Relationship between liveweights, linear body measurements and cost prices of small ruminants sold in and around mubi environs, adamawa state, Nigeria

Abstract

This study was conducted to investigate the relationship between body length(BL), heights at withers (HW), girth circumference (GC), Height at rump(HR), abdominal circumference (AC) neck length (NL), neck circumference (NC) with live weights and cost prices of animals. Data obtained were subjected to Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), Multiple Correlation and Regression Analysis using SAS (2001) package. Where significant differences occurred among means, Duncan Multiple Range Test was used to separate them. It was found that length of animal (LA), girth circumference (GC) and neck circumference (NC) had highly positive significant (P<0.01) influences on weight while heights at rump (HR) and abdominal circumference (AC) had significant (P<0.05) influences on weight of the animals. However, there was no significant (P>0.05) correlation between height at wither (HW) and neck length (NL) with weight. The R2 value was 92.23%, all their F-ratios were highly significant at (P<0.01), confirming the significance of these variables on the prices of the animals. It could be concluded that the price of sheep and goat breeds is subject to the weight. The price of sheep and goats in an open market can best be predicted from a combination of leg length and loin girth. Body conditions and market demand mainly determined goat and sheep price estimation in the areas.