Genetic and environmental effects on production of dairy goats under semi-intensive tropical conditions
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15517/am.2025.61142Keywords:
lactation curves, parity number, kidding season, peak productionAbstract
Introduction. The study of factors affecting the productive performance of dairy goats under tropical conditions is essential for optimal resource utilization. Objective. To quantify the impact of genetic and environmental factors affecting the productive performance of dairy goats under semi-intensive tropical conditions. Materials and Methods. The study was conducted at the Finca Experimental Santa Lucía (FESL) of the Universidad Nacional (UNA), Heredia, Costa Rica. The experimental period spanned from January 2007 to December 2023. A total of 15,686 daily milk weighing records were analyzed from 191 dairy goats of Saanen (S) and Saanen×Toggenburg (S×T) crossbreeds. A Generalized Linear Mixed Model was used to evaluate the effect of various predictor variables on daily milk production, and standard lactation curves were fitted for different genetic and environmental conditions using the Wood function. Results. Highly significant effects (p<0.001) of variables such as parity number, year of kidding, lactation week, buck category, number of offspring, season, and month of kidding on milk production were determined. For primiparous goats of S and S×T breeds kidding in the rainy season, daily peak milk productions of 2.46 and 2.54 kg were estimated, reached in weeks 6.4 and 5.9, with persistencies at the end of lactation of 86 % and 84 %, respectively. Conclusions. Being multiparous goats and the availability of feed with higher nutritional content during the rainy season are factors associated with higher milk production. Lactation curves revealed different patterns in milk production between primiparous and multiparous goats, as well as between different kidding seasons and breed types. The study provides valuable information for commercial validation and optimization of themanagement of lactating goats in semi-intensive tropical conditions.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Jorge A. Campos-Alfaro, Bernardo Vargas-Leitón, Andrés H. Alpízar-Naranjo, José E. Padilla-Fallas, M. Isabel Camacho-Cascante
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