Characterization of production system and breeding practices of sheep producers in Doyogena district, Southern Ethiopia

Abstract

An exploratory survey was undertaken in Doyogena district of Southern Nation Nationalities Peoples region of Ethiopia to understand the sheep production system, the breeding practices, selection criteria and sheep production constraints in order to develop a sheep breeding strategy. Data were collected from 107 households using semi-structured questionnaire and group discussion. Descriptive statistics and index were used to present the data. The agricultural production system of the area was Ensete ventricosum -crop-livestock production system. Crop production was found to contribute to most of the households' food and income followed by sheep and cattle production. The main sheep production objective was the sale of young and fattened sheep. The mean sheep holding was 4.02±2.58 to which most (43.5%) were breeding females. Only 47.2% of the respondents own breeding ram and 42.5% of them use controlled mating. Body size (index = 0.232) and appearance (index = 0.305) were the first selection criteria used for ewe and ram selection, respectively. Castration of rams and culling of unwanted sheep through sale, slaughter, and exchange was a common practice. Old age and poor physical condition were the first culling criteria for female and male sheep, respectively. Castration age ranges from 12 to 72 months when the ram have been used for breeding. Castrated animals were the first priority followed by young males to be sold in the flock when the family needs money. Feed shortage (index = 0.34), lack of input like credit service (index = 0.18), and diseases and parasites (index = 0.124) were the top three major sheep production bottlenecks in the district accounting for about 64.4% of the total weight. Finally, to fully utilize the potential of the breed and the area, production constraints need to be addressed along with genetic improvement and appropriate institutional setup.

Production Characteristics and Management Practices of Indigenous Tswana Sheep in Southern Districts of Botswana

“…Although it is commonly recommended that castration should be performed at an earlier age in weeks, farmers in the study generally castrated their rams at a later age of more than 3 months, especially southern district farmers. This finding is consistent with the report of [ 15 ] who reported an average castration age of 10.8 ± 2.5 months in Adiyo Kaka rams and [ 24 ] who reported an average castration age of 12.09 ± 4.10 months in Doyogena rams. This is because some sheep producers believe that castration at an early age ‘stunts growth’.…”

“…Castration for the purposes of controlling unwanted mating has been reported in the literature [ 24 , 25 ]. Although it is commonly recommended that castration should be performed at an earlier age in weeks, farmers in the study generally castrated their rams at a later age of more than 3 months, especially southern district farmers.…”

Traditional sheep breeding practices under agroforestry system of Gedeo zone, Southern Ethiopia

“…On the other hand, farmers purchased rams from local markets for breeding purposes. Similar reports were released in different parts of the country; Gamogofa zone [ 23 ], northwest highlands of Ethiopia [ 15 ], Setit Humera and Kafta Humera [ 24 ], Doyogena district [ 25 ] and Horro district [ 17 ].…”

“…Across all study districts, about three folds of interviewed farmers expressed their experience in culling sheep for various reasons. It has marked variation in culling experience with northwest highlands of Ethiopia [ 15 ] and Doyogena district [ 25 ], where 97% and 90% of farmers practiced culling. Poor body condition (31.8%), old age (28.6%), sickness (22.7%) and sterility (15.6%) were the top reasons to cull ewes reported in the recent study.…”

“…In the present study area, poor body condition (29.7%), mating difficulty (24.6%), and health problems (23.2%) were the top culling criteria for breeding ram. Poor body condition was also the first reason for culling breeding males in Tahtay Maychew [ 16 ] and Doyogena district [ 25 ]. Similar to the current finding, health problem was among the reasons to cull male sheep in Borana [ 35 ].…”