© KEBS 2017 —  All rights reserved   KENYA STANDARD    DKS 2774: PART 2: 2017  
                      ICS …… 
 
 
 
 
  
 
  
 
  
 
Grading live animal for meat trade - 
Specification 
 
 Part 2: Goat   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
     PUBLIC REVIEW DRAFT, NOVEMBER 2017 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
© KEBS 2017         First Edition 2017   
  KENYA STANDARD    DK S 2774: PART 2: 2017  
ICS ……………… 
 
 
 
 
  
 
  
 
 
 
Grading live animal for meat trade - 
Specification 
  
Part 2: Goat  
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
No copying of this standard without KEBS permission except as permitted by copyright law  
 
 
  
 
PUBLIC REVIEW DRAFT, NOVEMBER 2017 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
   
© KEBS 2015 — All rights reserved   
 
 
 
TECHNICAL COMMITTEE REPRESENTATION  
The following organizations were represented on the Technical C ommittee: 
 
Ministry of Agriculture. Livestock and Fisheries- Directorate o f livestock production 
Ministry of Agriculture. Livestock and Fisheries - Directorate of veterinary services 
Kenya Camel Association (KCA) 
University of Nairobi (UON) Kenya Industrial Research and Development Institute (KIRDI) 
Kenya Agricultural and Livestock  Research Organization (KARLO)  
International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) Kenya Livestock Marketing Council (KLMC)….Proposed 
Farmers Choice (K) Ltd 
Consumer Information Network 
Ministry of Health- food safety unit 
Ministry of Industry, Trade and Cooperatives  
National Public Health Laboratories 
Government Chemist’s Department 
Kenchic (K) Ltd. 
Kenya Meat Commission 
Kenya Nut limited – Morendat Farm 
Choice Meats limited 
Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) 
 
  
 
  
 
REVISION OF KENYA STANDARDS 
 
In order to keep abreast of progress in industry, Kenya standar ds shall be regularly reviewed. Suggestions 
for improvement to published standards, addressed to the Managi ng Director, Kenya Bureau of Standards, 
are welcome.  
 
  
© Kenya Bureau of Standards , 2016 
 Copyright. Users are reminded that by virtue of Section 25 of the Copyright Act, Cap. 12 of 2001  of the Laws of Kenya, copyrig ht 
subsists in all Kenya Standards and except as provided under Section 26 of this Act, no Kenya Standard produced by Kenya Bureau  of 
Standards may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system in any form or transmitted by any means without prior permission in w riting 
from the Managing Director. 
 
 
 
 
ISBN 9966-19-638-2  
   
 KENYA STANDARD       
 
  
 
 
  
  
 
 
 
Grading live animal for meat trade - 
Specification   Part 2: Goat   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
KENYA BUREAU OF STANDARDS (KEBS) 
 
Head Office:  P.O. Box 54974, Nairobi-00200, Tel.: (+254 020) 605490, 602350,  Fax: (+254 020) 604031 
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Coast Region    Lake Region   Rift Valley Region  
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Tel.: (+254 041) 229563, 230939/40               Tel.: (+254 057) 23549, 22396       Tel.: (+254 0 51) 210553, 210555 
Fax: (+254 041) 229448   Fax: (+254 057) 21814 
  
© KEBS 2015 — All rights reserved  Foreword  
 
This Kenya Standard was prepared by the Meat and Meat Products Technical Committee under the 
guidance of the Standards Projects Committee, and it is in acco rdance with the procedures of the Kenya 
Bureau of Standards. 
 
 During the preparation of this standard, reference was made to  the following documents: 
 
Kenya Meat Commission Act Cap 363 of the laws of Kenya 
 ILRI discussion paper No. 22, Improvement and Diversification o f Somali Livestock Trade and 
Marketing; Towards a formalized grading system for export quali ty livestock in Somalia 
 
Stuth, J. et al., (2006). “Livestock Market Information System for East Africa: The Case of LINKS/GL-
CRSP.” In J.G McPeak and P.D Litt le , eds Pastoral livestock ma rketing in Eastern Africa: Research 
and policy challenge 
ES 2789:2012-Grading live animals and carcass 
Australian Standard for the expor t of livestock (version 2.3) 2 011 
 Cap 360 of Animal welfare Act  
The assistance derived from the above sources is highly acknowl edged.©KEBS  DKS 2774: PART 2: 2017 
 
© KEBS 2017 —  All rights reserved   
 
 
 
 
Grading live animals for meat trade –Specification  
Part 2:  Goats  
 
 
 
1. SCOPE 
 
This Kenya Standard specifies requirements for grading of goats  for meat trade 
 
2  Normative references  
The following referenced documents are indispensable for the ap plication of this document. For 
dated references, only the edition cited applies. For undated r eferences, the latest edition of the 
referenced document (including any amendments) applies. 
 
I. KS 01-837: Parts 2 1990 Definitions for living animals for slaughter 
II. KS 317- 2 Carcasses and meat cuts  
III. Code of practice for animal welfare during transportation. 
 
3. DEFINITIONS 
For the purposes of this standa rd, the following definitions sh all apply: 
 
3.1 Grade   
the defined parameters that segregate live animals for meat tra de into homogenous groups applied by 
market participants  based on weight, age, sex, body condition and body conformation.   
 
3.2 Sex  
refers to whether an animal is male or female. 
 3.3 Body condition   
Overall body state of an animal assessed through visual observa tion taking into account fat and muscle 
deposition as it occurs in various places on the animal’s body 
 
3.4 Body condition score   
Is the score assigned through visual appraisal of specific body  parts. The extent to which specific skeletal 
body parts {including; hips, hooks and pins, rump, shoulders, b ack (spinous processes of the thoracic 
vertebrae), ribs} are either hidden or smoothened by flesh or f at. The animals are thus categorized as 
excellent; good; fair and poor;  DKS 2774: PART 2: 2017  
 
© KEBS 2017 —  All rights reserved  
  
3.5 Body conformation 
is the symmetry, size and shape of the various body regions of an animal relative to each other or the 
general appearance of the animal according to what is considere d a desirable appearance.  Features of an 
animal that comprise the ‘desirable appearance’ include 
a) Big frame or skeletal size of the animal—under this feature height and length as crucial elements to 
consider. Top quality animals are those that shall be tall with  large body frame; 
b) Good muscling— under this feature, thick and long muscling i s preferred; 
c) Good appearance of feet and legs—important features to consi der here shall include a long and 
straight (level) rump; long and broad loin; long and straight b ack; and well set and straight legs. Goat 
exhibiting a large heart girth in relation to overall body size  (height and length of body) will attain a 
higher score. 
3.6 Conformation score 
- This is a qualitative categorization of animal features based  on body frame, animal height and defects. 
They shall be described as ex cellent, good or fair.  
3.7 Castrated male: 
Male animals whose testicles have been rendered dysfunctional t hrough an approved procedure.   
3.8 Live weight :  
the weight of an animal before slaughter determined through an appropriate and acceptable method. 
 Lordosis   
Excessive inward curvature of the spine. 
Kyphosis   
Excessive outward curvature of the spine. 
4.2 Grading specifications for goats 
4.2.1 The grading of goats shall be done in accordance to age, sex, weight, body condition and body 
conformation. 
4.2.5 Age: categories will be based on de ntition and/or records.  
Sex:  categories will be based on: male (castrated or un-castrated) and female 
4.2.4 Weight :  A minimum weight of 15 kgs will apply for Grade 1 and 2.  Th e live weight will be determined 
by any appropriate method including weighing scale and weight b and.  
4.2.2 The body condition of goats shall be determined according  to Table 3 as excellent, good and poor. 
  
DKS 2774: PART 2: 2017  
 
  © KEBS 2017 —  All rights reserved 
  
 
  
 Table 1: Descriptions for body condition scores for Goats 
Body 
Score Hind leg Loin Shoulder Ribs Brisket 
Excellent   Muscle very well 
developed i.e., semi  
tendemosus, biceps femoris, quatriceps tail-
head filled and 
mounded Wide and very 
well developed 
loin up to the shoulder region, 
spinous processes 
are hidden or 
smoothened by 
flesh and/or fat    Shoulder 
muscles very 
well developed. 
Shoulder 
blade not 
visible  Ribs not 
visible Brisket well 
developed, covered 
with flesh and/or fat 
Good  
 Moderately developed, 
moderately filled tail head  Moderately 
developed loin, spinous processes 
not seen but easily 
felt.  Shoulder 
muscles moderately 
developed, 
shoulder  
blades 
slightly 
visible Ribs  
visible, moderate 
flesh 
cover Brisket  moderately 
developed 
Poor  
  Tail head unfilled and 
sunken pinbone 
prominent Poorly developed 
loin, spinous 
processes visible  Poor 
developed 
shoulder 
muscles, 
shoulder  
blades 
prominent Ribs 
visible B r i s k e t   p o o r  
developed 
 
 4.2.3 Body Conformation Score(CS) shall encompass the symmetry,  size and shape of the various body 
regions of the goat relative to each other or the general appea rance of the animal as outlined in Table 4: 
Table 2: Body conformation clas sifications and descriptions for  goats 
Scores Description 
Excellent Goats of good   height (tall), with large frame and long and st raight rump, loin and back, 
large heart girth and straight legs. DKS 2774: PART 2: 2017  
 
© KEBS 2017 —  All rights reserved  
 Good Goats of medium height with medium frame, shorter but straight rump, loin and back, 
medium heart girth and straight legs 
Fair Goats with defects including a short and small frame, a small  heart-girth in relation to the 
overall body size; lordosis or kyphosis, or feet and legs that are post-legged, buck-kneed, 
splay-footed or sickle-hocked. 
 
4.3 Goat grades  
The interaction of sex, age, body condition, and conformation s hall determine the goat grades as described 
in Table 5: 
Table 3: Grades and grading parameters for goats  
Grade  Sex  Weight Age
  Body
condition Body 
conformation 
1 Male un-
castrated Minimum 15 
Kg Max 48 
months Excellent Excellent 
Male castrated  Minimum 15 
Kg Max 48 
months Excellent Excellent 
Female Minimum 15 
Kg Max 36 
months Excellent Excellent 
2 Male un-
castrated Minimum 15 
Kg Max 48 
months Good  Good  
Male castrated Minimum 15 
Kg Max 48 
months Good Good  
Female Minimum 15 
Kg Max 36 
months Good Good  
3 All eligible stock No limit No limit Poor  fair  
 
 
  
Table 4 Sample Pictorial presentation of grades 
 
Grade  Sex  Pictorial presentation 
1 Male un-castrated 
 Male castrated   
 
DKS 2774: PART 2: 2017  
 
  © KEBS 2017 —  All rights reserved 
  
 
  Female 
2 Male un-castrated  
 Male castrated  
 Female  
3 All eligible stock