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Variability of Measurable Morphological Characters of the West African Dwarf Goats (WAD goats) in the Agro-ecological Areas of Togo In Togo, small ruminants play a very important socio - economic - cultural role. Goats are the most numerically important compared to sheep. The most encountered goat breeds in this side of Africa are the West African Dwarf goats (WAD goats). Traditionally, extensive raising methods used for this race favors anarchic cross breeding and may constitute a real threat for the race. However, only few studies have been carried on to characterize this race, which exists in all Agro-ecological regions of the country, and also in the neighboring countries. In this study, surveys have carried on in the six Agro-ecological regions (Coastal, Forest, Guinea-Savannah, Atakora, Dry forest, and Sudan). 330 goats in total, including 35 males, were randomly selected in farms and were subject to measurements. Data have been analyzed using variance analysis (ANOVA) and multivariate analysis (PCA and AFD). These methods resulted in the means of morphological - biometric parameters, like: height at the withers (41.56 ± 3.66 cm), scapular ischial length (50.62 ± 4.55 cm), chest (61.28 ± 5.40 cm), horn length (6.52 ± 2.22 cm), ear length (9.42 ± 0.90 cm) tail length (9 17 ± 1.12 cm), hair length (2.55 ± 1.05 cm) and body weight (17.51 ± 4.43 kg). These figures are the same for this race in comparison to those found by other authors in the sub – region

Mortality Determinants of Djallonke Kids and Crossbred between Djallonke and Sahelian Buck at Kolokope Station. Productivity of Djallonke goats is low despite their good prolificacy. This low productivity is due to the high mortality rate before weaning of the kids. Perinatal mortality is often related to the low birth weight of kids. Crosses between Djallonke goats and a Sahelian buck goat on one hand and between Djallonke goats and bucks of the same breed on the other hand were carried out during two campaigns at the National Goat Sheep Program station of Kolokopé. A mortality rate of 78.3± 14.6% was observed for pure Djallonke kids which were born with a weight less than 1 kg. During the two seasons, the mortality rate was higher but not significant for pure Djallonke (41.3 ± 7.1%) compared to the mortality of crossed ones (30.9 ± 8.1%). The factors sex, birth mode, breed and calving season did not affect the pre-weaning mortality of the kid's. Birth weight affected very significantly the kid's mortality. The crossbreeding between Djallonke goats and a Sahelian buck induced a reduction of mortality rate at weaning. This reduction was due to the improvement of the birth weight of crossbreds compared to the birth weight of the pure Djallonke. This method can therefore been considered as one of the ways to improve the survival of Djallonke kids at weaning.

The Performances of Somba Cattle Race in Rural Area. Aiming to improve and preserve Somba cattle race in its birthplace, morphometrical and zootechnical characterisations studies have been managed from November 1995 to November 1996. White-black coat is the most represented. It was followed by blackwhite, black and fawn. The Somba cattle race is small sized with 96.6 cm to the withers and 172 ± 13 kg weight. The barymetrical equation established for all age animals is P= 139.10-6(PT)2.88 with a determination coefficient of 0.98. The birth weight is 12 ± 3 kg. The daily weight gains range from 96 g/day between 1 and 2 years to 104 g/day between 2 and 3 years. The fertility rate is 60.9%, and first calving age is 5 years. The interval between calvings is 18 months. The productivity per cow is 0.58 calf a year or 26.59 kg of calf and the productivity per 100 kg of cow is 15.92 kg calf. Those parameters show that the Somba is small sized and height but is prolific with a fertility rate of 60.9% in the harsh conditions in which the animals move. The breeding improvement would pass by the breeding environment improvement as feeding, watering and animal health; the bull-calves castration and to moderate milking in order to insure a better development of calves in the herds.

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