Performance evaluation of Indigenous and Garole crossbred sheep (F1) under semi-intensive management system

Abstract

A crossbreeding program was sought to enhance the genetic attributes of coastal sheep by mating them with Garole rams. The breeding program involved a combination of two male Garole with a group of twenty indigenous ewes. These sheep were permitted to mate naturally, without external intervention. Data collection focused on key metrics like birth weight (kg lamb-1), litter size, sex of lambs, instances of dystocia, weaning weight (kg lamb-1), weaning age (days), body weight (kg), age at puberty (days), and mortality rates (%). Crossbred male lambs had an average birth weight of 1.48±0.12 kg, while female lambs averaged 1.57±0.10 kg. Male to female ratio among crossbred lambs was 54.1% to 45.9%. As for weaning, males and females averaged 151.92±2.24 days and 144.00±4.20 days, respectively, with respective weaning weights of 7.98±0.85 kg for males and 8.31±0.90 kg for females. Between 30 and 60 days, male and female lambs gained at 50.16±5.94 g day-1 and 51.44±7.82 g day-1, respectively. Between 331 and 360 days, growth rates were 15.33±3.84 g day-1 and 22.33±6.00 g day-1 for males and females respectively. Dystocia, or difficult births, occurred in 75% of cases. There was no mortality for male lambs, but female lambs experienced a 20% mortality rate. Crossbreeding has emerged as a viable strategy for increasing meat production due to enhanced growth rates and their adaptability to certain environments. It can be concluded that crossbreeding of indigenous coastal sheep with Garole ram can be carried out to increase body weight and ADG. Bangladesh Journal of Animal Science 53 (2): 55-67, 2024