Abebe Ayele, Berhane Gebreyohannes, Getachew Tesfaye, Gizaw Solomon, Haile Aynalem
Debre-Birhan Agricultural Research, Amhara Agricultural Research Institute (ARARI), Debre-Birhan, Ethiopia.
Department of Animal Production Studies, College of Veterinary Medicine and Agriculture, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia.
Heliyon. 2023 Sep 6;9(9):e19906. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e19906. eCollection 2023 Sep.
This study evaluated the reproductive and productivity of local and Dorper crossbred ewes in a community-based management system. We analyzed data collected from 2013 to 2021, taking into account different factors such as dam-breed, location, type of birth, season, and year of lambing. Lambing was observed all year-round, but the majority (35%) occurred in September, October, and December. This suggests that pasture availability, which is influenced by climatic-factors, may play a role in the seasonality of lambing. Litter-size at birth and weaning did not show any significant difference. Age at first lambing varied between breeds (P < 0.001), while lambing-interval and annual reproductive rates were unaffected by dam-breed (P > 0.05). The annual number of lambing per year significantly varied based on location and lambing seasons (P < 0.001), with a higher frequency during the major rainy-season compared to the dry-season (1.581.42), highlighting the influence of feed availability. Productivity indices of ewes were calculated. Location and season of lambing had a significant impact on annual ewe productivity, while the ewe genotype showed no significant influence on productivity indices, except for the weight of lambs produced per kilogram of metabolic weight (0.840.72 lambs per kg ewe and year; P < 0.01: 2.021.77 kg lamb per kg ewe and year), where local ewes outperformed Dorper crossbred ewes. The difference in annual-productivity indices between local and Dorper crossbred ewes was more evident when considering the postpartum weight, as the ewes exhibited higher postpartum weights. However, both ewe genotypes produced comparable lamb weights per year (20.9120.16 kg lamb weaned per ewe and year for local and Dorper crossbred ewes, respectively). In summary, under low-input conditions, Dorper crossbred ewes demonstrated comparable reproductive performances and productivity traits to local ewes. Nevertheless, breed and environmental factors identified in this study should be taken into account to enhance sheep productivity in both local and Dorper crossbred ewes.
本研究评估了在基于社区的管理系统中本地母羊和杜泊杂交母羊的繁殖性能和生产力。我们分析了2013年至2021年收集的数据，考虑了不同因素，如母羊品种、地点、出生类型、季节和产羔年份。全年都观察到产羔情况，但大多数（35%）发生在9月、10月和12月。这表明受气候因素影响的牧场可用性可能在产羔季节性方面发挥作用。出生时和断奶时的产仔数没有显示出任何显著差异。初产年龄因品种而异（P < 0.001），而产羔间隔和年繁殖率不受母羊品种影响（P > 0.05）。每年的产羔数量因地点和产羔季节而有显著差异（P < 0.001），与旱季相比，主要雨季的产羔频率更高（1.58对1.42），突出了饲料可用性的影响。计算了母羊的生产力指数。产羔地点和季节对母羊年生产力有显著影响，而母羊基因型对生产力指数没有显著影响，但每千克代谢体重所产羔羊的重量除外（每千克母羊和每年0.84对0.72只羔羊；P < 0.01：每千克母羊和每年2.02对1.77千克羔羊），本地母羊在此方面表现优于杜泊杂交母羊。当考虑产后体重时，本地母羊和杜泊杂交母羊之间的年生产力指数差异更为明显，因为母羊产后体重更高。然而，两种母羊基因型每年所产羔羊体重相当（本地母羊和杜泊杂交母羊分别为每只母羊和每年20.91对20.16千克断奶羔羊）。总之，在低投入条件下，杜泊杂交母羊表现出与本地母羊相当的繁殖性能和生产力特征。尽管如此，本研究中确定的品种和环境因素应予以考虑，以提高本地母羊和杜泊杂交母羊的绵羊生产力。
