Introduction: Dairy goat genotypes thrive across a range of ecological systems, making phenotypic plasticity highly relevant under constant environmental fluctuations. Maintaining production efficiency has become a priority for sustainable farming. The study explored existing literature on phenotypic plasticity of dairy goat breeds in response to varying environmental conditions across the world.Methods: Publication searches were conducted on Google Scholar, PubMed, ResearchGate, and ScienceDirect databases. Following the PRISMA guidelines, the systematic review explored articles published between 2004 and 2024 from thirty-three (33) studies.Results: These studies extend across various agro-ecological zones, highlighting differences in trait adaptability among breeds such as Alpine, Toggenburg, Saanen, and indigenous goats. The results showed high-yielding breeds performed optimally in temperate environments but struggled under heat stress, showing reduced milk yield and escalated reproductive inefficiencies. Conversely, indigenous breeds demonstrated superior phenotypic plasticity, maintaining consistent growth and reproductive performance in tropical and semi-arid zones.Discussion: These findings emphasize the importance of breed selection for environmental adaptability to sustain productivity in dairy goat farming. This review addresses phenotypic plasticity and trait variability in dairy goat breeds across diverse environments, with an emphasis on environmental adaptability and genotype-by-environment interactions.

In the face of climate variability and resource limitations, stress-related hormonal disruptions challenge the sustainability and reproductive performance of small ruminants. This systematic review evaluated the impact of key stress hormones such as cortisol, adrenaline, and glucocorticoids on reproductive functions of sheep and goats. A comprehensive search of databases including PubMed, ScienceDirect, Web of Science, and Google Scholar yielded 29 eligible peer-reviewed articles published between 2005 and 2024. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) and Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome (PICO) tools were employed for evidence-based practice ensuring a rigorous and transparent manner in conducting and reporting this research. The Cochrane Risk of Bias instrument was adopted to assess data quality and biasness of the included studies. The results consistently indicated elevated stress hormone levels impair the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis, leading to delayed ovulation, reduced conception rates, irregular estrous cycles, and compromised sperm quality. Major environmental factors contributing to hormonal imbalance identified were heat stress, nutritional deficiencies, inappropriate handling, social instability, and diseases. Additionally, genetic variation among breeds influenced the severity of stress responses. However, the limited African-based research and inconsistent reporting of environmental conditions highlight critical knowledge gaps. This review emphasizes the need for climate-resilient and welfare-oriented livestock strategies meant to mitigate stress and enhance reproductive outcomes in sheep and goats.

This study investigates the effect of non-genetic factors on the birth weight of Kalahari Red goats, a critical economic parameter in livestock production. Analysing data from 1902 goat kids born between 2008 and 2017 in different regions of South Africa, including the Northern (Gauteng, Mpumalanga, Northwest, and Limpopo), Southern (Eastern Cape and the eastern part of Western Cape), and Eastern (KwaZulu-Natal and the eastern part of Eastern Cape), the research employs a least-squares analysis of variance (ANOVA) using the General Linear Model (GLM) procedure. The results highlight the significance of various factors in determining birth weight. Season of birth, sire age, doe age, sex of the kid, breeder, year of birth, and birth type emerge as influential sources of variation (p < 0.05). Notably, region and kidding interval show no significant effect on birth weight (p > 0.05). Male kids generally have a higher average birth weight compared to females. Single births result in higher weights than multiple births (twins, triplets, and quadruplets). The study underscores the importance of considering these factors in genetic evaluation models. It emphasises their relevance in enhancing the understanding of prenatal growth and postnatal development in Kalahari Red goats within the context of livestock production.

The level of performance in any livestock production enterprise is a function of genetic and non-genetic factors and their interaction. For the purpose of agricultural production decisions, Zimbabwe was divided into five agro-ecological zones (AEZ) according to rainfall intensity, distribution and length of rainy season. Commercial dairy production, based on specialist dairy breeds such as Holstein, Holstein-Friesian and Jersey, is confined to AEZ I, II, III and IV. The performance of these breeds in contrasting AEZ has not been determined. In this study, farm level data of 7562 Holstein-Friesian cows calving in the period 2003-2011 was used to compare milk yield and milk components across three contrasting AEZ of Zimbabwe. A Generalized Linear Model (GLM) was fitted to investigate the fixed effects of year, season and AEZ and random effects of days in milk (DIM) on milk production and component traits. The factors herd, agro-ecological zone, year and season had significant (P

Despite the large genetic diversity within South Africa’s sheep population, average productivity on smallholdings remains low. This study therefore aimed to identify the breeding practices and trait preferences of sheep farmers in the Makurung and Lenting villages, Limpopo Province, for use in the development of a community-based breeding programme. Data were collected from 70 purposively sampled farmers in the two villages using a questionnaire survey method. Descriptive analysis, significance testing, and index ranks using SPSS software were employed to describe and analyse the collected data. Most (48.8%) of the sheep farmers in both villages kept sheep for savings and investment, and meat production purposes. The overwhelming majority (90.0%) of sheep farmers in both villages practised uncontrolled mating, but a significant difference in breeding practices was observed between the villages. Knowledge of castration and culling practices did not significantly differ between the villages. The sheep farmers’ preferred traits for breeding rams were mating ability (0.3), body size (0.3), and growth rate (0.2), while for breeding ewes they were twinning ability (0.3), mothering ability (0.2), and lambing interval (0.2). We conclude that farmers should focus more on ewe reproductive anatomy traits (such as udder size and shape, and teat size and placement), and ram reproductive anatomy traits (such as scrotal size and circumference, and testicular size and weight), as these can have an impact on long-term flock productivity. These findings could guide interventions such as the establishment of sustainable community-based breeding schemes to improve sheep production in the study area.