ON-STATION AND ON-FARM PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF AWASSI X MENZ CROSSBRED SHEEP IN THE CENTRAL HIGHLANDS OF ETHIOPIA

Abstract

The study was conducted on-station at Debre Berhan sheep multiplication and breed improvement center (DSMBIC) and on-farm in selected Kebeles of Bassona Worana district North Shewa Zone central highlands of Ethiopia, with the objectives to evaluate the performance of Awassi x Menz crossbred sheep and to assess management systems of smallholder farmers. For the on-farm study, a total of 104 households (HHs) (98 male and 6 females) were selected and interviewed, and 491 Awassi X Menz crossbred sheep (322 females and 169 males) were used for live body weight and linear body measurements. For the on-station study, 5,250 birth weight (BWT), 3,993 weaning weight (WWT), 1,216 six month weight (SMWT), 3,990 pre weaning daily weight gain (PRWDG) and 1,216 post-weaning daily weight gain (POWDG) data were recorded and analayzed for different blood levels (BLs) of Awassi x Menz crosbred sheep born between 2013 and 2019. Average BWT, WWT, SMWT, PRWDG, and POWDG of crossbred sheep under on satation managment were 4.00±0.01, 16.32±0.06, 25.18±0.1, 97.58±0.48 and 114.05±1.69 gram per day, respectively and were significantly affected by genotype, sex, birth type and season of birth. The overall average body weight recorded under on-farm condition was about 27.76±0.47kg ranging from 15.72 to 33.41kg for 0PPI and 2PPI respectively. From the regression analysis between BW and BLG, the following equations were developed: BW= - 20.99 + 0.92 (BLG) for male and BW= -14.11 + 0.76 (BLG) for female sheep. On the other hand, the overall average age at first lambing (AFL), lambing interval (LI), litter size (LS) of crossbred sheep in the station were 696.60 days, 306.39 days and 1.11±0.004 respectively. The corresponding values under on-farm conditions were 531.82±7.833 days, 309.96±4.73 days and xx 1.14. Crossbred sheep with higher BLs were better in their productive and reproductive performances compared with that of lower BLs. Regarding the management systems of crossbred sheep by smallholder farmers, the study shows that feeding, breeding, housing, and disease control systems in the areas were unimproved ones. Abortion and mortality rates and signs of inbreeding were reported by the HHs. Because of their faster growth, crossbred rams were frequently sold by the HHs which could lead to the retention of sheep with poor performance in the flock. On average, there were about 4.7 crossbred sheep per HHs in the study area. Despite all these problems, HHs believed that productive and reproductive performances of sheep were improved after the introduction of improved breeding rams in the area. Hence, it is important to continue the program but with better awareness creation and enforcement mechanisms to use the breeding rams properly without using them for other purposes. It is also crucial to support the HHs with improved sheep management technologies to maximize benefits to be gained from improvement programs. DSMBIC should, in particular, consider increasing and replacing the existing number of sheep population to minimize reproduction wastage, and should practice selective cross breeding program to exploit a wide within breed variability