This paper deals with designing a cheap and easy-to-attain method to replace weighing for estimating the body mass of goats. Several models on the relationship of heart girth (HG) to live weight (LW) were used and data was collected on 50 Beetal goat kids (25 males and 25 females) of different age groups maintained at organized goat farm in Tarn taran district of Punjab. The animals were divided into four age groups as 0, 1, 2 and 3 months. To predict the body weight of Beetal goat kids four body measurements (height at wither, heart girth, body length and paunch girth) were recorded on each animal which was further used to develop the step wise multiple regression equations. Body measurements varied with increasing age of animals. In goat kids, the highest correlation (r) was observed between body weight and heart girth at 0 (r = 0.701) and 1 (r = 0.762) months of age. Similarly height at wither at 2 month (r = 0.813) and paunch girth at 3 month (r = 0.825) of age.

These correlations between body weight and body measurements were positive and significant (P<0.01). The regression analysis indicated that live weight and body measurements (height at wither, heart girth, body length and paunch girth). Multiple regression analyses were used to calculate the prediction equations. The coefficient of determination (R2) for weight estimation were for height at wither and paunch girth (86.0%) at 3 month. It was concluded that body weight of goat kids can be estimated in field using body measurements taken with a tape in the absence of weighing scales.

This study was focused evaluating the effect of heparin binding proteins (HBP) on in vitro capacitation and acrosome reaction (AR) in Beetalbucks. HBP were purified from pooled seminal plasma of six bucks to evaluate their effect on in vitro capacitation. Semen, washed twice with TALP medium was incubated in TALP, supplemented with glucose, BSA, heparin and HBP for 6 hrs at 37°. A control was also run without HBP. Incubated samples were evaluated for motility, viability, acrosome reaction and inner mitochondrial membrane potential (IMMP) after every 2 hrs. Standardization of HBP concentration on in vitro acrosome reaction revealed 150 μg/ml HBP as an optimum dose. Based on sperm parameters, six bucks were divided into two groups i.e. G-I (> 80% motility) and G-II (<80% motility).There was a significant (p<0.05) decrease in individual motility, viability and high IMMP from zero to six hrs of incubation in both control and HBP treated samples of both groups. A significant (p<0.05) increase in acrosome reaction and medium IMMP was noticeable in control and HBP treated samples with an increase in incubation time. In Vitro induced AR was also significantly (p<0.05) higher in HBP treated samples compared to control in both groups at 4 hrs and 6 hrs of incubation. However, Effect of buck on in vitro capacitation and AR was noticeable in both control and HBP treated samples of G-I and G-II. A non-significant (p>0.05) increase in LPO during capacitation and AR was also observed. This study concluded that SP-HBP enhanced the rate of in vitro AR in beetal bucks.