Reproduction and production performance of surti goats in its native tract

The present investigation was conducted to study the reproduction and production performance of Surti goats and their offspring under field conditions. The mean age at puberty, age at first kidding, kidding interval, service period, gestation length, first post partum oestrus, oestrous cycle length and oestrus duration were recorded as 9.04±0.49 months, 14.28±0.38 months, 7.80±0.20 months, 2.90±0.20 months, 147.20±0.41 days, 32.5±0.3 days, 20.4±0.3 days and 29.6±0.2 h, respectively. Majority of goats exhibited oestrus during summer (March - June) and monsoon (July - October). Twining was 50.89% while only 8.28% goat kidded triplets. The mean lactation length and lactation yield (litres/150 days) were recorded as 5.42±0.10 months and 273.95±1.08, respectively. The results indicated that the Surti goats attained peak production performance (281.97±2.55 litres) in their 3^rd lactation. It was concluded that Surti breed has high production potential along with early sexual maturity and higher multiple births.