Abstract
The study was carried out to evaluate the inter-relationships among morphometric traits of goats
in Taraba state and to differentiate Taraba goat populations based on their morphometric traits
by applying multivariate analysis. A total of 485 adult indigenous breeds of goats of mixed sexes
were assessed. Three breeds of goats namely; Red Sokoto, Sahel and West African Dwarf goats
were assessed for morphometric trait. Discriminant analysis was applied to identify the
combination of variables that differentiate the goats. The four most discriminating variables
(Height at wither, Heart girth, fore leg length, hind leg length) that divide West African Dwarf,
Red Sokoto and Sahel goat into their genetic groups were chosen through four steps, according to
the discriminant analysis based on significant F-values. The genetic distance between Red Sokoto
and Sahel was 0.674, between Red Sokoto and West African Dwarf Goat was 0.934, and distance
between Sahel and West African Dwarf is 2.239, The three breed combined classification results.
64% of the Red Sokoto goats were categorized properly. While 67% of Sahel goats were accurately
placed into the genotype group and 90% of West African Dwarf goats were correctly classified.