Testicular and Related Size Evaluations in Nigerian Sahel Goats with Optimal Cauda Epididymal Sperm Reserve

Table 1

Age-related variations in body weights, testicular and epididymal size estimates, and sperm counts in Nigerian Sahel goats.

Parameters	Age (months)			All goats; ()	Range; (Min.–Max.)
	18; ()	24; ()	30; ()
Body weight (kg)	14.00 ± 1.13^a	16.67 ± 2.82^b	18.74 ± 2.29^c	17.04 ± 2.99	12.00–25.00
Sperm cell count (×10^9)
Cauda epididymal	1.68 ± 0.31^a	1.68 ± 0.38^a	2.34 ± 0.80^b	1.94 ± 0.67	1.12–4.66
Testicular	0.14 ± 0.10^a	0.15 ± 0.01^a	0.27 ± 0.20^b	0.23 ± 0.30	0.03–1.88
Scrotal size
Length (cm)	8.39 ± 0.68^a	9.66 ± 2.32^b	9.89 ± 0.61^b	9.29 ± 0.91	7.50–11.00
Circumference (cm)	17.82 ± 0.67^a	18.87 ± 1.22^b	19.91 ± 1.01^c	19.07 ± 1.29	17.00–21.80
Testicular size
Gonadosomatic index (g/kg)	2.85 ± 0.38^a	3.43 ± 0.67^b	3.98 ± 0.41^c	3.51 ± 0.69	2.00–4.50
Weight (g)	39.58 ± 5.73^a	56.30 ± 11.26^b	74.34 ± 7.65^c	59.90 ± 16.10	31.40–86.20
Longitudinal length (cm)	8.94 ± 0.68^a	10.02 ± 1.07^b	11.13 ± 0.79^c	10.23 ± 1.20	7.80–12.90
Mid-circumference (cm)	10.23 ± 0.65^a	11.36 ± 0.87^b	12.71 ± 0.62^c	11.57 ± 1.30	9.10–13.70
Epididymal size
Weight (g)	6.46 ± 1.17^a	8.15 ± 1.53^b	10.11 ± 0.69^c	8.57 ± 1.82	4.60–11.70
Epididymal-testicular weight ratio (g/g)	0.16 ± 0.02^a	0.15 ± 0.02^a	0.13 ± 0.01^b	0.15 ± 0.02	0.11–0.19
Epididymosomatic index (g/kg)	0.46 ± 0.08^a	0.49 ± 0.10^ab	0.54 ± 0.05^b	0.51 ± 0.08	0.28–0.64

Means ± standard deviation with different superscripts are significantly different ().