The majority of the households were male-headed and only (19.2%) were female-headed (Table 1). Most of the respondents have age below sixty five years with good experience in goat rearing. The average family size for the districts were comparable to the national average (5.2) [11], but lower than the average family size of 7 (range 3 - 12) reported from Bati, Meta and Kebri-Beyah districts

N = number of household; SD = standard deviation; Numbers in parenthesis are percentages.

goat keepers [12]. Relatively higher family size per household was observed in Bambasi may be because of the polygamous marriage practiced in the district. The high proportion of literate have a vital role in adopting and promoting new technologies and keeping records and information related to goat production when needed. The literacy rate was comparable to that reported for Goma district (70%) goat keepers [13] and greater than for small ruminant keepers reported by other authors [14] [15]. The overall mean landholding was higher than the national average (1.6 ha/hh) reported by [16] which could be ascribed to low population density in the study area.

The farming system of the area is mixed crop-livestock (Table 2) and there are no households engaged in only crop cultivation or livestock rearing. The main crops cultivated are sorghum, finger millet, mango, sesame, maize, soybean, groundnut and peppers. Most of the farmers engage in non-farm activities to generate additional income besides crop and livestock production.

N = number of household; ^#encompasses fire wood, charcoal making and construction materials sailing; Numbers in parenthesis are percentages.

The livestock species kept includes cattle, sheep, goats, equines and chicken (Table 3). The number of goats owned was significantly higher followed by cattle, which could be due to their tolerance to the adverse and hot climate conditions of the area. The availability of vast communal and extensive grazing and browsing land may also contribute to herding of greater number of goats and cattle. Even though purposive sampling of the respondent may not fully reflect the true picture of the existing livestock ownership pattern in the study area, the current finding agrees with [17] that reported goats and cattle to dominant livestock species in the study area.

None of the respondents owned mules and horses. Donkeys are mainly kept for transport of goods and farm produce. Ownership of mules and horses is very rare. Only very few number of farmers own a mule or a horse. Lower number of sheep than goat might be due to goats are relatively tolerant of high temperature, better able to survive in the lowland and in drought years, more importance as suppliers of milk to the household, so farmers prefer goats compared to those sheep [18].

The group discussants revealed that farmers usually consider sheep as a highland animal. They also said that the high number of goat is associated with their capacity to live in very harsh and high load of disease environment. Moreover, they believe that goats serve more as immediate source of income, have short generation interval, high prolificacy and fast growth rate compared to other species. These findings are consistent with the earlier report of [19] who reported similar reasons for keeping greater number of goats in Metema district. This result show that goat improvement program and extension strategies could be easily and successfully employed in the study areas than sheep.

The dominantly reared indigenous genotypes in the study districts are composed of three major local breeds, namely Arab, Felata and Gumuz (Table 4). The name referred to the ethnic group who dominantly raised them and the places

SD = standard deviation.

N = number of household; Numbers in parenthesis are percentages.

from where the goat breeds were originated. [8] Identified five goat types, namely Felata, Arab, Gumuz, Oromo and Agew. Felata, Arab and Gumuz goats dominate the arid and semi-arid zones of the region. Mixed crosses of Gumuz with Agew and Felata with Oromo goat types were also reported in some districts where Agew and Oromo people are bordering the study area.

The flock size was relatively higher in Agalo Meti, followed by Mandura district, which could be attributed to high rate of multiple birth and short kidding interval of Gumuz compared to the other breeds (Table 5). The mean flock size of goats in the present study was lower than reported in previous works [20] [21].

The proportion of does in the current study was comparable to 39.4% reported in previous studies [19]. However, it is slightly higher than 37.5% reported for goat flock in different parts and farming system in Ethiopia [12]. This finding is also in agreement with the scenario in other African countries [22] [23]. The higher proportion of females may be attributed to the prevalent practice of retaining females for breeding while males are either castrated in order to fetch higher price or sold at early age to meet the cash demand of the household.

N = number of respondent; SD = standard deviation.

The first objective for keeping goats was income generation through sale of live animals (Table 6), which is in agreement with earlier studies [24] [25] [26]. The second main reason for goat rearing was means of saving or insurance against any unexpected disaster such as crop failure followed by source of meat. [12] showed that meat and milk are the second and third important reasons for keeping goats in Bati, Meta and Kebri-Beyah districts indicating the shift in the order of functions of goats based on production system and the community keeping them.

The current finding implies that sale of goats to generate cash constitute the primary purpose among the other benefits of keeping goats in all the study districts. Only few farmers kept goats for manure production, breeding, cultural and rituals. Households in different study districts reported that goats are often slaughtered in honor of a special guest, a visiting friend or relative, festivities and religious rituals.

The focus group discussants (FGDs) stated that the cash income from sale of goats was spent on purchase of farm inputs, school fees, pay taxes, human and livestock medical expenses and re-stocking. The trend of expenditure at all the study districts was similar. None of the surveyed farmers in the study districts kept goats for milk and skin production.

Free grazing and browsing are the common feeding systems of goats in all the study districts. The availability of feed resources varied depending on the seasons with respect to quality, quantity and type of feed (Table 7). The major feed resource for goats in all the study districts are natural pasture which comprise of a wide variety of naturally occurring perennial and annual grasses, legumes, herbaceous and browse species both during dry and wet seasons, as also reported

^#encompasses prestige, dowry and ceremonies; Index = Σ[3 for rank 1 + 2 for rank 2 + 1 for rank 3] for particular purpose divided by Σ[3 for rank 1 + 2 for rank 2 + 1 for rank 3] for all purposes.

Index = Σ[3 for rank one 1 + 2 for rank 2 + 1 for rank 3] for an individual feed resource divided by Σ[3 for rank 1 + 2 for rank 2 + 1 for rank 3] for all feed resources.

in other studies [27]. The wider utilization reported for indigenous browses in the study districts were attributed to their abundant availability, being remains green and high nutrient content during the dry seasons. Grazing and browsing occurs on communal grazing lands, bush and shrub areas, roadsides, riversides, fallow lands and on crop land following harvest.

Although there is difference in utilization across months of the years, communal grazing lands and bush and shrub areas are utilized throughout the year. Consistent with the current study, [13] reported similar feed resources and grazing and browsing areas. Private grazing land was not common in the area. This might be due to the greater access to communal grazing land.

The majority of the respondents (98.3%) have no experience of cultivating and utilizing improved fodder which was ascribed to poor extension delivery systems and lack of improved seeds. Reports from other place [28] showed that smallholder farmers practice improved fodder production and utilization. Moreover, feed conservation practices and crop residue utilization in the present study area are very poor and non-existing among most farmers.

The focus group discussion revealed that the availability of goats’ feed in the area was not a constraint for productivity of goats. This is due to the availability of vast communal grazing land, abundant browse shrubs, bushes and tree leaves, and low stocking density, with only a slight feed shortage during the peak dry seasons (March to the end of April).

During these months, most of the grazing areas become bare and availability of browse, bushes and shrubs is declining. This is mainly due to the use of uncontrolled burning of the rangeland and shedding of browse species leaves. Some farmers (56.5%) reported that they rarely practice supplementing goats with non-conventional feeds and whole grain and grain hulls (maize, sorghum and soybean), by-product from local brew (Atella and Brint), milling by-products and household food leftovers. Supplementation of common salt alone and home mix (blending milling residue with salty water) is widely practiced in all the study districts. Similarly, [29] reported that smallholder producers in Goma district provide non-conventional feed resources such as chat left over, home left-over, fruit left over, Enset (Ensete ventricosum) and banana parts, weeds and crop tillers and fillers as a supplement feed for small ruminants.

The majority of respondents usually provide supplements to lactating does, adult breeding bucks and finishing goats to enhance milk production for the growth of kids, maintain their body condition for mating and to have more muscular growth and fetch high market price, respectively. This is in line with the report of [30] in Degehabur Zone, Eastern Ethiopia. Forty four percent of the respondents across all the study districts do not practice supplementation due to lack of knowledge on the use of supplement (42.3%), some believe that supplementation is not required (34.6%) and supplements are not easily available (23.1%).

Consistent watering improves feed intake and reduces time and energy invested in walking to and waiting at watering points. Watering is therefore an important management component, which is often not addressed. Perennial rivers, ponds and hand dug wells were the major sources of water during dry and wet seasons followed by borehole, streams and springs (Table 8). These were in agreement with the report of [31] who noted rivers to be an important source of water during dry and wet seasons in crop livestock production system.

The importance of water sources was similar from one district to another during both seasons. Watering goats by fetching water from community water pumps and carrying it home for kids, sick and born goats was common.

N = number of household; Numbers in parenthesis are percentages.

Watering points were evenly distributed across the grazing and browsing areas and there was no marked problem with respect to access to water by goats and other livestock species in all the study districts. The watering frequency of goats in dry and wet season is free access as they required. This might be related to the accessibility of watering points in close distances to grazing lands.

Appropriate housing reduces mortality and allows effective animal health management. The houses for goats in the study districts are well constructed to provide a good physical environment for the goats. According to the survey result and personal observations, about 89.3% of the respondents housed their goats in a well-shaded separately constructed house adjacent to the family house at night and during the day when the heat intensity is high. Only sick goats and suckling kids were retained alone and used the same house with family until recovering and weaning. None of the respondents had provision for accommodating different age groups. About 31.1%, 46.6% and 22.3% shelter their goats for reasons of protecting from adverse climatic stress (extreme heat and rain), protection against predators and preventing theft, respectively. Unlike the current study [31] found that majority (83.82%) of goat producers in Ziquala districts confine goats without roof and small proportion (18.18%) of farmer confine their goats in family house.

Goats house in the study areas have a raised floor made of slatted wooden. This floor or platform is raised about 1.5 - 2.0 m from the ground. The slats allow dung to fall down to the floor. The fallen fecal materials from the pens are used as manure. The houses are made from materials available in the area such as bamboo trees, any wood bars and grass thatches. Recently migrants and large-scale agricultural investors (10.7%) who had big flocks build different types of housing for the dry and wet season. During the dry season corrals are open-top, fences built from tree branches to confine animals during the night and protect them from predators and roofed barns for the rest rainy seasons was the second goat housing type in the study districts.

Two types of goat herding practices were distinguished on the basis of animal confinement (Table 9). These are free-roaming/grazing all year round (67.8%) and restricted/confined herding (32.2%) during the cropping season (June to November).

N = number of household; Numbers in parenthesis are percentages.

In free-roaming system, the goats are released in the morning to forage freely without any restrictions. In almost all study sites, where the communities practiced hoe cultivation around the homestead, the type of management experienced was free roaming all year round. In this system, goats are more prone to predators since they travel an attended over long distance in search of feed.

In Mandura and Bambasi districts herding was practiced during the cropping season (June to November) to prevent goats from straying into cropping fields. Consistent with the current study [32] reported that small ruminants are herded during wet season to protect crop lands. All age and sex classes of goat are herded together at grazing field. Most farmers 66.1%, 61.7% and 68.3% in Agalo Meti, Bambasi and Mandura herded goats separately from neighboring goats. Goats on the average stay about 6 to 7 hours in grazing/browsing during the day time.

Diseases and parasites are one of the major constraints that contribute to the low productive and reproductive performance of goats, which in turn cause high mortality rates of animals. Farmers of the study areas identify and recognize the type of diseases and parasites affecting their animals by recognizing their major symptoms and local names through experience. Table 10 summarizes the most frequently occurring goat diseases as reported by the respondents and their corresponding index value. In all the study districts, the major goat diseases identified were Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR), Trypanosomes, Contagious Caprine Pleuro Pneumonia (CCPP) and foot rot followed by pasteurellosis, Orf (Sore mouth) and external parasite. To a lesser extent, goats suffered from goat pox and internal parasite. The present findings were in line with the finding of earlier works [19] that identified the same diseases.

Although the goats were not routinely dewormed on a regular basis, parasitic gastro-enteritis was negligible and clinically unimportant. This was due mainly the goats being kept on slatted floors which can easily allow dung to fall down to the floor which reduces recontamination of goats by the parasites.

^#encompasses abortion, foot and mouth disease and enteritis: Index = Σ[4 for rank 1 + 3 for rank 2 + 2 for rank 3 + 1 for rank 4] for an individual disease divided by Σ[4 for rank 1 + 3 for rank 2 + 2 for rank 3 + 1 for rank 4] for all diseases.

The key informants revealed that among the major diseases Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR) was an acute viral disease causing high economic losses due to high rate of mortality and morbidity, especially among kids. The focus group discussants revealed that abortion in the does is high during the peak dry seasons (May to end of April). The reasons might be due to prolonged heat stress caused by high ambient temperature (between 32˚C to 40˚C) during these months. The health service delivery system is mainly (93.8%) provided by government health posts located in the village as one of the package of the villagization program [33] [34] reported similar avenue of health delivery system.

Yet, there is still a problem of poor health management of the goat flock under smallholder framers. The focus group discussants revealed that the problems related to goat’s health management were unreliable supply of drugs, vaccines and equipment, high cost of drugs, unavailability and turnover of practitioners and skill of assistant veterinarian. The above results were confirmed during the key informant discussion with Zone and district veterinarians.

Due to the inadequacy of the government health service 27.7% of the households revealed that they uses medicinal plants and releasing blood/branding practices to cure sick animals. However, they sometimes causes serious problem due to higher dose and lack of knowledge about the disease type. A little more than three quarters of the farmers (76.3%) reported high prevalence of diseases during the peak dry season (April to end of May) which could be related to adverse climatic stress.

According to the respondents, the age at puberty was defined as the age at which female produced fertile eggs and gets pregnant. The average age at puberty reported by the farmers was relatively shorter for Felata and Gumuz than Arab goats (Table 11) similar with that reported by [19].

SD = standard deviation.

Age at first kidding is a good indicator of sexual maturity in does. The overall mean age at first kidding (13.03 ± 0.37 months) obtained in this study is lower than 16.8 months reported for other indigenous goats of Ethiopia [12] [35].

The average kidding interval for the three indigenous goat types recorded implies the possibility of achieving three kidding over a two year period. However, there was a variation in the kidding interval reported by the farmers despite the fact that the breeding males always run with the breeding females throughout the year. This kidding interval indicated the ability of the goats to breed throughout the year and these shorter kidding intervals are more common in traditional systems where uncontrolled mating is practiced.

The finding in the current study was comparable with [36] who reported 8.07 months for Arsi-Bale goat types under farmers’ management condition. Other on-farm research works in Ethiopia also reported more or less similar kidding intervals ranging between 7.5 and 8.4 months [18] [37] [38]. However, it is lower than kidding interval recorded for Abergelle (11.31 ± 2.2) and central highland (10.3 ± 1.42 months) goats [19] [39].

About 45.2% of the kidding was twins and (4.2%) triplets and reported to vary among parities. The focus group discussion confirmed that the pattern of litter size increased as the age of does advanced. At first kidding, the litter size in most cases is single and increases to twins to the middle age and remains constant after fifth and sixth parity. In rare cases, Gumuz and Felata goats produce triplets and quadruplets at their peak reproductive age. The Gumuz goat reached age at puberty earlier, gave first births sooner, have short kidding interval and high litter size. The observed variation may be associated with inherent genetic and various management practices. An average litter size of about 1.74 [13] and 2.07 [40] were reported in other indigenous goat breeds.