Carcass characteristics and meat quality of progeny of five Merino dam lines, crossed with Dormer and Suffolk sires

This study details the slaughter traits of lambs born from a terminal crossbreeding experiment that involved five Merino type dam lines crossed with Dormer and Suffolk sires. Dam lines included dual purpose types; South African Mutton Merino (SAMM), Dohne Merino, SAMM rams crossed to commercial Merino ewes (SAMM cross) and specialist Merino lines selected either for clean fleece weight (FW+) or for an increased fertility (Rep+). Data include between 228 and 483 individual records, depending on the trait. The unadjusted fat depth 25 mm from the midline at the 13th rib of lambs from dual-purpose ewes was between 22 and 32% greater than that of lambs from FW+ Merino ewes. Progeny from Rep+ Merino ewes showed a closer resemblance to the progeny of dual-purpose breeds than to those of FW+ Merino ewes in this instance. Adjustment for slaughter weight eliminated these differences. The initial pH of meat from progeny of FW+ Merino ewes was lower than that from progeny of dual-purpose ewes, and Rep+ Merino ewes. No differences in Warner-Bratzler shear values of the meat were found between the different crosses. Crossbred progeny of the Merino lines performed satisfactorily for all the traits considered, and will not be discriminated against in the market. No conclusive differences in favour of either sire breed were found. Keywords: Dohne Merino, meat quality, SA Mutton Merino, terminal crossbreeding South African Journal of Animal Science Vol. 38 (4) 2008: pp. 355-36

A comparison between the body composition, carcass characteristics and retail cuts of South African Mutton Merino and Dormer sheepe/pj

No Abstract. South African Journal of Animal Science Vol. 34 (1) 2004: pp.44-5

Production of five Merino type lines in a terminal crossbreeding system with Dormer or Suffolk sires

This study details the production performance of ewes and lambs that originated from a terminal crossbreeding experiment that involved five Merino type dam lines and two terminal crossbreeding sire lines from 1999 to 2002. Ewe lines were SA Mutton Merino (SAMM), SAMM rams crossed to Merino ewes (SAMM cross), Dohne Merino, as well as specialist Merino lines selected for clean fleece weight (FW+) and for an increased reproduction rate (Rep+). Dormer and Suffolk rams were used as sire breeds on these ewes. Data include 777 birth and 605 weaning records of lambs and 562 production year records of ewes. At birth the progeny of SAMM ewes were heavier than those of the other ewe lines, while FW+ ewes produced smaller lambs at birth than SAMM cross and Rep+ ewes. Lamb survival was not significantly affected by ewe line or sire breed. The progeny of the dual-purpose ewe lines (SAMM, SAMM cross and Dohne Merino) were heavier than those of Merino ewes (FW+ and Rep+) at weaning. No sire breed difference was found for birth or weaning weight. The joining weights of dual-purpose ewe lines were higher than those of Merinos. Although considerable variation was found between ewe lines in terms of lamb output (number or weight of lamb weaned per ewe joined), the only significant difference was for weight of lamb weaned between SAMM cross and FW+ Merino ewes. Means for weight of lamb weaned per joining (in kg) were 37.3 for SAMM ewes, 39.6 for SAMM cross ewes, 35.5 for Dohne Merino ewes, 28.9 for FW+ ewes and 34.6 for Rep+ ewes. No differences in ewe reproduction were found between ewes joined to Dormer or Suffolk rams. The clean wool production of SAMM ewes amounted to 46% of that recorded in FW+ ewes. Corresponding percentages were 68% for SAMM cross ewes, 74% for Dohne Merino ewes and 90% for Rep+ ewes. The wool of SAMM ewes was slightly coarser in diameter than those of SAMM cross and FW+ ewes, which in turn was coarser than those of Rep+ and Dohne Merino ewes. The economic viability of crossbreeding programs involving the respective ewe lines would depend on the ratio between the prices of wool and lamb. No conclusive advantage could be demonstrated in favour of any of the sire breeds. Keywords: Fibre diameter, Lamb growth, Lamb output, Reproduction, South African sheep breeds, Wool yield South African Journal of Animal Science Vol.33(4) 2003: 223-23

Heritability estimates and correlations between subjectively assessed and objectively measured fleece traits in Merino sheep

Data from 2801 individuals (born from 1996 to 2002) were used to obtain heritability (h2) estimates for five objectively measured and six linearly assessed type fleece traits (scored on a 1-50 point scale) from the Tygerhoek Merino flock. Correlations of the objective traits with the subjective traits were also derived. Estimates of h2 for the subjective traits accorded with literature estimates, and exceeded 0.2 for wool quality (0.31), wool colour (0.38), yolk (0.25), as well as belly and points (0.25). Corresponding h2 estimates amounted to 0.19 for regularity of crimp score and 0.13 for staple formation score. Genetic correlations of objective traits with subjective traits were either favourable or negligible in the majority of cases. The only exceptions were positive genetic correlations of fibre diameter (FD) and coefficient of variation of FD with staple formation score and belly and points score. Genetic progress in subjective traits thus appears possible, if desired in a selection strategy. South African Journal of Animal Science Supp 2 2004: 38-4

Estimates of genetic and environmental (co)variances for live weight and fleece traits in yearling South African Mutton Merino sheep

No Abstract. South African Journal of Animal Science Vol. 34 (1) 2004: pp.37-4

The effect of temperature on the ammoniation of wheat straw by urea

No Abstract

Revised models and genetic parameter estimates for production and reproduction traits in the Elsenburg Dormer sheep stud

Genetic parameters for production and reproduction traits in the Elsenburg Dormer sheep stud were estimated using records of 11743 lambs born between 1943 and 2002. An animal model with direct and maternal additive, maternal permanent and temporary environmental effects was fitted for traits considered traits of the lamb (birth and weaning weight and survival). Fixed effects were sex, birth status, year and age of dam. Weaning weights were pre-adjusted to a 100-day equivalent. For reproduction traits (considered as traits of the ewe), which included number and weight of lambs born and weaned, repeatability models were fitted. The random part consisted of direct additive and ewe and sire permanent environmental effects. Direct and maternal heritability estimates were 0.13 and 0.23 for birth weight and 0.07 and 0.09 for weaning weight. Corresponding proportions of total phenotypic variance due to maternal permanent and temporary environment were 0.09 and 0.28 and 0.06 and 0.22 respectively. The genetic correlation between animal effects was -0.23 in the case of birth weight. The results showed that temporary environment (full sibs within a year) generally has a major effect on all pre-weaning traits. The direct heritability estimate of survival was 0.02 while the temporary maternal environmental variance as a proportion of phenotypic variance was 0.10. The estimates obtained for number and weight of lambs born and weaned were generally low, ranging from 0.03 for number of lambs born to 0.11 for total weight at birth. The permanent environmental effect of the ewe accounted for 6-7% of the total phenotypic variance. Genetic correlations of total weight of lamb weaned with the other reproduction traits were generally high (0.64 to 0.92) with low standard errors. The corresponding phenotypic, environmental and ewe permanent environmental correlations were all medium to high and estimated with a fair deal of accuracy according to low standard errors. The genetic relationship between weaning weight of the ewe and her lifetime reproduction (accumulated over four lambing chances) ranged between 0.40 and 0.67. Correlations between number of lambs weaned per ewe and weight of lamb weaned per ewe were particularly high (0.8 - 0.9). It was concluded that the maternal environmental effect should be partitioned into two components (permanent and temporary) when data sets involving multiple births over many generations are considered. Keywords: Dormer sheep, Genetic parameters, Temporary and permanent environmental effects, Early growth, Survival and reproduction traits South African Journal of Animal Science Vol.33(4) 2003: 213-22

Genetic analysis of faecal worm egg count in South African Merinos under natural challenge

Sheep from a Merino selection experiment at the Tygerhoek research farm in the Southern Cape provided material for this study. The selection lines involved included a line selected for clean fleece weight, a “Wet and Dry” line, a fine wool line and an unselected Control line. Rectal faeces samples were obtained from individual animals at 13 to 16 months of age, after drenching was withheld for at least 10 weeks. Nematode eggs in these samples were counted. Fitting the appropriate fixed effects, the heritability of untransformed, cube root transformed and log transformed faecal nematode egg count (FEC) was obtained from single-trait analyses. The effects of sex and birth year were involved in a significant interaction. Means for FEC were generally higher in ram progeny than in ewes, but the magnitude of the sex difference was not consistent. Multiple lambs had a slightly lower mean for FEC than singles, while FEC was unaffected by dam age. The heritability of FEC was estimated at between 0.14 for untransformed data and 0.18 for log transformed FEC. Genetic correlations of log transformed FEC with two-tooth staple strength (-0.49) and coefficient of variation of fibre diameter (0.30) were favourable. Clean fleece weight was unfavourably related to FEC on a genetic level (0.19). Selection for resistance to parasitic nematodes after natural challenge should thus be feasible in the Merino lines studied. Keywords: Fleece weight; genetic correlation; heritability; live weight; resistance South African Journal of Animal Science Vol. 37 (4) 2007: pp.237-24

Short Communication Inbreeding in the Dohne Merino breed in South Africa

The actual level of inbreeding and the effect of inbreeding depression on yearling body weight and fleece traits in the South African Dohne Merino population were investigated. All available pedigree data, which comprised of 266 268 records (302 169 animals including base parents) for the period 1975 to 2003 were used for calculating individual inbreeding coefficients. Inbreeding depression was estimated as the regression of performance (corrected for fixed effects) on the individual and dam inbreeding coefficients, fitting an animal model. The rate of inbreeding (ΔF) was estimated as the difference between the individual inbreeding (Ft) and the inbreeding of the parents (Ft-1) divided by (1-Ft-1). The level of inbreeding (F) in the SA Dohne Merino sheep population is very low. The proportion of animals that was inbred to some extent increased from 0.00 (average F = 0) in 1980 to 0.38 in 2003 (average F = 0.012). No significant inbreeding depression on body weight and fleece traits could be found. In general the results suggest that inbreeding at present is not a serious problem in the South African Dohne Merino breed. Keywords: Dohne Merino sheep; inbreeding depression South African Journal of Animal Science Vol. 37 (3) 2007: pp.176-17

Genetic variation in nodule size at different sites on the skins of slaughter ostriches

Nodule size is an important indicator of leather quality in the ostrich leather trade. The present study investigated genetic variation in nodule size at five sites on the skin, namely the neck, back, upper leg, flank and butt. Nodule size increased with an increased chronological age at all sites. Estimates of h² for nodule size ranged from 0.09 ± 0.07 on the flank region to 0.24 ± 0.10 on the upper leg region. Genetic correlations between nodule sizes measured at different sites were generally lower than expected, linked to high standard errors and, mostly not significant. These preliminary results seem to suggest that nodule size on different locations of the skin is not necessarily the same genetic trait. Apart from the limitations evident from these results, the objective measurement of nodules on ostrich skins is tedious when done manually, with little prospect for automation. The number of nodules per dm² (nodule density) was considered within skin sites as an indirect criterion for the improvement of nodule size. However, genetic correlations between nodule density and nodule size were negative, variable in size and generally not significantly different from zero or unity. Based on these preliminary results, alternative strategies for the genetic improvement of ostrich skin nodule size should be considered. South African Journal of Animal Science Vol. 36(3) 2006: 160-16