Abstract
A study was conducted on records of 10413 sheep of two breeds (Avikalin and Malpura) to understand the genetics of sex ratio and how it is governed by several factors in sheep breeding. Data from the ICAR-Central Sheep and Wool research Institute, Avikanagar (Rajasthan), comprising the period 1991-2016 were used for the analysis. The average sex ratio (per cent males at birth) was 50.43±0.28 in Malpura and 51.05±0.32 in Avikalin sheep. Least squares analysis of variance showed that the non-genetic factors did not influence the sex ratio significantly. Descriptive analysis showed that sires had a trend of producing a particular sex of lambs in their lifetime. Genetic analysis showed low additive genetic variance for sex ratio in Avikalin (h 2 = 0.019±0.003) and Malpura sheep (h 2 = 0.04±0.01). Maternal permanent effect was found important for sex ratio in Avikalin sheep. It was concluded that sex ratio is not influenced by management practices in sheep breeding. However, selecting sires with a tendency of producing a specific sex may help in skewing of the sex ratio curve in the farm.
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