Study of the Influence of Non-Genetic Factors on the Growth and Development Traits and Cashmere Production Traits of Inner Mongolia White Cashmere Goats (Erlangshan Type).

Simple Summary: The Inner Mongolia white Cashmere goat is a breed of goat formed by long-term breeding that is used for mutton and cashmere and can be divided into the Arbas type, Erlangshan type, and Alashan type. The growth and development traits of livestock are affected by many factors, which can be roughly divided into two categories: genetic factors and non-genetic factors. Non-genetic factors generally include sex, birth month, birth type, birth year, group, and some other environmental factors and their interaction effects. To study their effects on different traits is to analyze the reasons for the differences in livestock production performance and put forward major suggestions so as to provide a theoretical basis and reference for the selection breeding of livestock and improve the economic benefits of livestock breeding. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) is a collection method used to compare multiple mean values of different groups. This study analyzed the influence of non-genetic factors on the growth, development, and cashmere production performance traits of Inner Mongolia white cashmere goats (Erlangshan type) and finally identified the non-genetic factors affecting growth, development, and cashmere production traits of Inner Mongolia white cashmere goats (Erlangshan type). The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of non-genetic factors on the growth and development performance of Inner Mongolia white cashmere goats (Erlanghan type), such as birth weight (BW), weaning weight (WW), 6-month weight (6 WT), 12-month weight (12 WT), body height (BH), and body length (BL), and wool production performance, such as cashmere fineness (CF), cashmere thickness (CT), and cashmere yield (CY). The research objects were 4654 kids produced by 45 buck goats and 2269 doe goats in the Erlang Mountain Ranch of Beiping Textile Co., Ltd., Inner Mongolia, from 2020 to 2023. Based on the generalized linear model, ANOVA was used to analyze the effects of non-genetic factors, such as birth year (Y), birth month (M), sex (S), birth type (T), birth herd (H), assay flock (F), age at measurement (MA), and the age of doe goats at lambing (DLA), on growth and development traits and cashmere traits. The results show that the birth weight (BW), weaning weight (WW), 6-month weight (6 WT), 12-month weight (12 WT), body length (BL), body height (BH), chest depth (CD), chest width (CW), chest circumference (CC), cannon circumference (CNC), wool length (WL), and cashmere yield (CY) of buck goats were significantly higher than those of doe goats (p < 0.01), and the fineness of the cashmere produced by doe goats was significantly finer than that produced by buck goats (p < 0.01). The birth weight, weaning weight, and 6-month weight of single kids were significantly higher than those of multiple kids (p < 0.01), but the effect on the 12-month weight was not significant (p > 0.05). The age of doe goats at lambing had significant effects on birth weight, weaning weight, and 6-month weight (p < 0.01). Assay flock and age at measurement had significant effects on cashmere fineness, cashmere thickness, and cashmere yield (p < 0.01). This study will provide a basis for the scientific breeding and management of cashmere goats and lay a foundation for the setting of fixed effects in the genetic evaluation model of Inner Mongolia white cashmere goats (Erlangshan type). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]