Estimation of Genetic and Phenotypic Parameters of Some Reproductive Traits of Black Bengal Does

The objective of this study was to evaluate genetic and phenotypic parameters for some reproductive traits of Black Bengal does. Genetic parameters were estimated by Residual Maximum Likelihood procedure, fitting an animal model ignoring maternal genetic or permanent environmental effects. The least-squares means of litter size at birth (LSB), litter size at weaning (LSW), litter weight at birth (LWB), litter weight at weaning (LWW) and gestation length were 1.50, 1.29, 1.58 kg, 6.37 kg and 144.71 days, respectively. The effect of parity of doe was significant for LSB, LSW, LWB and LWW. In general, LSB, LSW, LWB and LWW increased with the progress of parity. The effect of season of kidding was significant for LSW, LWB and LWW. Estimates of heritability for LSB, LSW, LWB, LWW and gestation length were 0.08, 0.13, 0.10, 0.00 and 0.18, respectively. The low estimates of heritability obtained for reproductive traits indicated that selection based on the doe’s own performance may result in slow genetic improvement.