Data on the Structural Indices of Indigenous Goats Reared Under the Traditional Management System in East Gojjam Zone of Amhara Region, Ethiopia

Morphology of an animal contains the structure that supports the biological function of the animal, which intern has a strong relationship with the animal’s production performance (Alpak et al., 2009). Chiemela et al. (2016) noted that structural indices are combined results of two or more morphometric measurements, which are expressed as a percentage, and indicate the type and function of the animal breeds. Similarly, Popoola (2015) also stated that assessment of structural indices is an important component of phenotypic characterization to understand breed structure and proportions. Structural indices are the ethnological characteristics and functional traits of animals providing information about the type, aptitude, and production performance of the animal. In addition, the assessment and analysis of different conformation indices give opportunities for ethnological and functional classification of livestock breeds, particularly the ruminant (Esquivelzeta et al., 2011). Data on structural indices of indigenous does and bucks reared under traditional management in East Gojjam Zone of the Amhara Region, Ethiopia was generated from nine morphometric measurements taken from 589 lactating indigenous does and 117 intact indigenous bucks with dentition ≥1PPI (Tables 2 and 3). The study goats were sampled from three districts (Bibugn, Hulet Eju Enesie (HEE), and Goncha Siso Enesie (GSE)) of East Gojjam Zone, Amhara Region, Ethiopia. The anatomical points and procedures specified by ICAR (2017) and FAO (2012) were followed to record morphometric measurements taken on the live animals. Hip height, wither height, body length, paunch girth, heart girth, rump width, rump length, cannon bone perimeter, chest width, and body weight were morphometric measurements utilized to calculate the structural indices based on indices calculation formulas previously used (Khargharia et al., 2015; Chiemela et al., 2016; Dauda, 2018; Hankamo et al., 2020). The formulas, which were used to calculate the structural indicies, are presented in Table 1.