Some reproductive and growth traits of crossbred genotypes produced by crossing local sheep breeds of Kivircik x White Karaman and Chios x White Karaman in steppe conditions

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate some production traits of crossbred genotypes produced for lamb production by crossing local sheep breeds of Kivircik (K) x White Karaman (W) and Chios (C) x White Karaman in steppe conditions. W breed is raised in steppe conditions while K and C breeds are raised in Mediterranean climate conditions in Turkey. A total of 340 ewes was used through 3 years. 20.3, 19.6, 20.3 and 19.9 kg for weaning weight; 31.9, 29.4, 30.3, 30.5 and 30.1 kg for 180 day weight, respectively. The differences among genotypes for survival rates and growth performance of lambs were not statistically significant (P>0.05). The results indicated that Chios crossbred ewes had the highest reproductive performance while all genotypes had similar performance in terms of survival and growth of lambs in steppe conditions.

Growth traits and survival rates of Akkaraman lambs in breeder flocks in Konya Province

“…They were similar to the values (30.4 and 31.9 kg) of 2 studies (19,20) conducted among lambs 6 months age. In different studies, differences between the LWs of lambs at 4 and 6 months of age could originate from differences in genetic capacity and climatic, maintenance, and feeding conditions.…”

“…The overall BW value of this study (4.1 kg) was higher than the values reported in some studies (10-12), but it was generally lower than the values indicated in many other studies (13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20). A probable reason for low birth weights in the present study may be the high rates of twin births (18%-20%).…”

“…Therefore, an exact comparison could not be made in terms of the WW. However, the values obtained in this study were close to previous values reported for 64-and 75-day-old lambs (16,17), were similar to previous values by calculations made on the basis of daily weight gain (10,19,20), and were higher than those of another study (11), but were lower than those of some other studies (14,15,18). The differences in terms of WW in lambs of the same age between this study and previous studies (11,14,15,18) may stem from differences in genetic capacity, milk yield of dams, and climatic, maintenance, and feeding conditions.…”

“…A probable reason for low birth weights in the present study may be the high rates of twin births (18%-20%). It was also reported in earlier studies that BWs of twin-born WK lambs were lower than those of single-born WK lambs (20,22). Another reason for this may be different feeding levels of pregnant ewes during the last gestation in this study and previous studies.…”

“…In some previous studies, BWs of WK lambs were reported between 2.83 and 3.81 kg (10)(11)(12) (19,20).…”