REPRODUCTIVE PERFORMANCE OF INDIGENOUS SHEEP AND THEIR CROSSES

Abstract

THE reproductive performance of the indigenous Uda and Yankasa Sheep and their crosses with Suffolk were studied using data from 661 ewes bred, 791 lambs born and 614 lambs weaned. Single lambs survived better from birth to weaning than twin lambs. For the indigenous purebred mating, the Yankasa were fertile while the Udas were more prolific. Fertility, livability and overall production efficiency were generally higher in the crossbreds than for the indigenous breeds. Single lambs and ram lambs were heavier at birth and at Weaning than twin lambs and ewe lambs respectively. On the whole, crossbreeding seems to have improved the performance of the indigenous breed in terms of the indices of production reported in this study.