Mortality pattern in crossbred dairy goats in semiarid India

Abstract

Mortality pattern of AlpinexBeetal (AxB) and SaanenxBeetal (SxB) crossbred dairy goats maintained at National Dairy Research Institute, Kamal, for 9 years (1989-90 to 1997-98) was studied using 532 mortal ity data collected from postmortem record. The average mortality in AxB and SxB crossbreds was 16.29 and 16.94%, respectively. The overall mortality was more during cold (7.56%) season followed by hot dry (5.97%) and hot humid (3.02%) season. Among age groups, mortality up to 1 month of age was high (3.42%) followed by 2-3 months (3.36%) and 1-2 months (2.83%). The average mortality among productive age groups (18-78 months) was 3.95%. The SaanenxBeetal crossbreds had higher mortality (5.67%) during productive age group vis-a.-vis 2.83% in Alpine x Beetal crossbreds. The mortality showed declining trend with the advancement ofage. The digestive diseases followed by respiratory diseases contributed major share to the total mortality occurred and the remaining disorders were of lesser significance in causing death in crossbred dairy goats. The mortality rate did not vary significantly between years, seasons, age and causes of disease except in Alpine x Beetal crossbreds, it varied significantly between years. However, the trends indicated appreciable difference in mortality rates.