Withers Height Research Articles

Evaluation of Body Weight, Morphometry, and Physiology Status of Etawah Crossbred Doeling on Two Different Farms Management

This study aimed to evaluate the body weight (BW), morphometry, and physiological status of Etawah Crossbred Doeling (ECD) under different farms management. This study was performed in two farms, Garage (Tlogoadi village, Mlati subdistrict) and Bumiku Hijau (Margomulyo village, Seyegan subdistrict), both located in Yogyakarta and each farm used 6 ECD as the replications (12 animals in total). Parameters of the study consist of body weight (BW), morphometry (chest girth, hip height, body length, chest depth, ear length, ear width, and withers height), physiological status (respiration, pulse, and rectal temperature). The parameter was measured weekly for four consecutive weeks of observation. The results showed that the difference in farm management between Garage and Bumiku Hijau influenced on the BW, morphometry, and physiological status of ECD. The study showed that the BW and all morphometry from the Garage farm was higher than Bumiku Hijau farm (P<0.05). However, the physiological status (except for rectal temperature) from Garage farm was lower than Bumiku Hijau farm (P<0.05). It can be concluded that Garage farm implemented better good farming practices compared to Bumiku Hijau farm.

Morphometric characteristics of finishing pigs fed cottonseed meal

The objective of this study was to evaluate the morphometric characteristics of finishing pigs fed cottonseed meal and enzymes. Thirty castrated male pigs with an average weight of 55.47 ± 5.3 kg were used in an experiment in a randomized block design, with 5 treatments and 6 replicates, whose treatments consisted of the following: control diet (0), control diet plus enzymatic complex (0E), diet with 5% (5E); 10% (10E) or 15% (15E) cottonseed meal plus enzymatic complex. The following measurements were taken: body length, thoracic perimeter, waist circumference, rump width, rump height, withers height and weight in the different periods of in vivo measurements. The measurements were performed in four different periods throughout the experiment at 105, 122, 137 and 154 days of age. The inclusion of the enzyme complex and cottonseed meal in the replacement of soybean meal in the diets of pigs in the finishing phase had no effect on the morphometric characteristics (P> 0.05) of body length, thoracic perimeter, abdominal circumference, rump width, rump height, withers height and weight in the different measurement periods.

Optimizing amla (Phyllanthus emblica) fruit powder supplementation in liquid feed fed to Holstein dairy calves: Insights from growth performance and health events

Despite efforts at improvement, calf diarrhea remains one of the main problems in calf rearing. Amla (Phyllanthus emblica) fruit could be a good candidate to improve gut health due to its antimicrobial, gastro-protective, and immunomodulatory effects. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of amla fruit powder supplementation on frequency of diarrhea and growth performance of dairy calves. One hundred male Holstein calves [2-days (d)-old; 42.6 ± 1.7 kg body weight (BW)] were randomly assigned into five treatments, CON, PEF5, PEF10, PEF20, and PEF40, with 0, 5, 10, 20, and 40 g/d amla fruit powder (PEF) supplementation, respectively, and housed in individual hutches (n = 20 calves per treatment). The experiment lasted from 2 to 75 d of age (weaning) and calves were fed milk (2–7 d), milk replacer (8–75 d), and calf starter (2–75 d). The PEF supplementations were fed in two meals a day, equal amount each time, by mixing into milk or milk replacer. Feed intake and fecal score data were collected daily; BW and body frame measurements at 2, 14, 28, 42, and 75 d; and rumen fluid samples at 14, 28, 42, and 75 d. Starter and total dry matter intakes (DMI) differed among treatments during 22–75 with the highest in CON and linearly decreased with increasing PEF doses. Liquid feed DMI tended to decrease with increasing PEF doses. PEF supplementation had quadratic effect on body weight (BW), average daily gain (ADG), feed efficiency, body length, heart girth, and withers height. The BW and ADG differed among treatments during 29–75 and 15–75 d, respectively, with the highest in PEF5 followed by CON and lowest in PEF40. However, PEF did not improve BW and ADG compared to the CON. The overall feed efficiency in PEF5 was higher than in PEF20 and PEF40. PEF5 decreased the frequency of fecal score “3” (P = 0.02) while PEF5 (P < 0.01) and PEF10 (P = 0.03) increased the frequency of fecal score “1”, compared to the CON. Frequency of diarrhea in the PEF5 group (7.9%) was lower (P < 0.05) than all groups (11.1%, 14.3%, 22.6%, and 24.2% for PEF10, PEF20, and PEF40, respectively). Rumen fermentation (pH, ammonia-N, and volatile fatty acids) was not affected by PEF supplementation. However, ammonia-N showed a decreasing trend with increasing PEF levels. The results suggested that PEF could be fed at 5 g/d to reduce diarrhea in preweaning dairy calves.

Using the artificial bee colony technique to optimize machine learning algorithms in estimating the mature weight of camels

This paper aims to predict male and female camels' mature weight (MW) through various morphological traits using hybrid machine learning (ML) algorithms. For this aim, biometrical measurements such as birth weight (BW), length of face (FL), length of the neck (NL), a girth of the heart (HG), body length (BL), withers height (WH), and hind leg length (HLL) were used to estimate the mature weight for eight camel breeds of Pakistan. In this study, multivariate adaptive regression splines (MARS), random forest (RF), and support vector machine (SVM) were applied to develop prediction models. Furthermore, the artificial bee colony (ABC) algorithm is employed to optimize ML models' internal parameters and improve prediction accuracy. The predictive performance of ML and hybrid models was evaluated on a testing dataset using goodness-of-fit measures such as mean absolute deviation (MAD), mean absolute percentage error (MAPE), coefficient of determination (R2), and root mean square error (RMSE). The results of the study revealed the ABC-SVM model was the best predictive model. The experimental results of this study showed that the proposed ABC-SVM method could effectively improve the accuracy for MW prediction of camels, thus having a research and practical value.

Characteristics of Physiological Parameters of Japanese Black Calves Relate to Carcass Weight.

This study aimed to identify the growth performance and blood factors associated with carcass weight in Japanese Black calves based on 675 performance tests and field carcass records. We measured the body weight, withers height, and chest girth at the start of fattening age (approximately 8-10 months) and analyzed eight blood factors, including vitamins and metabolites. Single- and two-trait animal models were used to estimate the heritability and genetic correlations. The heritability estimates for growth performance were moderate to high (ranging from 0.48 to 0.74), and those for blood metabolites were low to moderate (ranging from 0.19 to 0.51). Estimates for genetic correlations of carcass or body weight with body weight, withers height, and chest girth were high (ranging from 0.42 to 0.80). The body weight and withers height at 8 months of age are possibly closely related to the final carcass weight. The blood metabolites associated with body weight were vitamin E in steers (castrated males) and β-carotene in heifers. Our findings indicate that body measurements and blood metabolites measured during the growing period could be used to determine the nutritional and physiological status of cattle as well as predict carcass weight.

Study on the Association between LRRC8B Gene InDel and Sheep Body Conformation Traits.

Marker-assisted selection is an important method for livestock breeding. In recent years, this technology has been gradually applied to livestock breeding to improve the body conformation traits. In this study, the LRRC8B (Leucine Rich Repeat Containing 8 VRAC Subunit B) gene was selected to evaluate the association between its genetic variations and the body conformation traits in two native sheep breeds in China. Four body conformation traits, including withers height, body length, chest circumference, and body weight, were collected from 269 Chaka sheep. We also collected the body length, chest width, withers height, chest depth, chest circumference, cannon bone circumference, and height at hip cross of 149 Small-Tailed Han sheep. Two different genotypes, ID and DD, were detected in all sheep. Our data showed that the polymorphism of the LRRC8B gene was significantly associated with chest depth (p < 0.05) in Small-Tailed Han sheep, and it is greater in sheep with DD than those with ID. In conclusion, our data suggested that the LRRC8B gene could serve as a candidate gene for marker-assisted selection in Small-Tailed Han sheep.

Comparative analysis of phenotypic data and genetic structure of Kalmyk cattle breed

The main trends in the development of animal husbandry in the Republic of Kalmykia are considered. It is necessary to carry out the current selection to preserve and improve the genetic potential of animals. In the Republic of Kalmykia, immunogenetic expertise is effectively used in cattle breeding. The purpose of the study was to analyze statistical data on Kalmyk cattle in 1988 and 2018. It was found that the number of livestock increased by 324430 heads over 30 years. A comparative analysis of the exterior data of the animals showed that the bulls-producers in 2018 were more extensive compared to 1988: The difference in withers height was 1.6%, body length was 1.2, chest girth was 1.9, and cannon bone circumference was 5.7% (P&lt;0.95). Positive dynamics were also observed in cows. The average live weight of sire bulls in 2018 was 796.7±3.7 kg, 35.2 kg (4.6%) higher than that of animals in 1988. Cows in 2018 outperformed 1988 animals by 26.1 kg (5.7%) in live weight (P&gt;&lt;0.95). I’, C2, L’, and S2 antigens had met less frequently. I’, C2, L’, and S2 antigens had met less frequently. Thus, we can state that for 30 years, there have been changes in the frequency of occurrence of antigens in breeding farms and, consequently, changes in the gene pool. When comparing the increase and decrease in the frequency of occurrence of antigens between the two breeding farms, there are apparent differences, indicating a multidirectional selection.&gt;˂0.95). Positive dynamics were also observed in cows. The average live weight of sire bulls in 2018 was 796.7±3.7 kg, 35.2 kg (4.6%) higher than that of animals in 1988. Cows in 2018 outperformed 1988 animals by 26.1 kg (5.7%) in live weight (P˂0.95). I’, C2, L’, and S2 antigens had met less frequently. I’, C2, L’, and S2 antigens had met less frequently. Thus, we can state that for 30 years, there have been changes in the frequency of occurrence of antigens in breeding farms and, consequently, changes in the gene pool. When comparing the increase and decrease in the frequency of occurrence of antigens between the two breeding farms, there are apparent differences, indicating a multidirectional selection.

Morphometric indices of native sheep breeds of the Himalayan region of India using multivariate principal component analysis.

This study was performed to analyze the morphometric traits and indices in 3000 animals of five registered sheep breeds in the Himalayan region under a multivariate approach. Data were recorded under field conditions with equal coverage of the five breeds, viz., Karnah, Gurez, Poonchi, Bakerwal and Changthangi on body length (BL), height at withers (HW), chest girth (CG), ear length (EL), and tail length (TL). Furthermore, four derived traits (indices) were studied, which included an index of body frame (IBF), an index of thorax development (ITD), a Baron-Crevat index (BCI), and an index of body weight (IBW). Multivariate principal component analysis (PCA) was undertaken on nine morphometric traits. Kaiser's criterion was used to reduce the number of principal components for further analysis and interpretation. The adequacy of sampling was evaluated using Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) test and Bartlett's test of sphericity. The mean BL ranged from 52.15 (Changthangi) to 71.13 (Gurez). The estimates of HW, CG, EL and TL were highest in Gurez (63.49), Bakerwal (84.82), Bakerwal (7.26), and Karnah (8.18) breeds, respectively. Among the derived traits, the highest IBF was observed in the Gurez breed with an estimate of 112.22. Upon multivariate PCA on the dataset, the first four principal components were able to explain 92.117% of the total variance. The KMO test, Bartlett's test of sphericity and estimated communalities showed the appropriateness of PCA on the evaluated traits. Four eigenvalues were greater than one and were extracted for further analysis. Morphometric traits were highly correlated, except for EL and TL that showed lower correlation estimates with other traits. The Changthangi population showed the lowest estimates of BL, HW, CG and rectangular body frame. The present study ascertained important morphometric traits/indices that can help in developing selection criteria and formulating sustainable breeding and conservation plans vis-à-vis the unique sheep breeds of the temperate Himalayas.

Final Fattening Live Weight Prediction in Anatolian Merinos Lambs from Some Body Characteristics at the Initial of Fattening by Using Some Data Mining Algorithms

This study's objective was to compare the performances of Random Forest (RF), eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost), and Bayesian Regularization Neural Network (BRNN) algorithms, which are some data mining algorithms used in final fattening live weight prediction. As the independent variable in the design of the algorithms, some body characteristics taken before fattening of 54 heads of Anatolian Merino lambs, with single birth and male, were withers height (WH), rump height (RH), body length (BL), chest girth (CG), leg girth (LG), and chest depth (CD) was used. The mean±standart errors for the body characteristics of Anatolian Merino lambs were determined to be 63.481±0.538, 63.315±0.501, 78.930±1.140, 60.037±0.549, 47.704±0.543, and 29.926±0.377, respectively. The mean initial live weight (ILW) and the mean final live weight (FLW) were found as 35.89±0.84 and 49.49±0.88 kg, respectively. There was difference of 13.60 kg between ILW and FLW means. The ILW and FLW were shown to positively correlate with body characteristics, and this correlation was statistically significant (P

Estimation of body weight from morphological measurements in Boer goats with the application of artificial neural networks and some regression models

In this study, examination of the characteristics of body measurements affecting the body weight of Boer goats and the estimation of the body weight were investigated. To examine their body morphological features, 400 live animals were taken into consideration. The morphological measurements taken from the goats in the study were body weight (BW), body length (BL), heart girth (HG), withers height (WH), rump height (RH), rump length (RL), ear length (EL) and head with (HW) respectively. These animals were between 1-6 years old; 112 of them were male and 288 of them were female. Multiple regression, ridge regression and artificial neural networks (ANN) methods were applied to estimate the body weight. In the prediction of body weight as a dependent variable, the ANNs predictive model produced high predictive performance. Mean square error (MSE), mean absolute error (MAD) and mean absolute percent error (MAPE) statistics were used to determine model performance. Using the Multi-Layer Perceptron (MLP) Artificial Neural Network (ANN) learning algorithm, the body features that had the greatest impact on body weight were determined. Comparison of the predictive performance of the put forward model against both multiple regression and state of the ridge regression methods showed that the artificial neural networks outperformed both competing models by achieving the least values for MAD, MSE and MAPE in both training and testing data sets. The results of artificial neural networks were promising and accurate in the prediction of the body weight of goats.

Morphometric Measurements of Red Foxes (Vulpes vulpes) in Somogy County, Hungary

The red fox (Vulpes vulpes) has the widest natural distribution of any terrestrial carnivore. Sexual dimorphism in this species is well known and is frequently observed in body and skull measurements. Morphological analysis is essential because the skull and body morphologies reflect many population/individual characteristics, genetic distances, environmental effects, and growth-affecting factors. Our study presents the first comprehensive analysis of red fox body and skull morphometry in Hungary. We performed morphometric measurements on 200 red foxes at two developmental stages, juvenile and adult, of different sexes, male and female, from Somogy County, Hungary, between January 2021 and January 2022. Statistical tests showed significant differences in all seven body measurements (body weight, total body length, tail length, head length, wither height, hind leg (left) length, and neck circumference of adult red foxes between the sexes, being significantly lower in the case of females than males. Significant differences were also found between the sexes in adult red fox skull measurements (total skull length, zygomatic width, and mandible length). In the case of juvenile red foxes, not all body dimensions differed significantly between the sexes (body weight, head length, and neck circumference did not differ significantly). We also found significant differences between the sexes in skull dimensions, except for zygomatic width. Regarding significant differences, the values for females were lower than those for males. Concerning the red foxes in Hungary, we found evidence of sexual dimorphism in all body and skull measurements in adult red foxes, which were larger in males, but not in all of the dimensions in juveniles.

Candidate genes for height measurements in Campolina horses

Context Genomic tools allow for increased efficiency in animal production and, consequently, greater production gains. Morphometric measurements of height can be used for breed characterisation/registration, and sex distinction, in addition to being associated with balance, posture, and the range of motion of the limbs, influencing the dynamics and quality of the gait. Aims This study was conducted to examine candidate genes related to the morphometric measurement of heights in Campolina horses. Methods The study involved information from 18 876 horses of this breed, containing phenotypic data of the measurements of withers, croup, back, and barrel heights, provided by the Brazilian Association of Campolina Horse Breeders (ABCCCampolina). Of these, 48 horses of the Brazilian Campolina breed were genotyped with the Equine 65 K lllumina® chip. The effects of the single-nucleotide polymorphisms were estimated by the weighted single-step method, using BLUPF90 family programs. Genes in the main chromosomal regions were identified by consultation with the NCBI. Key results A genomic-wide association study for withers height showed that 46% of the variation in this measurement was explained by 20 genomic windows. For croup height, 19 genomic windows were responsible for explaining 44% of the variation. Sixteen genomic windows were responsible for explaining 37.8% of the variation in back height and 18 genomic regions explained 39.7% of the variation in barrel height. Conclusion The ADAM17, SOX11, and KLF11 genes are located in the genomic windows that most explain the variations in the traits under study and have a biological action on the locomotor system. Implications The ADAM17, SOX11, and KLF11 genes are candidates for fine mapping and construction of molecular markers.

Dry Period Length in Dairy Cattle: II. Influence on Calf Survival and Growth Performance

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of dry period length (DPL) on survival rate, gender, growth performance, mortality of Holstein calves. Data belonged to 800 Holstein cows in different parities (2nd, 3rd and ≥4th) and 800 calves delivered by these cows. DPL were classified in 5 categories (≤40, 41-50, 51-60, 61-70, ≥71 days). Calves were weighed and body dimensions (body length, wither height, hearth girth) at birth and 6th months of age. There were significant relationships between DPL and calf gender (P

Isparta İlinde Yetiştirici Koşullarındaki Kıl Keçilerinin Morfolojik Özellikleri

In this study, the morphological body characteristics of hair goats bred in Isparta province, such as withers height, back height, rump height, chest width and body length, were investigated. The animal material of the study consisted of 45 hair goats in 3 farms in total, in lowland conditions, high pasture and highland conditions in the center of Isparta. In the examinations, it was found that the measurements of the males were longer than the measurements of the females in terms of withers, back and rump height, chest circumference and body length, respectively. While the difference was found to be significant in terms of withers height, back height, rump height, and body length (p

Estimating body dimensions and weight of cattle on pasture with 3D models from UAV imagery

Monitoring traits of cattle with an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) could assist farmers in monitoring the status and health of their herd without actually visiting them. This feasibility study presents 3D methods to manually estimate body dimensions, such as height and weight, of individual Holstein Friesian cows with stereo RGB imagery, video and LiDAR data from UAVs. In total, 25 different cows over 3 years were monitored and 4,611 images, ∼10 videos, and a LiDAR dataset were analysed. The methods used were estimating weight by analysing 3D models made with RGB imagery and video from UAV, and estimating height and weight from LiDAR data. Software used in this study to process the UAV data and to extract 3D models are Agisoft Metashape Professional, CloudCompare, RiPROCESS 1.8.4 Riegl Software and Potree Desktop. LiDAR showed accurate results for estimating withers height (mean error 6cm) and weight (mean error 38 kg). Estimating weight with 3D models extracted with Structure for Motion (SfM) from overlapping RGB imagery resulted in less accurate results (mean error 62kg). The latter result improved to a mean error of 31 kg when three outliers were removed which exceeded twice the standard deviation. These results suggest that the use of UAVs is promising for estimating body dimensions in extensive beef production systems. The main challenge remains to record individual cows from all sides without too much movement or motion from the cow to enable 3D modelling. Another challenge was to decrease the mean error in weight estimations so that changes in body weight over time can be monitored. Future research should focus on improving the overall mean error of cattle weight estimation, finding solutions for moving cattle and shifting from manual to automated processing of UAV imagery into 3D models.

Breeding characteristics of Romanov sheep depending on polymorphism of growth hormone gene

The search for new markers of high productivity of sheep and the introduction of evaluation and selection methods for these indicators is an urgent direction in breeding of Russian sheep. The material for the research was the results of assessment of exterior, live weight of Romanov sheep. Genetic studies were carried out using tissue samples (ear plucking). Polymorphism of growth hormone gene in Romanov sheep was evaluated by restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis and polymerase chain reaction. Evaluation of polymorphism of growth hormone gene in the population of Romanov sheep showed the presence of three allelic variants - AA, AB and BB, with a frequency of 0.24, 0.63 and 0.14, respectively. The statistically significant difference between the indicators of live weight in animals with genotypes GHAB and GHAA, GHAB and GHBB was: at birth 210 g and 140 g (P 0.95), respectively; at weaning 350 g and 1260 g (P 0.95), respectively. The phenotypic variability of live weight was the highest at birth and at weaning and amounted to 31.732.5 % for all genotypes. Animals with genotypes GHAA and GHAB outperformed their peers with genotype GHBB in dimensions of rump width in tuber coxae, rump width in tuber trochanterica, chest width, chest circumference, and therefore, had a wide body. When studying the phenotypic and genetic correlations of measurements of exterior and live weight at the age of 12 months, a reliable positive relationship was established with height at withers height (rP = +0.13*; rG = +0.02), rump height (rP = +0.14**; rG = +0.03), rump length (rP = +0.14**; rG = +0.02). The new knowledge gained about polymorphism of GH gene and its relationship with productive traits of Romanov sheep will allow for in-depth evaluation, targeted selection and selection of individuals with desirable genotypes.

Some Morphologic Characteristics of Central Anatolian Merino Sheep

This study aimed to investigate the body weight and some body measurements in Central Anatolian Merino sheep regarding ages and to carry out a comparative analysis between them. The study included a total of 60 animals aged 2, 3 and 4 years. The sheep were fed daily with hay, vetch, alfalfa and limited amount of concentrated feed (400 g head-1) until the pasture period, and pasture grass and mixed grass-clover hay during the pasture period. The live weights of the sheep of different ages in the farms were measured with a digital scale, and some body size were measured using a measuring tape and a measuring stick. When the live weight and chest circumference values of the 4-year-old sheep were compared with the data obtained in the other age groups (2 and 3 years old), and it was statistically significant, chest width and rump height values were found to be similar to those in the 3-age group. There were significant correlations between live weight and chest circumference, between withers height and rump height and significant correlations between live weight and chest width, body length with rump height, chest width with chest depth. In addition, significant correlations were found between live weight and chest depth, and between withers height, body length, and chest depth. Present findings revealed that the Central Anatolian Merino sheep can be beneficial in the development of meat-type sheep breeding.

The body weight heritability and the effect of non-genetic factors on the body measurement traits in Qinchuan cattle

This study aimed to understand the influence of the non-genetic factors that include breeding year, season, and sex of growth and development traits of Qinchuan cattle and to estimate the heritability of body weight at different growth stages. The Qinchuan cattle measurement records were by the Experiment farm of the National Beef Cattle Improvement Center (Yangling, China) from 2000 to 2017. SPSS and R software were used to analyze the influence of non-genetic factors on body size traits that include body weight (BW), withers height (WH), hip height (HH), body length (BL), chest circumference (CC), abdominal girth (AG), and calf girth (CG), at birth, 6, 12, 18, and 24 months of age. Meanwhile, the single-trait animal model of DMU software was used to estimate the variance component and the heritability of body weight. The results of GLM analysis showed as follows: sex, birth year, and birth season had effects on the body size traits of Qinchuan cattle at different growth stages. Respectively, the heritability of body weight at birth, 6, 12, 18, and 24 months of age were 0.43, 0.32, 0.37, 0.32, and 0.38.

Effects of Supplemented Resveratrol on In Vitro Ruminal Fermentation and Growth Performance of Hanwoo Calves.

We investigated the effects of resveratrol supplementation on in vitro ruminal fermentation and growth performance of Hanwoo calves. Treatment with three resveratrol concentrations (0%, 0.1%, 0.3%, and 0.5%) was used for in vitro ruminal fermentation. Resveratrol concentrations and pH of rumen fluid were negatively correlated (p &lt; 0.05); therefore, total gas production, total volatile fatty acids, and acetate, propionate, and butyrate levels were significantly higher in the treatments than in the control at all time periods (p &lt; 0.05). The appropriate resveratrol concentration that could be added without negative effects on the rumen was 0.3%. In farm experiments, we divided 14 Korean cattle calves into control (C) and 0.3% resveratrol (T) groups. There were no significant differences in the daily weight gain, feed conversion, final body weight, body length, withers height, and height at hip cross in the resveratrol-fed Hanwoo calves. Immunoglobulin G level was significantly higher in the treatment than in the control (p &lt; 0.05), but IgA and IgM levels did not differ. Supplemental feeding of resveratrol is beneficial to in vitro ruminal fermentation, but it is important to supplement it at 0.3%. Furthermore, resveratrol affects calf immunoglobulin G.

Phenotypic Characterization of Sheep Population in Aures, Hodna and Ziban Zones, Algeria

This study aims to characterize the sheep population phenotypically in three zones in northeastern Algeria: Aures, Hodna and Ziban. A total of 160 female animals of 2 to 4 years of age were subject to 4 quantitative linear body measurements (body length BL, withers height WH, tail length TL and wool weight WW) and 9 qualitative physical traits (head length HL, ear orientation EO, horn presence H, neck length NL, wool extent WE, tail texture TT, eyes shape ES, head color HC and wool color WC). The results indicate that the sheep population in these areas belonged to the Ouled Djellel sheep breed with some abnormal phenotypes, which refers to uncontrolled crossbreeding. Body measurements show moderate variation coefficient values, with the highest value reported for WW (7.37%). However, despite the weak correlations found in this study, clear ones were revealed between WH and TL (0.30) and BL and WW (0.26). The Hierarchical Agglomerative Clustering analysis sub-divided the sheep population into three classes, in which an overlap, according to body measurements, was remarked between Hodna and Ziban and between Aures and Ziban but not between Aures and Hodna.