This study was conducted in Song and Shelleng local government areas of Adamawa State, between January 2004 and December 2006, to determine some characteristics of local chickens. A total of 451 chickens of both sexes were examined. About 49% of the birds observed were males while 51% were females. The comb type was mostly single (96.45%). Eye colours were either dark brown (37.92%), light brown (28.82%), dark red (28.60%), light green (2.00%), pink (1.33%) or dark ash (1.33%). For plumage colour, 17.07% of the chickens were classified as black and mottled, 14.41% as dark red/golden, 13.97% as dark brown, 12.64% as brown and mottled while 9.76, 6.85, 6.86 and 6.21 were classified as ash, white, white and mottled, and black, respectively. Most chickens (38.8%) had pink shanks, while 23.28%, 16.63% and 12.42% had dark ash, ash ,and light yellow shanks, respectively. The remaining birds (8.87%) had either milky, red, light pink or ash and yellow shanks. Average live weight, body girth, body length and shank length were 1.3 kg, 27.59 cm, 18.23 cm and 8.72 cm ,respectively. About 40.47% of the eggs observed were light brown. The average clutch size, egg weight, egg length, egg width, shell weight and shell thickness were 7.86, 39.03g, 4.52cm, 3.16cm, 3.80g and 0.53mm respectively. Generally, the local chickens in the study area were mostly black and mottled with dark brown eyes and pink shanks, and mostly lay light brown eggs. There were also distinctive differences in almost all the measurable parameters. These distinctions provide the basis for which they could be classified into breeds.

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The goat occupies an important niche in Nigeria's rural livestock economy yet information on its performance is scanty. This work supplies some basic data on oestrus and kidding patterns of the West African dwarf (WAD) breed of Nigerian goats. MATERIALS AND METHODSField observations on the oestrous phenomena were carried out with 30 does run with 3 intact bucks. Records were kept on behavioural oestrus, duration and length of oestrus, the oestrons cycle and time to postpartum oestrus. Statistical analysis was also carried out on 371 kidding records collected at the University of Ibadan farm over a 7-year period to determine age at first kidding, influence of season on kidding frequency, frequency of multiple births and the relationship of multiple births to parity. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONIt was found that oestrus in the adult WAD doe was overtly expressed and led to successful copulation if a buck was available. Kidding was all year round and there was no marked tendency to seasonality as in temperate breeds; however, conception and consequent kidding appeared related to environmental factors such as rains and feed availability. The sex ratio at birth favoured females against males (53-3 ~ versus 46-7~o). Multiple births were common, singles, twins and triplets occurring in the general herd in the proportion of 42, 46 and 12 ~o respectively. Occurrence of multiple births was strongly related to parity; at first kidding multiple births occurred in 13 of kiddings but rose to a peak of 54 ~ by the third parity.The average duration of oestrus was 2-3±0-1 days with a range of 1 to 3 days, which was close to estimates for some temperate breeds; the average length of the ocstrous cycle was 22.4 ± 4 days. Average time to postpartum oestrus was 37 ± 9 days with a range of 26 to 52 days. Mean age of the WAD goats at first kidding was 18.5 _ 1.2 months (range 12-21 months). A similar value, viz. 18 months, has been reportccl for some tropical breeds. Interval between kiddings from the first to the sixth were 9.7, 8-6, 7-9, 6.8 and 9-0 months respectively with an overall average of about 8 months. Thus 3 kiddings in 2 years can easily be achieved with WAD goats.

Sheep play significant role in the socio-economic life of the large human population. Improving the productivity of sheep through selection and breeding would require understanding of their growth characteristics. This study was conducted to assess the pre- and post-weaning daily weight gains (ADG) of four Nigerian sheep breeds and some non- genetic factors affecting them. Pre- and post-ADG were measured in 33, 34, 43 and 47 lambs of Balami, Uda, WAD and Yankasa ewes respectively, and analyzed to determine the effect of breed, sex, year, season, parity, and birth type. At the pre-weaning stage, Balami and Uda had similar gains (91.89g vs. 92.44g) which were higher than that of Yankasa (74.22g) which was in turn higher than that of WAD (62.44g). During the post weaning stage, Balami gained most (77.19g), followed by Uda (71.12g), and Yankasa (59.37g) while WAD still maintained the lowest rate of gain (55.15g). Male sheep had higher ADG than females, 100.7g vs. 87.8g at pre-; and 65.67 vs. 58.15g at post weaning. However, sex within breed analysis revealed non- significant influence of sex in all breeds except WAD at pre-weaning stage but males maintained better (p<0.01) rates of gain post-weaning. Pre-ADG decreased with increased litter size. Lambs born at first parity gained more (85.00g) than subsequent parity lambs. Season and year had no significant effect on both pre- and post-weaning gains. It is concluded that breed, sex, birth type and parity influenced average daily gain in sheep.     Les moutons jouent un rôle important dans la vie socio-économique de la population humaine. Pour améliorer la productivité des moutons grâce à la sélection et à l'élevage, il faudrait comprendre leurs caractéristiques de croissance. Cette étude a été menée pour évaluer les gains de poids quotidiens avant et après le sevrage (le 'ADG') de quatre races de moutons nigérians et certains facteurs non génétiques qui les affectent. Le Pré- et le post- 'ADG' ont été mesurés dans 33, 34, 43 et 47 agneaux de Balami, Uda, WAD et Yankasa brebis respectivement, et analysés pour déterminer l'effet de la race, sexe, année, saison, parité, et le type de naissance. Au stage de pré-sevrage, Balami et Uda ont connu des gains similaires (91.89 g contre 92.44 g) supérieurs à ceux de Yankasa (74.22 g), ce qui est à son tour supérieur à celui de WAD (62.44 g). Au cours de l'étape post-sevrage, Balami a gagné le plus (77.19 g), suivi par Uda (71.12 g) et Yankasa (59.37 g) tandis que WAD a maintenu le taux de gain le plus bas (55.15 g). Les moutons mâles avaient un ADG plus élevé que les femelles, 100.7 g contre 87.8 g à l'avant; et 65.67 contre 58.15 g au sevrage après le sevrage. Cependant, le sexe dans l'analyse de race a indiqué l'influence non significative du sexe dans toutes les races excepté WAD au stade de pré-sevrage mais les mâles ont maintenu de meilleurs taux (p<0.01) de gain après le sevrage. Le pré-ADG a diminué avec l'augmentation de la taille des portées. Les agneaux nés à la première parité ont gagné plus (85.00 g) que les agneaux parité subséquents. La saison et l'année n'ont eu aucun effet significatif sur les gains avant et après le sevrage. On conclut que la race, le sexe, le type de naissance et la parité influençait le gain quotidien moyen chez les moutons.

Gastrointestinal parasites impose severe constraints on sheep production worldwide. lnformation on prevalence of helminthosis in the ovine species could provide a useful guide towards effective control. Investigated in this study was helminthosis prevalence in some Nigerian sheep. The sheep included initial 64 yearlings (12 each of Balami, BL, and Uda, UD, and 20 each of Yankasa, YK and West African Dwarf, WAD, in a sex ratio of 1:1 per breed) and their 156 offspring. Faecal samples were collected from the sheep six-weekly over a period of 3 years and examined for the presence of various helminth species using the modified McMaster technique. Total helminths, Strongyles, Strongyloides, Moniezia, Trichuris and Nematodirus prevalence were 95.9, 87.3, 38.2, 60.6, 45.0 and 46.4%, respectively. Based on prevalence, breeds and seasons ranked (p < 0.05) thus: YK = WAD > BL > UD and late rainy> early rainy> late dry > early dry. Females and older sheep (≥ 4months) had higher (p < 0.05) prevalence than males and lambs (< 4months), respectively. Prevalence increased with decreased body condition score (BCS). Year, birth type and parity did not influence prevalence. It is concluded that there is high prevalence of helminthosis in the study area, with variation between breeds, sex, age groups and seasons. These variations could be exploited through selective breeding and cross breeding to control the disease with or without minimal use of anthelminthics.     Les parasites gastro-intestinaux imposent de sévères contraintes à la production ovine dans le monde. Les informations sur la prévalence de l'helminthose chez les ovins pourraient fournir un guide utile pour une lutte efficace. La prévalence de l'helminthose chez certains moutons nigérians a été étudiée dans cette étude. Les moutons comprenaient au départ 64 yearlings (12 chacun de Balami, BL et Uda, UD, et 20 chacun de Yankasa, YK et West AfricanDwarf, WAD, dans un rapport de masculinité de 1 : 1 par race) et leurs 156 descendants. Des échantillons de matières fécales ont été prélevés sur les moutons six fois par semaine sur une période de 3 ans et examinés pour la présence de diverses espèces d'helminthes en utilisant la technique modifiée de McMaster. La prévalence totale des helminthes, Strongyles, Strongyloides, Moniezia, Trichuriset Nematodirus était de 95.9, 87.3, 38.2, 60.6, 45.0 et 46.4%, respectivement. Sur la base de la prévalence, des races et des saisons classées (p <0.05) ainsi : YK = WAD>BL> UD et pluvieux tardif> pluvieux bdafur70@gmail.com 13 précoce> sec tardif> sec tôt. Les femelles et les moutons plus âgés (≥ 4 mois) avaient une prévalence plus élevée (p<0.05) que les mâles et les agneaux (<4 mois), respectivement. Laprévalence augmentait avec la diminution du score de l'état corporel (le 'BCS'). L'année, letype de naissance et la parité n'ont pas influencé la prévalence. Il est conclu qu'il existe uneprévalence élevée d'helminthose dans la zone d'étude, avec des variations entre les races, lesexe, les groupes d'âge et les saisons. Ces variations pourraient être exploitées par unesélection sélective et des croisements pour lutter contre la maladie avec ou sans utilisationminimale d'anthelminthiques.