodied, humpless Kuri, are narrow-bodied and tall in relation to their length when compared with British breeds. Pelvic dimensions are small. The sheep and goats native to the coastal and middle belts (the West African Dwarf breeds) are miniature versions of those found in the north. Neither appears to be achondroplasic but dwarfing seems to have proceeded differently in the two species in that the adult West African Dwarf goat is similar in its relative body proportions to the adult northern goat, implying a proportional miniaturization. The West African Dwarf sheep appears to be a neotenous form with body proportions similar to those of an immature sheep.

Keywords

body measurementsconformationdwarfismdystociaNigeria
Type
Research Article
Information
Animal Production , Volume 53 , Issue 1 , August 1991 , pp. 61 - 69
Copyright
Copyright © British Society of Animal Science 1991

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