Morphological Characteristics of Local Goats in Gorontalo Indonesia

The identification regarding the morphology of local goats in Gorontalo is still lacking. This research aimed to add some information regarding the morphology of goats in Indonesia to support efforts of preserving and developing the local livestock in Indonesia. The location of this research is Gorontalo City, Indonesia. The variables observed were its color, nose profile line, shape of ear, backline, tail, ear length and width, height of shoulder, hip, body length, width, depth, and circumference of chest. The data obtained were analyzed by calculating the mean value, standard deviation, and correlation-regression analysis. The results show that the body size of Gorontalo local goats is wider than other varieties of goats in Indonesia. It is supported by a strong and positive correlation with body weight is chest circumference (0.96), body length (0.96), chest (0.94), shoulder height (0.91), chest width (0.90), hip height (0.89). The best predictor of body weight of Gorontalo local goats is chest circumference (X₆), ear length (X₇), and chest depth (X₅) with the regression equation Y= -36.833 + 0.155.X₆ + 0.471.X₇ + 0.766.X₅. The rate of body weight gain occurs faster when the goat is <1.5 years old and tends to slow down when the goat is >1.5 years old. The dominant qualitative morphological characteristics of Gorontalo local goats are brown coat color, a combination of brown and white, convex face line, wide ears, and half dangling, horns, without any beard.