AN ANALYSIS OF PREWEANING BODY WEIGHTS IN WEST AFRICAN DWARF GOATS AND THEIR CROSSES

preweaning performance  record  of  seventy six West African dwarf (WAD) and WADX Red Sokoto (RS) half-bred kids were compared for production efficiency. Average weight at birth was 1.31±0.01kg for WAD kids and 1.44 ±0.01kg for haltbreds. At 90 days and 150 days of age, WAD kids weighed 4.87 :0.04 and 5.88±0.04kg respectively, while the Red Sokoto halfbred weighed 6.06±0.05kg at 90 days and 7.02±0.04kg at 150 days respectively. On the average, pre-weaning daily gain was 303Wday for the WAD kids and 37g/day for half bred kids between birth and 150 days of age. Genotype (P<0.01) and sex (P < 0.05) significantly affected weights at birth, 90 days and 150 days of age. Birth type (P< 0.01) significantly affected weights only at birth. However, season of birth and all first order interactions did not affect weights at any age.