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The goat husbandry is an evergreen enterprise in many parts of India. However the growth performance of the native goat breeds remains unrevealed. Hence a study was undertaken to assess the growth performance of Karunkannai goats from birth to weaning in Instructional Livestock Farm Complex, Orathanadu. A total of 175 animals were selected for the study, which revealed that the birth and weaning weights of Karunkanni were 1.60±0.03 kg, 8.32±0.20 kg respectively and preweaning average daily gain was 74.73±2.17 g. The birth weight of male and female kids was 1.62±0.05kg and 1.55±0.06kg, respectively. Even though male kids recorded 4.4% higher body weight than female kids, no significant difference was observed. The average kids per doe 1.4 and the prolificacy rate was 141.13%. The percentage of single birth was recorded as 30.29%, multiple births as 69.7% out of which 58.29% was twins and 11.43% was triplets recorded. This study envisaged that the native animals would be better choice for the goat rearers in the Cauvery Delta region of TamilNadu.
Keywords: Karunkanni kids, Birth weight, Weaning, Average daily gain