Abstract
Discussed are the reproductive and productive characteristics of the dairy and prolific Chios sheep breed, originating from the homonymous Greek island. Besides the island, the breed is also raised in the Greek mainland, the westcoast of Turkey and in Cyprus. It is early maturing, with long reproductive reason and lambing period, extending from October to March. Inspite its high ovulation rate, repeatability estimates do not suggest the presence of fecundity genes. The average prolificacy ratio ranges between 1.80 and 2.0, with triplets and quadruplets not uncommon. The average exploitable milk yield varies between 180 and 200 kg, with occasionally reported productions of up to 400 and 500 kg. Repeatabilities of prolificacy and milk production based on island data were found 0.15 and 0.40, respectively. Heritability of milk yield from the island was 0.31 and 0.40, respectively, for second and third lactations. Recent estimates from Cyprus report values of 0.30 and 0.39 for 90-day milk and total milk yield, respectively. Other parameters and information on udder (mechanical milking), growth, and carcass characteristics as well as on crossbreeding trials are also reported. Some considerations are given with regard to potential and valorization of this highly productive sheep breed.
Highlights
Discussed are the reproductive and productive characteristics of the dairy and prolific Chios sheep breed, originating from the homonymous Greek island
In the island of Chios they are kept as stall-fed animals on a family basis (1 —lO head). Their feeding is based on poor grazing or on dry roughages and little grain whenkept indoors, which coincides with pregnancy and parturition
Lactating ewes are milked by machine and the milk and butterfat is measured at 15-day intervals
Summary
The highly productive Chios (C) sheep breed originates from the homonymous Greek island, of the Aegean sea, but must have been influenced by fat-tailed animals of Asian provenance. In Turkey, conditions of Sakiz are similar to those of the Chios island, with small flocks of 2—4 animals kept by individual families The significance and the possibilities of C were recognized a long time ago and as a consequence, a systematic scheme was started in 1953 by the Ministry of Agriculture, with 17 communities of the central part of the island joining the milk control programme. In this first phase, 652 individuals were ear-marked, registered at the regional service and tested monthly for milk yield. Complementary to the main experimental objectives, a number of ad-hoc studies have been conducted to untangle specific problems, e.g.: physiology of reproduction, feed utilisation, mechanical milking and carcass quality
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