Thirty five male and female Sudan Desert and Taggar goat kids has been investigated to study the effect of sex of kids on birth weight, growth rate and weaning weight of Desert and Taggar goats under traditional management system depended on natural grazing in South Kordofan state at Al Debabat locality.The result revealed that Desert male kids had significantly (p<0.0l)higher birth weight (2.25±0.08kg)than Taggar male kids (2.00±0.06kg) and Taggar female kids had a significantly (p<0.0l)lower birth weight (1.91±0.04)than Desert female kids (2.08±0.10kg).The growth rate for three month of age was significantly (p<0.0l)higher for desert male and female kids compared with male and female of Taggar kids.Large body weight gain per day (p<0.0l)scored by Desert kid.Sex of kids had higher significantly (p<0.0l)effect on body weight at weaning, where Desert male kids had significantly (p<0.0l)higher weaning weight (11.88±0.45kg)than Taggar male kids (8.70±0.20 kg) and Desert female kids had a significantly (p<0.0l)higher weaning weight (10.07±0.20)than Taggar female kids (8.12±0.28kg).Also there was significantly (p<0.0l)higher between male and female of Desert kids.

The experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of litter size on Taggar goat Kids performance. Sixty two (62) kids of Taggar goats which were divided into 3 groups according to sex and the number of kids born per doe (Litter size): Single Kids group (32), twin kids group (24) and triplet kids' groups (6). The results indicated that the birth weight on single kids' groups was 2.10±0.06 kg, the twin group was 2.05±0.05 kg and the triplet group 1.7±0.16 kg and there were no significant (p ≥0.05). The effects of litter size on weaning body weight at were 8.63±0.24 kg, 8.11±0.26 kg and 7.410.51 kg. The effects of litter size on body weight gain of kids from birth to weaning were 6.53±0.22 BW/kg, 6.09±0.25 BW/kg and 5.62±0.48 BW/kg. The effect of little size on Body weight at puberty age was 14.16±0.34 kg, 13.55±0.29 kg and 11.66±0.43 kg. The effect of litter size on puberty age were 175.63±12.86 days, 195.31±9.94 days and 206.61±8.19 days and also at first kidding age was 358.10±15.01 days , 384.86±9.56 days and 387.81±11.60 days and there was no significant (p≥0.05) among the groups. From the study conclude that litter size has a positive effect single kids' group and has a negative effect on the triplet kids' group. Keywords: Taggar, goat, production, reproduction, concentrate ration, dry land, Sudan

Department of Animal Production, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Dalanj University, Sudan. 2 Department Animal Production, Faculty of Natural Resources and Environmental Studies, University of Kordofan, P.O. Box 716, Khartoum, Sudan. 3 Department of Animal Production, Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources , University of Kassala, P.O. Box 12, New-Halfa, Sudan. Department Animal Production, Faculty of Natural Resources and Environmental Studies, Peace University, P.O. Box 20, El Fulla, Sudan. Department of Animal Production, Faculty of Natural Research and Environmental Studies, University of Kordofan. 6Department of Environmental Physiology -Main library, University of Khartoum, Sudan. Department Diary Production, Faculty of Animal Production, University of Khartoum, Sudan.

The study was conducted in Taggar goats to evaluate the effect of two different levels of protein and energy in the rations on some reproductive and productive traits. Sixty two (62) kids of Taggar goats were allocated to sex and birth type in a complete randomized design according to live body weight. The results indicated that supplemented does secured higher litter size 1.50 and 1.33 compared to control group 1.2. Kidding rate was high in supplemented groups 100% compared with control group 93.8%. Body weight was heavier at time of kidding and weaning for supplemented does compared with control does. These results indicated that supplementation reduced body weight losses throughout the lactation period. The kidding interval for the supplemented does was shorter for does in group B (247.81±8.38 days) and group C (242.60±7.88 days) compared to does in control group (288.94±6.84 days). Similarly, the service period had been reduced in supplemented does than those in control group. Results from milk analysis indicated that higher protein, lactose and total solid content in supplemented does whereby fat content was higher in control group. The supplementation had reduced the incidence of abortion and mortality rates compared to the unsupplemented does. In conclusion the investigated environmental factors showed an impact on both reproductive and productive traits of the Taggar goats under rangeland farming system.

This experiment was conducted to study the performance, carcass characteristics and meat quality attributes of desert sheep raised under range conditions around El Nuhood. Thirty desert sheep (15 males and 15 females) of almost the same age (about 8 months) were used in a 16 weeks study period. The sheep were randomly allocated to three groups (treatments) of ten animals (5 males and 5 females). The three groups were allowed to graze on natural range grasses at night only and were kept under shade during the day from 7:00 am to 6:00 pm. The first group was allowed water every 2-3 days and was considered as control. The second group was allowed access to water daily. The third group was allowed daily access to water and received concentrates supplement. At the end of the experimental period, eighteen animals (nine males and nine females) were randomly taken, weighed and slaughtered to study the carcass characteristics. The results included that were significant (P<0.05) differences among the treatment groups with regard to the warm carcass, cold carcass and empty body weight. There were significant (P<0.05) differences between females and males of the three treatments in slaughter weight, warm carcass weight and cold carcass weight. Males obtained higher weights than females. The dressing percentage on the basis of warm carcass and cold carcass was significantly (P<0.05) different in the three treatments. The gut fill expressed as a percentage of empty body weight was significantly (P<0.05) different among the three treatments. These results concluded that management strategy which involves shorter watering intervals and feed supplementation will probably reflect positively on the performance, carcass characteristic of Hamari sheep under range conditions.

A survey of chicken litter production was undertaken by hand submitted questionnaire. The survey covered 219 farms out of 612 registered in Khartoum state to provide information on amount and use of litter. The survey revealed that most poultry farms followed similar management practices. About 58.94% of litter production was estimated to come from broiler houses and 41.06% from layer houses. It was estimated that 70% of the litter production is litter-based and about 30% are droppings collected without litter. The amount of litter produced was estimated to be 95097.58 ton/year and 87.1% of this amount was used as fertilizer. Samples of broiler litter were collected and proximate composition was conducted to investigate the nutrient quality of broiler litter. Results obtained on dry matter (DM) and ether extract (EE) showed that there are significant (P<0.05) differences among three locations (Khartoum, Khartoum-North and Omdurman). However, there are no significant differences on other chemical compositions.

Effects of type of supplementation, season of kidding and litter size on body condition score (BCS) at kidding and at weaning time were evaluated in Taggar goats in extensive management under dry land farm. The supplemented groups (2 and 3) had (P 0.05) for higher BCS at kidding compared with single and triplet kidders. At weaning time triplets kidder had slightly lower (P<0.05) body condition compared to single and twin kidders.

The present work aimed to study husbandry practices of camel herders in north Kordofan state, Sudan. A total of 122 farmers were randomly selected using questionnaire technique. The questionnaire was conducted between March and April (2007) in 4 different areas (Sodary, Jabra, Umgrfa and Almuwelih), dominated by Kababish camel herders. The results indicated that 59% of camel farmers were owners, while 41% were shepherds. Illiteracy among camel owners was 48.6% and among shepherd was 56%. Average herd size was 85.1 ± 37.2 heads. Camel herders keep high percentages of breeding females (74.2%) while breeding males amounted to 25.2% in different herds. Sheep and goats were also raised besides camels. Castration of males was practiced for fattening purposes by 40% of the farmers. Seasonal migration was practiced by the majority of the herders to the northern and southern parts of the state. The study reported the presence of twelve camel diseases, whereas local knowledge was extensively practiced in combating diseases. Most of the farmers (75.4%) use the money returns from selling of camels in other activities rather than adding new animals to their herds.

Deep stacking broiler litter was evaluated prior to its use as feed ingredient. Fresh broiler litter was collected from a commercial broiler houses in Khartoum state, Sudan. Deep stacking was done in 1.5x1.5x1.5, 1.75x1.75x1.75 and 2x2x2 m silo pits. The high content of protein and minerals in broiler litter indicated its importance as a partial substitute for concentrates in the diet. Overall, deep stacking had no effect on the chemical composition of broiler litter. The deep stacking of litter was effective in the destruction of pathogens. The numbers of total bacteria and pathogenic microorganisms such as Salmonella and E. coli detected in broiler litter and deep stacked litter were within the acceptable limits.