Breeding Objectives and Trait Preferences of Farmers for Sheep in Ethiopia

Abstract

Ethiopian farmers perform breeding by putting different objectives to satisfy the need and to fulfill trait such as body size, body conformation, mothering ability, lambing interval, age at puberty and fertility. Farmers put different selection criteria for both sexs. For example, selection criteria for are rams body size, coat color and tail type and for ewes body size, coat colour and mothering ability are best for selection criteria. There are different sheep breed in Ethiopia and their geographical distribution insured throughout the countries. Breeding practices confirmed by natural mating method and sheep are served randomly by any intact male in the flock. For effective utilization of existing sheep resource the production system determine its effectiveness according to its geographical distribution production and there are different production systems such as sheep-barley or sheep production system, mixed crop-livestock system and Pastoral production system. Ethiopia has large livestock population in Africa but the uses of the resource not proportional and the reason for this linked with different constraint. As we know the major constraints to sheep Production in Ethiopia are disease, feed shortage, market, water, and lack of trained personnel and absence of recording. So due this the current objective of the paper is to review breeding objectives and trait preferences of farmers for sheep in Ethiopia. To use existing sheep resources the farmer should use appropriate breeding strategies and this can used for many trait.