Animal Science Department, Dilla University, Dilla, Ethiopia.
PLoS One. 2022 Jun 9;17(6):e0269263. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0269263. eCollection 2022.
The study was undertaken in Gedeo zone with the aim to identify traditional sheep breeding practices. Three potential districts (Yirgachefe, Bule and Gedeb) were purposely selected from Gedeo zone. A total of 180 smallholder sheep farmers were selected at random to complete a structured questionnaire that had been pretested. A pairwise ranking tool was used to prioritize ranked data during focus group discussion. Descriptive statistics were generated using SPSS version 26, while indices were computed for the ranked data. Mating happens because most farmers in Gedeo zone (80%) own breeding rams that are mixed and run with ewe flocks. Fifty-two percent of farmers were certain that their breeding rams mate with neighboring ewes. Nearly 70% of farmers prevented unwanted sheep breeding in their flocks by castrating or isolating undesirable rams from the ewe flock. Undesired or old breeding rams were replaced either from the same flock (58.9%) or purchased from local markets (41.1%). Breeding flock selection was common in Gedeo zone, with 97.2% of farmers selecting breeding rams and 93.3% of farmers selecting breeding ewes. Genotype (Index = 0.26) and body conformation (Index = 0.20) were the primary and secondary criteria used to select breeding ewes. Likewise, confirmation (Index = 0.25), genotype (Index = 0.24) and lamb growth rate (Index = 0.19) were the top three criteria when selecting breeding rams. Approximately three-quarters of interviewed farmers culled sheep due to poor body condition (31.8%), old age (28.6%), sickness (22.7%) and sterility (15.6%). Castration of rams was more common in Gedeb (58.3%) and Yirgachefe (55%) districts, and it was done for fattening, controlling unwanted breeding, and improving temperament. The mean selection and castration age of breeding rams were 13.18 and 30.72 months. In general, sheep breeding strategies for Gedeo zone should take into account section preferences and basic traditional sheep breeding practices.
本研究在盖多地区进行，旨在确定传统的绵羊养殖实践。从盖多地区有针对性地选择了三个有潜力的地区（耶加雪菲、布卢和盖德布）。总共随机选择了 180 名小农户绵羊饲养者填写经过预测试的结构化问卷。在焦点小组讨论中，使用配对排名工具对排名数据进行优先级排序。使用 SPSS 版本 26 生成描述性统计数据，同时为排名数据计算指数。配种是因为盖多地区的大多数农民（80%）都拥有混合的繁殖公羊，这些公羊与母羊群一起饲养。52%的农民确信他们的繁殖公羊与邻居的母羊交配。近 70%的农民通过阉割或将不理想的公羊与母羊群隔离来防止羊群中不必要的配种。不理想或年老的繁殖公羊要么从同一羊群中更换（58.9%），要么从当地市场购买（41.1%）。繁殖羊群选择在盖多地区很常见，97.2%的农民选择繁殖公羊，93.3%的农民选择繁殖母羊。基因型（指数=0.26）和身体结构（指数=0.20）是选择繁殖母羊的主要和次要标准。同样，在选择繁殖公羊时，确认（指数=0.25）、基因型（指数=0.24）和羔羊生长速度（指数=0.19）是前三个标准。大约四分之三的接受采访的农民因身体状况不佳（31.8%）、年龄较大（28.6%）、患病（22.7%）和不育（15.6%）而淘汰绵羊。公羊的阉割在盖德布（58.3%）和耶加雪菲（55%）地区更为常见，目的是育肥、控制不必要的繁殖和改善性情。繁殖公羊的平均选择和阉割年龄分别为 13.18 个月和 30.72 个月。总的来说，盖多地区的绵羊养殖策略应该考虑到地区偏好和基本的传统绵羊养殖实践。
