Chapter II. Reproductive performance of small ruminants in sub-Saharan Africa

Fertility and parturition interval
Prolificacy and twinning rate
Fecundity
Age at first parturition
References for chapter II

Good reproductive performance is a prerequisite for any successful livestock production programme. Undoubtedly, there is no milk if birth does not occur, no meat and fibre if survival cannot be ensured. It is not surprising that above all, natural selection is directed towards fitness or the ability of every creature to survive and to perpetuate its own kind. Where farm resources are severely limited as it is often the case in SSA, reproduction failure is the first sign of decreased productivity. It seems important, therefore, to determine the actual level of reproductive performance and its variation between and within ecozones, breeds and management systems before characteristics of losses which limit that performance are highlighted.

In small ruminants, reproductive efficiency can be measured by fertility, prolificacy, fecundity and survival. These four parameters together with age at first parturition and parturition interval also measure the reproductive performance. They will now be discussed with the exception of survival which will be covered in Chapters III and IV.

Fertility and parturition interval

Fertility is oftentimes used as synonym of prolificacy. As shown in the next section, however, prolificacy is different from fertility though to be prolific an animal must be highly fertile. Devendra and Burns (1970) who defined fertility as the number of services required per conception for the male, observed that the parameter is difficult to measure. Fertility rate is defined as per cent ewes lambing of ewes bred by Sidwell and Miller (1971). Haumesser (1975b) expresses it as per cent does kidding (or ewes lambing) of breeding females in the herd over the period of a year. Dettmers et al. (1976) call it breeding efficiency which they define as a ratio of ewes lambing to ewes exposed. ILCA (1979) expresses it as per cent parturitions per dam per year while Gatenby (1986) defines it as per cent ewes lambing of ewes available for mating. Awotwi and Fynn (1992) express it as the percentage of females giving birth of females exposed to males. Each of these definitions except that of Haumesser (1975b) failed to specify appropriately either the category of female or the period involved or both. A flock fertility rate calculated over a 6-month period is for instance likely to be different from that based on a one year period even when the same number of breeding females are considered. A more accurate definition of fertility is probably the number of parturitions per female of breeding age ² and per specified time period. For sound managerial decision making, annual specification appears to be highly indicated. Where breeding is not organized, as it is the case in most SSA's traditional production systems, the average annual number of females of breeding age actually present in the herd should be used.

² In the continuous breeding system, all females are exposed provided that breeding males are available in the flocks. In the controlled breeding system, only females of breeding age are exposed.

Estimates of fertility for does in SSA are summarized in table 2.1. Overall, they are concentrated between 71.4 per cent for Manny goats of Uganda (Kyeyune-Sendage, 1970) and 160 per cent for the West African Dwarf (WAD) goats in Ghana (Oppong and Yebuah, 1981). Using the scarce data available per ecological zone, the indications are that fertility ranges from 124-155 per cent for the humid zone, 80-124.5 per cent for semi-arid zone, 71.4-160 per cent for sub-humid zone. Estimates are highest in the humid zone for WAD does in Nigeria (Mathewman, 1977), in the semi-arid zone for Sahel does in Niger (Haumesser quoted in Gerbaldi, 1978) and in the sub-humid zone for WAD does in Ghana (Oppong and Yebuah, 1981).

In sheep (Table 2.1), most fertility rates vary from 77.5 to 160 per cent with WAD ewes showing both the highest estimate in Côte d'Ivoire (CNRZ, 1977) and the lowest in Nigeria (Dettmers et al., 1976). Here again, few data are available per ecozone and vary from 77.5 to 160 per cent in the humid zone, 79.1 per cent for Nguni ewes in Mozambique (Makinnon, 1985) to 122 per cent for Mossi ewes in the Semi-arid Burkina Faso (Nianogo, 1992), and from 111 per cent for Yankasa breed to 128.46 per cent for Balami does in the sub-humid Nigeria (Adu and Ngere, 1979). The within ecozone ranges are only indicative. Many of the low fertility rates (lower than 100 per cent) presented may have resulted from serious management problems or failure to define and appropriately specify the parameter.

Table 2.2 shows estimates of parturition interval for does in SSA. In general, these estimates vary from 227.6 days for WAD goats in Côte d'Ivoire (Armbruster, 1988) to 408 days for Landim breed in Mozambique (Wilson et al., 1989; Rocha et al., 1991). In the humid zone, most estimates are between 227.6 and 283 days both for the WAD goats with the lowest estimate obtained in Côte d'Ivoire (Armbruster, 1988) and the highest in Nigeria (Sumberg and Mack, 1985) and in Côte d'Ivoire (Berger, 1979). In the semiarid zone, most data were obtained from does under village management where they range from 238 days for Sudan Desert in Sudan (Wilson, 1982) to 370 days for Zimbabwean Small East African does in Zimbabwe (Nvlovu, 1992). In general, however, the estimates in this zone are between 234 days for station-managed Massakory does (Bertaudière, 1979) and 408 days for still station-managed Landim does in Mozambique (Wilson et al., 1989; Rocha et al., 1991). Available estimates are limited in the other ecozones. They indicate high intervals exceeding 300 days for the highlands and could be between 8 and 11 months in the sub-humid zone.

In sheep (Table 2.2) most parturition intervals are in the range of 213.5 to 373 days. Within this range, they are highest for Landim sheep in the semi-arid Mozambique (Wilson et al., 1989) and lowest for WAD sheep in the humid Côte d'Ivoire (Rombaut and Vlaenderen, 1976). In the humid zone, most estimates vary from 213.5 to 322 days with the highest value obtained for WAD ewes in Nigeria (Mack, 1983; Reynolds and Adeoye, 1985). In the semi-arid zone, intervals are generally between 254 and 373 days with Sahel type sheep in Mali showing the lowest estimate (Wilson, 1982). Estimates obtained under village conditions are mostly in the range of 254 to 366 days in the semi-arid zone and 213.5 to 322 days in the humid zone. Under station management, intervals are between 248 days (Dettmers et al., 1976) and 322 days (Reynolds and Adeoye, 1985) both for WAD ewes in the zone of Nigeria. There is a severe lack of information in the sub-humid and highland zones. However, it is interesting to note that the Kirdi and Mayo-Kebbi breeds of southern sub-humid Chad performed well in view of their average parturition interval of 8 months reported by Guerin (1979).

It appears that fertility in goats and sheep of SSA is rarely reported and that little or no information is available on both fertility and parturition interval in the highlands. Similarly, published reports on parturition interval in the sub-humid areas are scarce. However, there is some evidence suggesting that both parameters may show wide variability within ecological zones due to breed difference and management skills. Parturition interval can be reasonably set in the ranges of 227 to 283 days for WAD goats, 230 to 322 days for WAD sheep with fertility varying from 100-187 per cent in does to 100-160 per cent in ewes. Interestingly, only few data presented here support the well accepted finding that tropical sheep and goats generally produced on the average three lamb/kid crops in two years (Lowe, 1943; Vigo, 1946; Payne and Miles, 1953; Devendra and Burns, 1970). In fact, most does and ewes under uncontrolled breeding management in SSA reproduce at intervals greater than 8 months. Breeds which seem to show the ability for 3 parturitions in 2 years in their natural environment are Sudan Desert (SD), Mayo-Kebbi (MK) and Kirdi (K) goats and, of course, WAD sheep and goats. While more data are needed to confirm this ability in SD, MK and K breeds, evidence was presented which showed that WAD breeds are capable of three or more parturitions in two years (Hill, 1957; Ferguson, 1964; Dettmers et al., 1976; Oppong and Yebuah, 1981). On a research station in Ghana where WAD goats were left free to breed and to forage, Oppong and Yebuah (1981) showed that up to 65 per cent of does gave birth twice in 12 months with parturition intervals ranging from 175 to 183 days. Dettmers et al. (1976) reported individual lambings with 152 and 182 days parturition intervals for WAD ewes in humid Nigeria. There is, therefore, no doubt that WAD sheep and goats are among the most fertile small ruminant breeds in the tropics.

Prolificacy and twinning rate

Prolificacy or litter size is defined as the number of progenies born per parturition (Haumesser, 1975b; Haumesser and Gerbaldi, 1980). Other definitions which specify that the kids/lambs need to be alive at birth may not be appropriate. Average litter size can be calculated on a yearly basis to be consistent with the annual rate of fertility.

Estimates of goat prolificacy in SSA are collated in Table 2.3. They mostly vary from 149 to 187 per cent in the humid zone, 105 to 162 in the semi-arid zone, 118 to 171 per cent in the sub-humid zone and 135 to 175 per cent in the highlands. Overall, SSA's native goats produce litter sizes ranging from 1.05 to 1.87 kid. Lowest records were obtained for WAD does in the humid zone (Reynolds and Adeoye, 1985), Nguni does in the sub-humid zone (Lebbie and Manzini, 1989), Sahel type does in the semi arid zone (ILCA, 1987) and Small East African does in the Highlands (Karua, 1989). Highest records were obtained for WAD goats in the humid zone of Ghana (Otchere and Nimo, 1976), Mayo-Kebbi and Kirdi breeds in the sub-humid zone of Chad (Dumas, 1977; 1980), Landim breed (Makinnon, 1985) followed by Sudan desert does (Wilson, 1982) in the semi-arid zone of Mozambique and Sudan, and Rwandan does in the highlands of Rwanda (Murayi et al., 1987). In the humid zone, estimates obtained at village level are between 149 per cent in Nigeria (Reynolds and Adeoye, 1985) and 162 per cent in Côte d'Ivoire (Armbruster, 1988) for the WAD breed while those found at the station level, albeit limited, seem to be comparatively higher and are above 170 per cent. In the sub-humid and semi-arid zones, most information is obtained at village level and the ranges are those specified earlier for the overall estimates in the zones.

Table 2.3 also shows estimates of prolificacy for ewes in SSA. Most values fall between 101 and 148.7 per cent with Arab sheep in the semi-arid zone of Chad (Dumas, 1980) showing the lowest value and WAD ewes in the sub-humid zone of Togo showing the highest (Amegée, 1978b). In the humid zone, most performances of WAD ewes vary between 110 per cent in Côte d'Ivoire (CNRZ, 1977) and 145.6 per cent in Nigeria (Dettmers et al., 1976). Most estimates obtained in the semi-arid zone are from the family sector and fall between 101 and 116 per cent with Mossi ewes (Nianogo, 1992) showing the highest performance (followed by Sudan Desert ewes). The few estimates available for the sub-humid zone seem to lie between 138.5 per cent for Kirdi ewes in Chad (Dumas, 1980) and 148.7 per cent for WAD ewes in Togo (Amegée, 1978b) though extreme outtier values of 164 and 171 per cent were reported for the Mayo-Kebbi and the Kirdi breeds (Guerin, 1979; Dumas, 1980).

Table 2.4 summarizes the twinning rates for does in SSA. These rates commonly vary from 13.5 per cent for Sahel goats in semi-arid zone of Niger (Wilson and Wagenaar, 1982) to 60.4 per cent for WAD goats in humid zone of Côte d'Ivoire (Armbruster, 1988). The lowest value found in the humid zone was 51.12 per cent (Oppong and Yebuah, 1981). Most records in the sub-humid zone are between 16.4 per cent for Tanzanian native does in Tanzania (Kyomo, 1978) and 59 per cent for WAD breed in Ghana (Oppong and Yebuah, 1981). The highest rates (56.7 and 47.5 per cent) reported in the semi-arid zone were respectively for the Landim in Mozambique (Makinnon, 1985) and the Red Sokoto/Maradi goats in Niger (Gerbaldi, 1978).

Twinning rates among sheep breeds in SSA are also shown in table 2.4. Most estimates are between 4.2 per cent for Sahel type ewes (Wilson and Traore, 1988) and 55 per cent for WAD sheep in the humid zone of Nigeria (Dettmers and Loosly, 1974). Values ranging from 27 per cent (Rombaut and Vlaenderen, 1976; Ademosun, 1973 quoted in Osuagwuh and Akpokodje, 1981) to 55 per cent (Dettmers and Loosly, 1974) are found for WAD breed in the humid zone. In the sub-humid zone, the lowest estimate (6.3 per cent) was recorded for Yankasa breed (Otchere et al., 1987). Apart from the Nguni breed, Sahel type animals seem to show low multiple birth rates in their semi-arid native environment as shown by 4.2 and 4.5 per cent twinning rates reported by Wilson and Traore (1988) and Wilson and Wagenaar (1982), respectively. The 4.2 per cent rate reported by Agyemang et al. (1985) for Ethiopian highland sheep compares very poorly with the higher value of 24 per cent found for the same breed by Mukasa-Mugerwa and Tekelye (1988), indicating a possible error of estimation as regards one or the other value reported.

It appears that prolificacy and twinning are high in many sheep and goats found in SSA, but breed difference exist between and within ecological zones. Sheep in the semi-arid zone have low prolificacy and ewes can be generally considered as single pregnancy bearers. In this zone, although performances of goats are generally higher than those of sheep, the available data presented indicate that only the Landim goats in Mozambique, Red Sokoto of Niger and Nigeria and Sudan Desert goats of Sudan can be considered as prolific breeds. The latter two breeds (ie., Sudan Desert and Red Sokoto) whose prolificacy rates are 156-157 under village conditions with Sokoto does showing 47.5 per cent twinning and 8.5 per cent triplets (Gerbaldi, 1978) may be expected to do well under better management conditions.

Data presented for the sub-humid and humid zones confirm the well accepted findings (FAO, 1980; Hofs et al. 1985; Gatenby, 1986) that WAD breeds are highly prolific and stand up well among the prolific tropical breeds. With records of 59 and 60.4 per cent twinning rate, WAD goats compare well with many well known prolific breeds such as the Kambing Katjang of Malaysia (66 per cent) (Devendra, 1962) and the Barbari in India (69 per cent) (Kaura, 1943) both quoted in Devendra and Burns (1970). This is well illustrated by the fact that, among the pure breeds presented in table 2.5, only the Ma T'ou and Black Bengal outperform WAD goats.

The WAD sheep also compare well with the prolific Priangan of the humid West Java whose twinning rates vary from 25 to 75 per cent (FAO, 1980) and the Black belly sheep with respective twinning and prolificacy estimated of 47 and 209 per cent in Barbados (Patterson, 1978 quoted in FAO, 1980), 33 and 145 per cent in Venezuela (Bodisco et al., 1973), and 48 and 168 per cent in Guyana (FAO, 1980).

Fecundity

Fecundity is defined as the number of offsprings born per female of reproductive age per year. The remarks made earlier on fertility hold true here as it is of paramount importance to specify appropriately the period and the category of female under consideration in order to make sound comparisons.

High fecundity should reflect the performance of a female which exhibits relatively short parturition intervals and is prolific as well since fecundity is a product of fertility and prolificacy (i.e., fecundity = fertility x prolificacy). Certainly, it is more useful to know the level of fecundity than that of fertility and prolificacy (Haumesser, 1975b).

Table 2.6 shows the estimates of fecundity for does in SSA. These estimates mostly range between 65 and 293 per cent with WAD does of the humid zone of Ghana showing the highest value (Buadu, 1972) and White Somali goats of the semi-arid zone of Somalia showing the lowest (Bourzat et., 1992). Available estimates in the humid zone were obtained for WAD breed whose lowest performance was 201 per cent (Sumberg and Mack, 1985). In the semi-arid zone, performances vary from 65 per cent to 181.7 per cent with the highest estimate obtained for Sahel Massakory does in Chad (Bertaudière, 1978 cited in Charray et al., 1980). Records among Sahel type animals in this zone are extremely variable, probably due to genotype and management differences. However, the Massakory type (IEMVT, 1979), the multicolour type (Haumesser quoted in Gerbaldi, 1978) and the Red Sokoto breed have higher performances than the Mossi, the Peul and the Arab types. Little is available on doe fecundity in the highlands. In the sub-humid zone, the few data presented suggest that Kirdi does may have a relatively good potential for high fecundity and may be expected to do well under improved management conditions.

Table 2.6 also shows that in sheep, fecundity is generally lower than in goats as estimates range from 62 per cent for Black-headed Somali ewes in the semi-arid zone of Somali (Bourzat et al., 1992) to 249 per cent in WAD ewes in the humid zone of Nigeria (Dettmers et al., 1976). Estimates, in the humid zone, for the WAD breed are in the range of 115 per cent (Matthewman, 1980) to 249 per cent (Dettmers et al., 1976) in general, and 115 per cent to 208.9 per cent (Armbruster, 1988) under the village management conditions. In the semi-arid zone, estimates are between 62 per cent (Bourzat et al., 1992) and 151.5 per cent (Maiga, 1980). The Peul type sheep, in this zone, generally shows better performances than the arab and the Mossi types. Fecundity in the sub-humid zone varies from 104 per cent for Mossi ewes in Burkina Faso (Dumas and Raymond, 1975) to 165 per cent for Mayo-Kebbi ewes in southern Chad (Dumas, 1980). Overall, animals in the humid zones (WAD essentially) show higher fecundity than those in the semi-arid areas.

It can be concluded that both sheep and goats in the humid zone have high fecundity, that they outperform animals in the other ecological areas and that ewes have a lower fecundity than does within the humid ecological zone. While it is not clear whether does in the sub-humid zone generally have a higher fecundity than those in semi-arid zone, Mayo Kebbi and Kirdi of the sub-humid Chad, Red Sokoto of the semi-arid Niger and Massakory of semi-arid Chad seem likely to have the best potential for high fecundity in the two zones. It is also likely that Kirdi and Mayo-Kebbi ewes have the second highest fecundity after WAD in sub-humid area of SSA.

Age at first parturition

Where breeding males are available in the flocks, age at first parturition is a good indicator of early sexual maturity in does and ewes. It is an economically important trait as greater population turnover and more rapid genetic progress can be obtained when goats and sheep produce their first progenies at an earlier rather than later age. Early maturing females are also known to have a relatively long and fruitful reproductive life. Among the most important parameters affecting age at sexual maturity are genotype and various management components.

Estimates of average age at first parturition for goats of SSA are collated in table 2.7. Most of them are between 303.7 and 555.8 days with Small East African goats of Kenya (Wilson, 1984) showing the poorest performance and Mossi does (Bourzat, 1980) the best. Most data in the humid and sub-humid zones fall between 340 days for Nguni does in Swaziland (Lebbie and Manzini, 1989) and 545 days for WAD does in Nigeria (Most et al., 1982). In the semi-arid zone where most available data were collected under village management conditions, most does tend to produce their first kids between 303.7 and 487 days of age. Estimates under these conditions are lowest for Mossi goats (Bourzat, 1980) and highest for Sahel goats (Wilson and Traore, 1988). It is interesting to note that the Sudan Desert and Nguni does seem to have a good potential for giving birth at very early age as evidenced by their performances of 280 and 262 days reported by Wilson (1982) and Lebbie and Manzini (1989), respectively. Also interesting, at least in the context of identification of problem areas, is the fact that the Kirdi and Mayo-Kebbi of southern sub-humid Chad, presented earlier as breeds of potentially good fecundity and prolificacy, may not have their first kids before 15.5 to 16.5 months of age. Little is known about age at first parturition of goats in the highlands. However, the estimate of 971 days reported by Murayi et al. (1987) for Rwandan goats at the Rwerere research station seems surprisingly high.

In sheep (table 2.7), most estimates of age at first parturition are between 335.5 and 685.47 days with both lowest and highest performances being obtained in the semi-arid zone for Peul type sheep in Burkina Faso (Dumas and Raymond, 1975) and Senegal (Garba, 1986). This may reflect the great diversity within the Peul type sheep breed in the semi-arid area of SSA. Similarly, the WAD breed is predominantly found in the humid zone where most estimates of age at first parturition range from 350.75 (Rombaut and Vlaenderen, 1976) to 638 days (Tuah and Baah, 1985). Here, the data seem to indicate lower estimates (351-492 days) for ewes under village production system than for ewes under station management (408-638 days), which is in line with the early mating due to uncontrolled breeding in such a system. Little is published on age at the first lambing in the sub-humid and highland zones. The few data obtained in these zones indicate that Kirdi and Mayo-Kebbi ewes, like the does of the same breed, may not lamb before 15 and 17 months (Dumas, 1980). These data also indicate that highland sheep may lamb for the first time at a later age of 23.4 and over 24 months (Murayi et al., 1987; Agyemang et al., 1985). However, until more information is made available, it is difficult to conclude that the above poor performances are true characteristics of the underlying breeds.

It appears that the average age at first parturition is variable among small ruminants of SSA and that goats tend to have their first offsprings at earlier age (10-18.5 months) than sheep (11-24 months). More research needs to be done in the sub-humid and highland zones where an extreme lack of information exists. In the humid zone, indications are that WAD does may kid for the first time at 11.8-17.9 months and WAD ewes at 11.5-21 months of age. In the semi-rid zone, does may kid at an earlier age (10-16 months) than sheep (11-24 months).

The above average ages at first parturition tend to fall generally in the ranges of 12-24 months reported for tropical goats by Devendra and Burns (1970) and 11-24 months found for West and Central African ewes by Charray et al., (1980). However, the present review shows that WAD sheep and most goat breeds tend to have their first offsprings before they are two years old. In fact, 61.5 per cent of estimates presented for sheep and 77.4 per cent of those for goats do not exceed 518.5 days, indicating that most female sheep and goats in SSA conceive prior to or at 12 months of age. This means that the unknown age at which progenies are bred for the first time could generally be less than or about twelve months. Thus, for practical purposes, reproductive losses in small ruminants as defined in Chapter I and discussed in Chapters III and IV, will refer to losses from birth until 12 months of age of the offsprings in the rest of the present monograph.

Table 2.1. Some Estimates (%) of Fertility of Does and Ewes in Sub-Saharan Africa

Ecological Zone	Country	Breed	Species	Management	Value	Reference
Humid	Ghana	WAD	Goats	Station	154	Buadu, 1972
Humid	Ghana	WAD	Goats	Station	124	Vohradsky et Sada, 1973 quoted in ILCA, 1983
Humid	Nigeria	WAD	Goats	Village	155	Matthewman, 1977
Humid	Cameroon	WAD	Sheep	Village	9	Branckaert, 1977
Humid	Côte d'Ivoire	WAD	Sheep	Station	94.5	Berger & Ginisty, 1980
Humid	Côte d'Ivoire	WAD	Sheep	Village	160	CNRZ, 1977
Humid	Nigeria	WAD	Sheep	Station	77.5	Dettmers et al., 1976
Humid	Nigeria	WAD	Sheep	Station	145	Dettmers et al., 1976
Humid	Nigeria	WAD	Sheep	Village	115	Matthewman, 1980
Humid	Congo	WAD	Sheep	Village	113.7	Batalou-Mbetanie, 1992
Semi-Arid	Chad	Massakory	Goats	Station	114	IEMVT, 1979
Semi-Arid	Chad	Massakory	Goats	Station	121.6	Bertaudière, cited in IEMVT, 1979
Semi-arid	Mozambique	Landim	Goats	Station	92	Makinnon, 1985
Semi-Arid	Niger	Maradi	Goats	Village	114	Haumesser, 1975b
Semi-Arid	Niger	Sahel	Goats	Village	124.5	Haumesser, cited in Gerbaldi, 1978
Semi-Arid	Niger	Sahel	Goats	Village	123.8	Gerbaldi, 1978
Semi-Arid	Niger	Sahel	Goats	Village	80-98	Gerbaldi, 1978
Semi-Arid	Niger	Uda	Sheep	Village	103-109	Haumesser & Gerbaldi, 1980
Semi-Arid	Burkina Faso	Mossi	Sheep	Station	122	Nianogo, 1992
Semi-Arid	Mozambique	Nguni	Sheep	Station	79.1	Makinnon, 1985
Sub-humid	Ghana	WAD	Goats	Station	160	Oppong & Yebuah, 1981
Sub-humid	Malawi	Malawi	Goats	Station	103	Reynolds, 1979
Sub-humid	Nigeria	WAD	Goats	Station	98.6	Bayer, 1986
Sub-humid	Nigeria	Red Sokoto	Goats	Village	124	Otchere et al., 1987
Sub-humid	Uganda	Manny	Goats	Station	71.4	Kyeyune Sendage, 1970
Sub-humid	Nigeria	Yankasa	Sheep	Station	120	Bayer, 1986
Sub-humid	Nigeria	Balami	Sheep	Village	128.46	Adu & Ngere, 1979
Sub-humid	Nigeria	Uda	Sheep	Village	122.6	Adu & Ngere, 1979
Sub-humid	Nigeria	WAD	Sheep	Village	121.8	Adu & Ngere, 1979
Sub-humid	Nigeria	Yankasa	Sheep	Village	111	Adu & Ngere, 1979
Sub-humid	Nigeria	Yankasa	Sheep	Village	121	Otchere et al., 1987

Table 2.2. Some Estimates (days) of Parturition Interval for Does and Ewes in Sub-Saharan Africa

Ecological Zone	Country	Breed	Species	Management	Value	Reference
Highlands	Cameroon	WAD	Goats	Village	427	Dubois & Hardouin, 1987
Highlands	Rwanda	Rwandan	Goats	Station	343	Murayi et al., 1987
Highlands	Rwanda	Rwandan	Goats	Station	440	Murayi et al., 1987
Highlands	Rwanda	Small East African	Goats	Station	343	Murayi et al., 1987
Highlands	Malawi	Small East African	Goats	Village	314.3	Karua, 1989
Highlands	Ethiopia	Menz	Sheep	Village	350.75	Agyemang et al., 1985
Highlands	Rwanda	African long-fat-tailed	Sheep	Station	406	Murayi et al., 1987
Humid	Cote d'Ivoire	WAD	Goats	Village	227.6	Armbruster, 1988
Humid	Cote d'Ivoire	WAD	Goats	Station	283	Berger, 1979
Humid	Ghana	WAD	Goats	Station	229	Buadu, 1972
Humid	Ghana	WAD	Goats	Station	258	Vohradsky & Sada, 1973 quoted in ILCA, 1983
Humid	Ghana	WAD	Goats	Station	266	Otchere & Nimo, 1976
Humid	Nigeria	WAD	Goats	Village	259	Reynolds & Adeoye, 1985
Humid	Nigeria	WAD	Goats	Village	261	Adeoye, 1985
Humid	Nigeria	WAD	Goats	Village	283	Sumberg & Mack, 1985
Humid	Nigeria	WAD	Goats	Village	259	Mack, 1983
Humid	Nigeria	WAD	Goats	Village	278	Mosi et al., 1982
Humid	Senegal	WAD	Goats	Village	239	Faugère et al., 1988
Humid	Cameroun	WAD	Sheep	Station	247.68	Vallerand and Branckaert, 1975
Humid	Côte d'Ivoire	WAD	Sheep	Village	213.5	Rombaut & Vlaenderen, 1976
Humid	Côte d'Ivoire	WAD	Sheep	Village	230	Armbruster, 1988
Humid	Ghana	WAD	Sheep	Station	264	Tuah & Baah, 1985
Humid	Ghana	WAD	Sheep	Station	256	Oppong-Anane, 1971
Humid	Nigeria	WAD	Sheep	Station	248	Dettmers et al., 1976
Humid	Nigeria	WAD	Sheep	Station	322	Reynolds & Adeoye, 1985
Humid	Nigeria	WAD	Sheep	Station	311	Sumberg & Mack, 1985
Humid	Nigeria	WAD	Sheep	Village	322	Mack, 1983
Humid	Senegal	WAD	Sheep	Station	307	Fall et al., 1983
Humid	Senegal	WAD	Sheep	Village	248	Faugère et al., 1988
Humid	Côte d'Ivoire	WAD	Sheep	Village (improved)		Armbruster et al., 1991
				- continous breeding	230
				- controlled breeding	275
Semi-arid	Burkina Faso	Sahel	Goats	Village	328	ILCA, 1987
Semi-arid	Chad	Massakory	Goats	Station	261	IEMVT, 1979
Semi-arid	Chad	Massakory	Goats	Station	234	Bertaudière, 1979
Semi-arid	Kenya	Small EA	Goats	Village	306.1	Wilson, 1984
Semi-arid	Kenya	Small EA	Goats	Village	289	Wilson, 1982
Semi-arid	Kenya	Small EA	Goats	Village	312	Peacock, 1982
Semi-arid	Mali	Sahel	Goats	Village	298	Wilson & Traore, 1988
Semi-arid	Mali	Sahel	Goats	Village	261.2	Wilson, 1984
Semi-arid	Mali	Sahel	Goats	Village	271	Wilson, 1982
Semi-arid	Niger	Maradi	Goats	Village	332.4	Haumesser, 1975b
Semi-arid	Niger	Sokoto	Goats	Village	331	Gerbaldi, 1978
Semi-arid	Niger	Sahel	Goats	Village	258	Bertaudière, 1979
Semi-arid	Sudan	Sudan desert	Goats	Village	242.9	Wilson, 1984
Semi-arid	Sudan	Sudan desert	Goats	Village	238	Wilson, 1982
Semi-arid	Uganda	Mubende	Goats	Village	297	Wilson, 1982
Semi-arid	Mozambique	Landim	Goats	Station	408	Wilson et al., 1989
Semi-arid	Somalia	White Somali	Goats	Village	280.6-600.8	Bouzat et al., 1992
Semi-arid	Zimbabwe	Zimbabwean Small East African	Goats	Village	370	Ndlovu, L. R., 1992
Semi-arid	Mozambique	Landim	Goats	Station	408	Rocha et al., 1991
Semi-arid	Mozambique	Landim	Goats	Station	391	Mckinnon & Rocha, 1985
Semi-arid	Burkina Faso	Sahel	Sheep	Village	290	ILCA, 1987
Semi-arid	Kenya	Masai	Sheep	Village	344	Wilson, 1982
Semi-and	Kenya	Masai	Sheep	Village	306	Peacock, 1982
Semi-arid	Mali	Sahel	Sheep	Village	280	Wilson & Traore, 1988
Semi-arid	Mali	Sahel	Sheep	Village	254	Wilson, 1982
Semi-arid	Niger	Uda	Sheep	Village	305	Haumesser & Gerbaldi, 1980
Semi-arid	Senegal	Peul	Sheep	Station	341.9	Sow et al., 1985
Semi-arid	Senegal	Peul	Sheep	Station	291.54	Garba, 1986
Semi-arid	Senegal	Peul	Sheep	Village	366	Tchakerian, 1979
Semi-arid	Sudan	Sudan desert	Sheep	Village	275	Wilson, 1952
Semi-arid	Uganda	EA fat-tailed	Sheep	Village	257	Wilson, 1982
Semi-arid	Somalia	Black-headed Somali	Sheep	Village	332.5-533.7	Bouzat et al., 1992
Semi-arid	Mozambique	Landim	Sheep	Station	373	Wilson et al., 1989
Semi-arid	Mozambique	Nguni	Sheep	Station	360	Mckinnon & Rocha, 1985
Semi-arid	Mozambique	Landim	Sheep	Station	416	Rocha et al., 1991
Sub-humid	Tanzania	Tanzanian	Goats	Station	302.8	Kyomo, 1978
Sub-humid	Ghana	WAD	Goats	Village	335	Awotwi and Fynn, 1992
Sub-humid	Chad	Kirdi & Mayo-Kebbi	Sheep	Village	244	Guerin, 1979
Sub-humid	Malawi	Small East African	Goats	Ranch	246.4	Karua, 1989
Sub-humid	Swaziland	Nguni	Goats	Village	268	Lebbie and Manzine, 1989

Table 2.3. Some Estimates of Prolificacy for Does and Ewes in Sub-Saharan Africa

Ecological Zone	Country	Breed	Species	Management	Value (%)	Reference
Highlands	Cameroon	WAD	Goats	Village	150	Dubois and Hardouin, 1987
Highlands	Rwanda	Rwandan	Goats	Station	175	Murayi et al., 1987
Highlands	Rwanda	Rwandan	Goats	Station	148	Murayi et al., 1987
Highlands	Rwanda	Rwandan	Goats	Station	143	Murayi et al., 1987
Highlands	Malawi	Small East African	Goats	Village	135	Karua, 1989
Highlands	Rwanda	African long-fat-tailed	Sheep	Station	138	Murayi et al., 1985
Humid	Côte d'Ivoire	WAD	Goats	Village	162	Armbruster, 1988
Humid	Côte d'Ivoire	WAD	Goats	Station	175	Berger, 1979
Humid	Ghana	WAD	Goats	Station	187	Otchere & Nimo, 1976
Humid	Ghana	WAD	Goats	Station	184	Buadu, 1972
Humid	Ghana	WAD	Goats	Station	184	Vohradsky & Sada, 1973 quoted in ILCA, 1983
Humid	Nigeria	WAD	Goats	Village	149	Reynolds & Adeoye, 1985
Humid	Nigeria	WAD	Goats	Village	156	Sumberg & Mack, 1985
Humid	Nigeria i	WAD	Goats	Village	160	Adeoye, 1985
Humid	Nigeria	WAD	Goats	Village	160	Mosi et al., 1982
Humid	Nigeria	WAD	Goats	Village	150	Mack, 1983
Humid	Senegal	WAD	Goats	Village	150	Faugère et al., 1988
Humid	Cameroon	WAD	Sheep	Station	117	Vallerand & Branckaert, 1975
Humid	Côte d'Ivoire	WAD	Sheep	Village	111	Berger, 1980
Humid	Cote d'Ivoire	WAD	Sheep	Village	110	CNRZ, 1977
Humid	Côte d'Ivoire	WAD	Sheep	Village	119	Armbruster, 1988
Humid	Côte d'Ivoire	WAD	Sheep	Village	123	Armbruster, 1988
Humid	Côte d'Ivoire	WAD	Sheep	Village	128.7	Armbruster, 1988
Humid	Côte d'Ivoire	WAD	Sheep	Station	118.2	Armbruster et al., 1990
Humid	Ghana	WAD	Sheep	Station	130.6	Tuah & Baah, 1985
Humid	Ghana	WAD	Sheep	Station	143	University of Ghana, 1976 quoted in ILCA, 1983
Humid	Nigeria	WAD	Sheep	Station	145.6	Dettmers et al., 1976
Humid	Nigeria	WAD	Sheep	Station	172	Dettmers et al., 1976
Humid	Nigeria	WAD	Sheep	Village	123	Reynolds & Adeoye, 1985
Humid	Nigeria	WAD	Sheep	Village	129	Sumberg & Mack, 1985
Humid	Nigeria	WAD	Sheep	Village	123	Mack, 1983
Humid	Senegal	WAD	Sheep	Station	112	Fall et al., 1983
Humid	Senegal	WAD	Sheep	Village	117	Faugère et al., 1988
Humid	Congo	WAD	Sheep	Village	104.7	Batalou-Mbetanie, 1992
Semi-Arid	Burkina Faso	Sahel	Goats	Village	105	ILCA, 1987
Semi-Arid	Chad	Massakory	Goats	Station	150	IEMVT, 1978
Semi-Arid	Chad	Sahel	Goats	Village	112	Wilson, 1982
Semi-Arid	Ethiopia	Adal	Goats	Village	110	Wilson, 1982
Semi-Arid	Kenya	Small EA	Goats	Village	116	Wilson, 1982
Semi-Arid	Mali	Sahel	Goats	Village	119	Wilson & Traore, 1988
Semi-Arid	Mali	Sahel	Goats	Village	123	Wilson, 1982
Semi-arid	Mozambique	Landim	Goats	Station	162	Makinnon, 1985
Semi-Arid	Niger	Red Sokoto	Goats	Village	147	Haumesser, 1975b
Semi-Arid	Niger	Sahel (Touareg)	Goats	Village	126.2	Haumesser cited in Gerbaldi, 1978
Semi-Arid	Niger	Sahel (Peul)	Goats	Village	146.6	Haumesser cited in Gerbaldi, 1978
Semi-Arid	Niger	Sokoto	Goats	Village	156	Gerbaldi, 1978
Semi-Arid	Sudan	Sudan desert	Goats	Village	157	Wilson, 1982
Semi-Arid	Swaziland	Nguni	Goats	Village	116	Lebbie & Mastapha, 1985
Semi-Arid	Uganda	Mubende	Goats	Village	130	Wilson, 1982
Semi-Arid	Chad	Arab	Goats	Village	109	Wilson, 1982
Semi-Arid	Niger	Uda	Sheep	Station	110	Gaillard, 1979
Semi-Arid	Burkina Faso	Mossi	Sheep	Village	102	Wilson and Bourzat, 1986
Semi-Arid	Burkina Faso	Peul	Sheep	Village	105	Wilson and Bourzat, 1986
Semi-Arid	Chad	Arab	Sheep	Village	101	Dumas, 1980
Semi-Arid	Chad	Uda	Sheep	Village	107	Dumas, 1980
Semi-Arid	Chad	Uda	Sheep	Village	107	Dumas, 1977
Semi-Arid	Ethiopia	Adal	Sheep	Village	105	Wilson, 1982
Semi-Arid	Kenya	Masai	Sheep	Village	102	Wilson, 1982
Semi-Arid	Mali	Sahel	Sheep	Village	104	Wilson and Traore, 1988
Semi-Arid	Mali	Sahel	Sheep	Village	105	Wilson, 1982
Semi-Arid	Niger	Uda	Sheep	Village	111	Haumesser, 1975b
Semi-Arid	Niger	Uda	Sheep	Village	107	Haumesser and Gerbaldi, 1980
Semi-Arid	Senegal	Peul	Sheep	Station	108	Garba, 1986
Semi-Arid	Sudan	Sudan desert	Sheep	Village	114	Wilson, 1982
Semi-Arid	Mozambique	Landim	Sheep	Station	136	Rocha et al., 1991
Semi-Arid	Burkina Faso	Mossi	Sheep	Station	116	Nianogo, 1992
Sub-humid	Chad	Kirdi	Goats	Village	150	Dumas, 1980
Sub-humid	Chad	Mayo-Kebbi	Goats	Village	160	Dumas, 1980
Sub-humid	Chad	Mayo-Kebbi	Goats	Village	170	Dumas, 1980
Sub-humid	Chad	Kirdi	Goats	Village	140-150	Dumas, 1980
Sub-humid	Chad	Kirdi	Goats	Village	144-171	Dumas, 1977; Dumas et al., 1977
Sub-humid	Côte d'Ivoire	WAD	Goats	Village	150	Bayer, 1982
Sub-humid	Ghana	WAD	Goats	Station	167	Oppong & Yebuah, 1981
Sub-humid	Nigeria	Red Sokoto	Goats	Village	135	Otchere et al., 1987
Sub-humid	Nigeria	WAD	Goats	Village	150	Bayer, 1982
Sub-humid	Tanzania	Newala	Goats	Village	128	Hendy, 1980
Sub-humid	Malawi	Small East African	Goats	Ranch	138	Karua, 1989
Sub-humid	Swaziland	Nguni	Goats	Village	118	Lebbie and Manzini, 1989
Sub-humid	Chad	Kirdi	Sheep	Village	138.5	Dumas, 1980
Sub-humid	Chad	Mayo-Kebbi	Sheep	Village	164	Dumas, 1980
Sub-humid	Chad	Kirdi	Sheep	Village	140	Dumas, 1977
Sub-humid	Chad	Kirdi & Mayo-Kebbi	Sheep	Station	171	Guerin, 1979
Sub-humid	Nigeria	Yankasa	Sheep	Village	106	Otchere et al., 1987
Sub-humid	Togo	Vogan	Sheep	Village	140	Amegee, 1978a
Sub-humid	Togo	WAD	Sheep	Village	148.7	Amegee, 1978b
Sub-humid	Nigeria	WAD	Sheep	Station	133	Odubote, 1992

Table 2.4. Some Twinning Rates (%) for Does and Ewes in Sub-Saharan Africa

Ecological Zone	Country	Breed	Species	Management	Value	Reference
Highlands	Ethiopia	Menz	Sheep	Village	4.2	Agyemang et al., 1985
Humid	Côte d'Ivoire	WAD	Goats	Village	60.4	Armbruster, 1988
Humid	Ghana	WAD	Goats	Station	53	Vohradsky & Sada, 1973 cited in ILCA, 1983
Humid	Ghana	WAD	Goats	Station	51.12	Oppong and Yebuah, 1981
Humid	Ghana	WAD	Goats	Station	52	Otchere and Nimo, 1976
Humid	Nigeria	WAD	Goats	Station	53	Ademosun, 1973 cited in Osuagwuh and Akpokodje, 1981
Humid	Côte d'Ivoire	WAD	Sheep	Village	27	Rombaut & Vlaenderen, 1976
Humid	Côte d'Ivoire	WAD	Sheep	Village	32	Armbruster, 1988
Humid	Côte d'Ivoire	WAD	Sheep	Village	42.5	Armbruster, 1988
Humid	Côte d'Ivoire	WAD	Sheep	Village	34	Armbruster, 1988
Humid	Ghana	WAD	Sheep	Station	26.4	Tuah and Baah, 1985
Humid	Nigeria	WAD	Sheep	Station	55	Dettmers & Loosly, 1974
Humid	Nigeria	WAD	Sheep	Station	27	Ademosun, 1973 quoted in Osuagwuh and Akpokodje, 1981
Semi-Arid	Burkina Faso	Peul	Goats	Village	27.8	Dumas & Raymond, 1975
Semi-arid	Burkina Faso	Mossi	Goats	Village	16.8	Dumas & Raymond, 1975
Semi-Arid	Chad	Massakory	Goats	Village	43.7	IEMVT, 1979
Semi-Arid	Mali	Sahel	Goats	Village	18	Wilson & Traore, 1988
Semi-Arid	Niger	Sahel	Goats	Village	13.5	Wilson & Wagenaar, 1982
Semi-Arid	Niger	Sahel (Touareg)	Goats	Village	24.8	Haumesser cited in Gerbaldi, 1978
Semi-Arid	Niger	Sahel (Peul)	Goats	Village	44.1	Haumesser cited in Gerbaldi, 1978
Semi-Arid	Niger	Red Sokoto	Goats	Village	47.5	Gerbaldi, 1978
Semi-arid	Mozambique	Landim	Goats	Station	56.7	Makinnon, 1985
Semi-Arid	Swaziland	Native	Goats	Village	21.37	Lebbie and Mastapha, 1985
Semi-Arid	Zimbabwe	Zimbabwean Small East African	Goats	Village	29.75	Ndlovu, 1992
Semi-Arid	Mali	Sahel	Sheep	Village	4.2	Wilson and Traore, 1988
Semi-arid	Mozambique	Nguni	Sheep	Station	44.6	Makinnon, 1985
Semi-Arid	Niger	Sahel	Sheep	Village	4.5	Wilson & Wagenaar, 1982
Sub-humid	Ghana	WAD	Goats	Station	59	Oppong and Yebuah, 1981
Sub-humid	Nigeria	Red Sokoto	Goats	Village	29.5	Otchere et al., 1987
Sub-humid	Nigeria	WAD	Goats	Village	34	Bayer, 1986
Sub-humid	Nigeria	WAD	Goats	Village	38	Bayer, 1982
Sub-humid	Tanzania	Tanzanian	Goats	Station	16.4	Kyomo, 1978
Sub-humid	Tanzania	Newala	Goats	Village	36	Hendy, 1980
Sub-humid	Uganda	Manny	Goats	Station	32.7	Kyeyune-Sendage, 1970
Sub-humid	Ghana	WAD	Goats	Village	45	Awotwi and Fynn, 1992
Sub-humid	Nigeria	Yankasa	Sheep	Village	6.3	Otchere et al., 1987
Sub-humid	Nigeria	Yankasa	Sheep	Village	12	Bayer, 1986
Sub-humid	Togo	Vogan	Sheep	Village	34.42	Amegee, 1978a
Sub-humid	Togo	WAD	Sheep	Village	44	Amegee, 1978b
Sub-humid	Ghana	WAD*	Sheep	Village	26.8	Awotwi and Fynn, 1992

* Most sheep are WAD but farms also have Sudan type sheep and WAD X Sudan crosses.

Table 2.5. Prolificacy of some breeds of goat (number of kids per birth)

Breed	Location	Av. litter	Reference
Maltese and Damascus	Athalassa, Cyprus	1.85	Maule (1949)
Damascus	Cyprus	1.71	Cyprus: Dep. Agric. (1955)
Kilis	Ankara, Turkey	1.27	Yarkin and Eker (1961)
Kambing Katjang		1.65
Anglo-Nubian	Serdang, Malaysia	1.43	Devendra (1962)
Crosses (various grades)		1.67 to 2.06
Ma T'ou	Hupeh Province (China)	2.24	Epstein (1969)
Syrian Mountain		1.44
Negev		1.38
Appenzeller		1.27
Saanen	Rehovot, Israel	1.90	Epstein and Herz (1964)
Damascus		1.76
Anglo-Nubian		1.75
Malta		1.59
Anglo-Nubian x Local	Palmer, Mauritius	2.45	Delaitre (1965)
Anglo-Nubian		2.29
Black Bengal	Haringhata, India	2.04	Moulick et al.

Source: Devendra and Burns (1970).

Table 2.6. Some Estimates of Fecundity for Goats and Sheep in Sub-Saharan Africa

Ecological zone	Country	Breed	Species	Management	%	Reference
Highlands	Cameroon	WAD	Goats	Village	130	Dubois & Hardouin, 1987
Highlands	Malawi	Small East African	Goats	Village	107	Karua, 1989
Humid	Côte d'Ivoire	WAD	Goats	Village	250.9	Armbruster, 1988
Humid	Ghana	WAD	Goats	Station	293	Buadu, 1972
Humid	Ghana	WAD	Goats	Station	260	Vohradsky & Sada, 1973 quoted in ILCA, 1983
Humid	Ghana	WAD	Goats	Station	267	Otchere & Nimo, 1976
Humid	Nigeria	WAD	Goats	Village	201	Sumberg & Mack, 1985
Humid	Cameroon	WAD	Sheep	Station	168	Vallerand & Branckaert, 1975
Humid	Côte d'Ivoire	WAD	Sheep	Village	206	Rombaut & Vlaenderen, 1976
Humid	Côte d'Ivoire	WAD	Sheep	Village	175	CNRZ, 1977
Humid	Côte d'Ivoire	WAD	Sheep	Village	208.8	Armbruster, 1988
Humid	Côte d'Ivoire	WAD	Sheep	Village	173.6	Armbruster, 1988
Humid	Côte d'Ivoire	WAD	Sheep	Village	200.8	Armbruster, 1988
Humid	Nigeria	WAD	Sheep	Station	122	Adu & Ngere, 1979
Humid	Nigeria	WAD	Sheep	Station	249	Dettmers et al., 1976
Humid	Nigeria	WAD	Sheep	Village	151	Sumberg & Mack, 1985
Humid	Nigeria	WAD	Sheep	Village	115	Matthewman, 1980
Humid	Congo	WAD	Sheep	Village	119.03	Batalou-Mbetanie, 1992
Semi-arid	Burkina Faso	Mossi	Goats	Village	78.75	Bourzat, 1980
Semi-arid	Burkina Faso	Mossi	Goats	Village	121	SEDES, 1974
Semi-arid	Chad	Massakory	Goats	Village	171	IEMVT, 1979
Semi-arid	Chad	Massakory	Goats	Village	181.7	Bertaudière, 1978 cited in Charray et al., 1980
Semi-arid	Niger	Sahel multi colour	Goats	Village	157.1-181.5	Haumesser cited in Gerbaldi, 1978
Semi-arid	Chad	Sahel (Bathe)	Goats	Village	109	Dumas, 1977; Dumas et al., 1977
Semi-arid	Chad	Sahel (Kanem)	Goats	Village	82	Dumas, 1977; Dumas et al., 1977
Semi-arid	Burkina Faso	Peul	Goats	Village	130-152	Dumas & Raymond, 1975
Semi-arid	Burkina Faso	Peul	Goats	Village	74.8	Bourzat, 1980
Semi-arid	Burkina Faso	Sahel	Goats	Village	141	SEDES, 1974
Semi-arid	Chad	Arab	Goats	Village	99	Dumas, 1980
Semi-arid	Mali	Sahel	Goats	Village	112-134	Maiga, 1980
Semi-arid	Mali	Sahel	Goats	Village	93	Maiga, 1980
Semi-arid	Mozambique	Landim	Goats	Station	149.2	Makinnon, 1985
Semi-arid	Niger	Sokoto	Goats	Village	167	Haumesser, 1975 b
Semi-arid	Somalia	White Somali	Goats	Village	65	Bouzat et al., 1992
Semi-arid	Burkina Faso	Mossi	Sheep	Village	70	Bourzat, 1980
Semi-arid	Burkina Faso	Mossi	Sheep	Village	112	SEDES, 1974
Semi-arid	Burkina Faso	Peul	Sheep	Village	81.25	Bourzat, 1980
Semi-arid	Burkina Faso	Peul	Sheep	Village	106	SEDES, 1974
Semi-arid	Chad	Arab	Sheep	Village	84-86	Dumas, 1977; Dumas et al., 1977
Semi-arid	Chad	Arab	Sheep	Village	86	Dumas, 1980
Semi-arid	Chad	Uda	Sheep	Village	105	Dumas, 1980
Semi-arid	Mali	Sahel	Sheep	Village	151.5	Maiga, 1980
Semi-arid	Mali	Sahel	Sheep	Village	102.5	Maiga, 1980
Semi-arid	Mali	Sahel	Sheep	Village	123	Maiga, 1980
Semi-arid	Mozambique	Nguni	Sheep	Station	107.6	Makinnon, 1985
Semi-arid	Niger	Uda	Sheep	Village	114	Haumesser & Gerbaldi, 1980
Semi-arid	Burkina Faso	Mossi	Sheep	Station	139	Nianogo, 1992
Semi-arid	Somalia	Black-headed Somali	Sheep	Village	62	Bouzat et al., 1992
Sub-humid	Malawi	Malawi	Goats	Station	109	Reynolds, 1979
Sub-humid	Tanzania	Newala	Goats	Village	118	Hendy, 1980
Sub-humid	Chad	Kirdi	Goats	Village	164	Dumas, 1977; Dumas et al., 1977
Sub-humid	Malawi	Small East African	Goats	Ranch	175	Karua, 1989
Sub-humid	Burkina Faso	Mossi	Sheep	Village	104	Dumas & Raymond, 1975
Sub-humid	Chad	Kirdi	Sheep	Village	146	Dumas et al., 1977
Sub-humid	Chad	Kirdi	Sheep	Village	141	Dumas, 1980
Sub-humid	Chad	Mayo-Kebbi	Sheep	Village	156	Dumas et al., 1977
Sub-humid	Chad	Kirdi	Sheep	Village	140	Dumas, 1980
Sub-humid	Chad	Mayo-Kebbi	Sheep	Village	156	Dumas, 1980
Sub-humid	Chad	Mayo-Kebbi	Sheep	Village	165	Dumas, 1980
Sub-humid	Nigeria	Balami	Sheep	Station	128.5	Adu & Ngere, 1979
Sub-humid	Nigeria	Uda	Sheep	Station	122.6	Adu & Ngere, 1979
Sub-humid	Nigeria	Yankasa	Sheep	Station	111.4	Adu & Ngere, 1979
Sub-humid	Nigeria	WAD	Sheep	Station	121.8	Adu & Ngere, 1979
Sub-humid	Togo	WAD	Sheep	Village	120	Van Viaenderen, 1985

Table 2.7. Some Estimates of Age at First Parturition for Goats and Sheep in Sub-Saharan Africa

Ecological Zone	Country	Breed	Species	Management	Value (days)	Reference
Highlands	Rwanda	Rwandan	Goats	Station	640	Murayi et al., 1987
Highlands	Rwanda	Rwandan	Goats	Station	971	Murayi et al., 1987
Highlands	Malawi	Malawi local	Goats	Village	457.5	Karua, 1989
Highlands	Ethiopia	Menz	Sheep	Village	>720	Agyemang et al., 1985
Highlands	Rwanda	African long-fat-tailed	Sheep	Station	713.7	Murayi et al., 1985
Humid	Ghana	WAD	Goats	Station	369	Vohradsky and Sada, 1973 quoted in ILCA, 1983
Humid	Nigeria	WAD	Goats	Village	518	Sumberg & Mack, 1985
Humid	Nigeria	WAD	Goats	Village	545	Mosi et al., 1982
Humid	Senegal	WAD	Goats	Village	361	Faugère et al., 1988
Humid	Cameroon	WAD	Sheep	Station	372.1-722.85	Vallerand & Branckaert, 1975
Humid	Côte d'Ivoire	WAD	Sheep	Village	350.75	Rombaut & Vlaenderen, 1976
Humid	Côte d'Ivoire	WAD	Sheep	Village	431.3	Armbruster, 1988
Humid	Ghana	WAD	Sheep	Station	638	Tuah & Baah, 1985
Humid	Ghana	WAD	Sheep	Station	408	Oppong-Anane, 1971
Humid	Nigeria	WAD	Sheep	Station	610	Dettmers & Loosli, 1974
Humid	Nigeria	WAD	Sheep	Station	488	Ngere, 1977 quoted in ILCA, 1983
Humid	Côte d'Ivoire	WAD	Sheep	Village	411.75	Ginistry, 1977
Humid	Nigeria	WAD	Sheep	Station	625.25	Dettmers et al., 1976
Humid	Nigeria	WAD	Sheep	Village	492	Sumberg & Mack, 1985
Humid	Senegal	WAD	Sheep	Station	573.4	Fall et al., 1983
Humid	Senegal	WAD	Sheep	Village	464	Faugère et al., 1988
Humid	Cote d'Ivoire	Djallonké	Sheep	Village improved		Armbruster et al., 1991
				- continuous breeding	431
				- controlled breeding	480
Semi-arid	Burkina Faso	Mossi	Goats	Village	303.7	Bourzat, 1980
Semi-arid	Burkina Faso	Peul	Goats	Village	404.4	Bourzat, 1980
Semi-arid	Burkina Faso	Sahel	Goats	Village	423	ILCA, 1987
Semi-arid	Chad	Arab	Goats	Village	419.4	Dumas, 1980
Semi-arid	Chad	Arab	Goats	Village	415	Wilson, 1982
Semi-arid	Kenya	Small EA	Goats	Village	555.8	Wilson, 1984
Semi-arid	Kenya	Small EA	Goats	Village	456	Wilson, 1984
Semi-arid	Mali	Sahel	Goats	Village	487	Wilson & Traore, 1988
Semi-arid	Mali	Sahel	Goats	Village	472.2	Wilson, 1984
Semi-arid	Mali	Sahel	Goats	Village	484	Wilson, 1982
Semi-arid	Mozambique	Landim	Goats	Station	738	Makinnon & Rocha, 1985
Semi-arid	Niger	Sahel	Goats	Village	457.8	Wilson & Wagenaar, 1982
Semi-arid	Niger	Sahel	Goats	Village	426.7	Haumesser, 1975a
Semi-arid	Sudan	Sudan desert	Goats	Village	280	Wilson, 1982
Semi-arid	Burkina Faso	Peul	Sheep	Village	335.5	Dumas and Raymond, 1975
Semi-arid	Mozambique	Nguni	Sheep	Station	772	Makinnon & Rocha, 1985
Semi-arid	Mozambique	Nguni	Sheep	Station	772	Makinnon, 1985
Semi-arid	Senegal	Peul	Sheep	Village	>732	Tchakerian, 1979
Semi-arid	Senegal	Peul	Sheep	Station	350.75	Tchakerian, 1979
Semi-arid	Burkina Faso	Mossi	Sheep	Village	395.3	Bourzat, 1980
Semi-arid	Burkina Faso	Peul	Sheep	Village	448.35	Bourzat, 1980
Semi-arid	Chad	Arab	Sheep	Village	442.25	Dumas, 1980
Semi-arid	Chad	Uda	Sheep	Village	396.5	Dumas, 1980
Semi-arid	Chad	Arab	Sheep	Village	440	Wilson, 1982
Semi-arid	Kenya	Masai	Sheep	Village	540	Wilson, 1982
Semi-arid	Mali	Sahel	Sheep	Village	470	Wilson, 1982
Semi-arid	Burkina Faso	Sahel	Sheep	Village	455	ILCA, 1987
Semi-arid	Mali	Sahel	Sheep	Village	480	Wilson & Traore, 1988
Semi-arid	Niger	Sahel	Sheep	Village	579.5	Wilson & Wagenaar, 1982
Semi-arid	Niger	Uda	Sheep	Village	488	Haumesser & Gerbaldi, 1980
Semi-arid	Senegal	Peul	Sheep	Station	749.5	Sow et al., 1985
Semi-arid	Senegal	Peul	Sheep	Station	685.47	Garba, 1986
Semi-arid	Sudan	Sudan desert	Sheep	Village	349	Wilson, 1982
Semi-arid	Burkina Faso	Mossi	Sheep	Station	506.9	A.J. Nianogo, 1992
Sub-humid	Chad	Kirdi	Goats	Village	472.75	Dumas, 1980
Sub-humid	Chad	Mayo-Kebbi	Goats	Village	503.25	Dumas, 1980
Sub-humid	Tanzania	Tanzanian	Goats	Station	773	Kyomo, 1978
Sub-humid	Tanzania	Newala	Goats	Village	503.25	Hendy, 1980
Sub-humid	Swaziland	Nguni	Goats	Village	262-340	Lebbie and Manzini, 1989
Sub-humid	Chad	Kirdi	Sheep	Village	518.5	Dumas, 1980
Sub-humid	Chad	Mayo-Kebbi	Sheep	Village	457.5	Dumas, 1980

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