Data on birth weights (BW) and weaning weights (WW) in lambs of Yankasa, West African dwarf (WAD) breeds and their crosses were analyzed.Â  The effects of breed, parity, sex, type of birth, management system and season were determined. Yankasa lambs had the highest mean BW (2.57kg) which was significantly (P &lt; 0.05) higher than that of WAD (1.68kg) and their crosses (2.05kg). Breed, parity, sex, type of birth and season had significant (P&lt; 0.05) effect BW and WW.Â  Male lambs in comparison with female lambs had higher (P &lt; 0.05) BW and WW while single-born lambs in comparison with multiple-born lambs had higher (P &lt; 0.05) WW. A highly significant positive correlation (0.719) was estimated between BW and WW of lambs across breed.Â  It was concluded that the differences in factors influencing BW and WW at early phases might have risen from the variation among breeds and factors monitored. Therefore, BW and WW could provide useful information for early selection criteria in breeding programmes, serving as an important role in expression of genetic potential in lambs

ADEWUMI, O. O.

FASAE, O. A

JAMES, I. J.

OYEBADE, A. O.

English

Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta: FUNAAB Journal

89  FACTORS AFFECTING BIRTH AND WEANING WEIGHTS IN LAMBS OF YANKASA, WEST AFRICAN DWARF BREEDS AND THEIR CROSSES   O.A, FASAE 1 A.O. OYEBADE, O.O. ADEWUMI AND I.J. JAMES * 1 Department of Animal Production and Health, Federal University of Agriculture,  Abeokuta, Nigeria.   * Department of Animal Physiology, Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Ni-geria. Corresponding Author: animalexp@yahoo.co.uk ABSTRACT Data on birth weights (BW) and weaning weights (WW) in lambs of Yankasa, West African dwarf (WAD) breeds and their crosses were analyzed.  The effects of breed, parity, sex, type of birth, man-agement system and season were determined. Yankasa lambs had the highest mean BW (2.57kg) which was significantly (P < 0.05) higher than that of WAD (1.68kg) and their crosses (2.05kg). Breed, parity, sex, type of birth and season had significant (P< 0.05) effect BW and WW.  Male lambs in com-parison with female lambs had higher (P < 0.05) BW and WW while single-born lambs in comparison with multiple-born lambs had higher (P < 0.05) WW. A highly significant positive correlation (0.719) was estimated between BW and WW of lambs across breed.  It was concluded that the differences in factors influencing BW and WW at early phases might have risen from the variation among breeds and factors monitored. Therefore, BW and WW could provide useful information for early selection criteria in breeding programmes, serving as an important role in expression of genetic potential in lambs.  Keywords: Birth weight, weaning weight, Yankasa, West African Dwarf, Sex, Birth type. J. Agric. Sci. Env. 2012, 12(2):89-95 Journal of  Agricultural  Science  and Environment ISSN: Print     -  2277 - 2755  Online  -  2315 - 7453 © FUNAAB 2012 INTRODUCTION The Yankasa and West African dwarf breeds of sheep are the most common in Southern Nigeria and both breeds are well adapted to the environmental conditions under which they live ((Adu and Ngere, 1979). They have great capacity for making good use of low quality feed resources and serve as a source of income generation to many rural farmers through sale of meat and lambs (Fasae et al., 2011). There is a wide diversity in various production traits of these breeds which suggests that there is a great scope for improvement of the per-formance traits. Any breed development programme is based on the exploitation of genetic variation (Babar et al., 2004).   The importance of birth and weaning weights in evaluating the breeding potentiali-ties of domestic animals at an early age has long been recognized by livestock breeders. Birth and weaning weights of lambs are not only been influenced by genetic factors but also by physiological and environmental fac-tors (Mandal et al., 2006). Birth weight is an important parameter in meat producing ani-mals because it is strongly correlated with growth rate and adult size and also the vi-ability of new born animals, while weaning weight has a high relative economic impor-tance to the farmer. Hence, more informa-tion on these factors is needed to determine the effectiveness of selection based on these characters. This study therefore aimed at gaining information on the relative impor-tance of some factors that influence birth and weaning weight in lambs of Yankasa, West African dwarf and their crosses.  MATERIALS AND METHODS Experimental Animals and their man-agement A total of 105 lambs consisting of 42 Yankasa lambs, 38 West African Dwarf lambs and 25 crosses of the Yankasa and West African Dwarf were used for the ex-periment. The animals belonged to farmers in Odeda local government area of Ogun state, Nigeria. Prior to the experiment, preg-nant ewes were identified and monitored after agreement with the owners.   The animals were managed under semi in-tensive and extensive systems. Those man-aged semi intensively were allowed to graze freely in the morning to later return to their owners in the late evening. They were also frequently fed with yam and cassava wastes as well as other by-products from process-ing of agricultural products.  Data Collection Birth weights of lambs were taken after par-turition using a weighing scale. Also, the weekly weight gains were taken and re-corded from the first week after birth up to 12 weeks at weaning. Factors such as type of birth (single or multiple births), breed and sex of lamb, dam parity and manage-ment system were also obtained through animal observation and from records kept by owners.  Statistical Analysis The effects of breed, sex, dam parity, birth type and management systems on birth and weaning weights were analyzed (SAS, 1999). Correlation coefficient was used to deter-mine the relationship between the birth and weaning weight.  RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The effect of breed, sex and management system on birth weight (BW) and weaning weight (WW) of Yankasa, West African Dwarf (WAD) and their crosses are shown in Table 1. There were variations in BW due to breed, sex and management system. This corroborates earlier reports on tropical breeds of sheep and goats (Josephina et al., 1980, Thiruvenkadan et al., 2009). A mean of 2.57kg, 1.68kg and 2.05kg BW were ob-served for Yankasa, WAD and their crosses, respectively. Yankasa lambs were 1.19kg and 0.82kg heavier (P<0.05) than the WAD and their crosses respectively at birth, while the crosses were similar (P>0.05) to WAD at birth. However, the values for BW of Yankasa lambs were similar to 2.80 ± 0.19 reported by Adu et al. (1979) for the same breed of sheep.  The mean values for WW of Yankasa, WAD and their crosses were 10.87kg, 8.55kg and 9.83kg, respectively. Yankasa lambs were 2.32kg and 1.04kg heavier (P<0.05) than the WAD and their crosses, respectively, while the crosses were 1.28kg heavier (P<0.05) than the WAD at weaning. These observa-tions may be due to the effect of weight at birth as well as management practices em-ployed on the animals. However, the Yankasa breed of sheep has earlier been re-ported to be bigger than WAD sheep (Adewumi et al., 2009). 90  O.A, FASAE +, A.O. OYEBADE, O.O. ADEWUMI AND I.J. JAMES * J. Agric. Sci. Env. 2012, 12(2):89-95 The sex of lambs also had effect on BW and WW across breed. Rams were 0.24kg and 0.34kg heavier (P<0.05) than ewes at birth and weaning, respectively. This is in consonance with the observation of Brown and Jackson (1995) that rams exceeded ewes by 0.2 kg and 0.6 kg at birth and weaning, respectively while Rashidi et al. (2008) reported that males had 0.16kg and 1.92kg higher BW and WW in comparison to females in Kermani lambs. High BW of ram lambs and significant effect of sex on BW has also been reported for various breeds of sheep (Iyeghe et al., 1996; Sivaku-mar et al., 2006; Saghi et al., 2007; Gardner et al., 2007). Higher growth in prenatal stage under the influence of male sex hormones with anabolic effect might be the reason for higher BW in male lambs (Hafez, 1962). The effect of management system on BW and WW of lambs under semi-intensive and extensive system were similar (P > 0.05). The level of management could vary due to the in-ability of sheep rearers to take ade-quate care of the animals, availability of fi-nancial resources and culling strategies.  In addition, season had significant (P < 0.05) effect on BW and WW of sheep among breeds. Lambs born in the wet season were heavier (P < 0.05) than those lambed in the dry season. Lambs born in the wet season could have had a favourable environmental condition with good availability of the fod-der during the gestation period, which might have contributed to higher BW. Moreover, the variation in BW and WW of animals across season has been attributed to manage-ment, selection of bucks, environmental con-Table 1: Effect of breed, sex and management system on birth and weaning weights                in lambs of Yankasa, West African Dwarf and their crosses Factors Number of Lambs Birth weight (kg) Weaning weight (kg) Breed       Yankasa 42 2.87±0.11a 10.87±0.40a WAD 38 1.68±0.07b 8.55±0.37c Crosses 25 2.05±0.09b 9.83±0.39b Sex       Female 47 2.08±0.08b 9.58±0.30b Male 58 2.32±0.10a 9.92±0.32a Management System       Semi-intensive 56 2.20 ±0.09 9.23±0.29 Extensive 49 2.16 ±0.08 9.77±0.31 Season       Wet 60 2.51±0.10a 9.69±0.31a Dry 45 2.19±0.08b 8.86±0.28b  a,b,c   Mean in the same column with different superscripts are significant (P < 0.05)   91 FACTORS AFFECTING BIRTH AND WEANING WEIGHTS IN LAMBS OF... J. Agric. Sci. Env. 2012, 12(2):89-95 ditions such as ambient temperature, hu-midity and rainfall (Thiruvenkadan et al., 2009).  The effect of type of birth and parity on BW and WW across sheep breeds are shown in Table 2. BW for singles and twins were similar (P > 0.05) with 2.20 and 2.19kg, respectively, while WW of single lambs was higher (P < 0.05) than that of twins. This corresponds with the observa-tions of Josephina et al. (1980) and Saghi et al. (2007) which may be due to competition between the twins for dam’s milk and other nutrients. It is therefore suggested that since the type of birth was not significant at birth but ended up being significant at weaning, dams having multiple birth should be given extra concentrate for increased milk pro-duction as this will compensate for her higher number of lambs. Also, lambs from multiple births should be given to extra sup-plement feed to compensate for the shared feed and milk. Parity had significant effect (P < 0.05) on BW of the lambs. The results showed that BW of lambs at first parity was least and in-creased significantly to the third parity after which it was consistent till the fifth parity, which contradicts the findings of Mandal et al. (2003) and Thiruvenkadan et al. (2008) in Muzaffarnagari and Mecheri breeds of sheep, respectively. This could be attributed to breed difference as well as management sys-tem. Moreover, an improvement in WW with increased parity agrees with the findings of Osinowo et al. (1992). Reproductive effi-ciency can be said to improve with parity as shown by the improvement in WW of lambs with increased parity. Therefore it may be suggested that it will be unwise to cull an ewe based on the performance of her first parity, rather the ewe should be serviced and used up to the third parity while giving ade-quate flushing and steaming-up diets before making a decision.  Table 2: Effect of type of birth and parity on birth weight and weaning weight of                Lambs of Yankasa, West African Dwarf and their crosses. Factors Number of Lambs Birth weight (kg) Weaning weight (kg) Type of Birth       Single 63 2.20±0.10 10.15±0.24a Twin 42 2.19±0.07 9.35±0.36b Parity       First 16 2.21±0.10b 9.07±0.37b Second 36 2.28 ±0.07b 9.81±0.26b Third 28 2.35 ±0.14a 10.37±0.53a Fourth 14 2.34±0.08a 10.28±0.44a Fifth 11 2.36±0.08a 10.41±0.54a a,b  Mean in the same column with different superscripts are significant (P < 0.05)   92  O.A, FASAE +, A.O. OYEBADE, O.O. ADEWUMI AND I.J. JAMES * J. Agric. Sci. Env. 2012, 12(2):89-95 The effect of breed on growth of lambs from birth to weaning is shown in Figure 1. The growth rate of Yankasa lambs was faster compared to WAD and the crosses, while crosses had a better growth rate rela-tive to WAD lambs which may be attributed to heterosis. The observed differences in the various breeds may be due more to the effect of gene rather than environmental factors. A simple correlation between the BW and WW of lambs showed a positive correlation (0.719) which was significant (P < 0.01) across breeds. This was consistent with the observation of McFee (1985) showing selec-tion can either be done at birth or weaning. Hanford et al.(2003) reported a correlation of 0.52 between BW and WW for Targhee sheep.  BW which itself is affected by dam size, dam body condition and litter size, influ-ences the survival rate and pre-weaning growth performance of off springs (Laes-Fettback and Peters, 1995).  CONCLUSION  The results of the study showed that the differences in factors influencing birth and weaning weight at early phases might have risen from the variation among breeds and some factors observed in this study. Animal performance records should therefore be adjusted to reduce known differences be-tween animals so that genetic differences among animals can be recognized and used for effective breeding plan for their improve-ment. Based on the observed differences in the breed, It was concluded that Yankasa breed of sheep had a better performance and it will be recommended that flocks of West African Dwarf sheep should be cross bred with Yankasa sheep so as to take advantage of heterosis for better productivity in im-proving the growth rate of the breed.  REFERENCES Adewumi O.O. 2009. The effect of geno-type, sex and age on pre weaning weight and linear measurements in West African Dwarf, Yankasa and cross bred lambs in South Western Nigeria. Proceedings of the 34th Annual Conference of the Nigerian Society for Animal Pro-duction, 15th -18th March 2009. (Umoh, B.I., 93 FACTORS AFFECTING BIRTH AND WEANING WEIGHTS IN LAMBS OF... J. Agric. Sci. Env. 2012, 12(2):89-95 Udedibie, A.B. 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FACTORS AFFECTING BIRTH AND WEANING WEIGHTS IN LAMBS OF YANKASA, WEST AFRICAN DWARF BREEDS AND THEIR CROSSES

https://www.journal.unaab.edu.ng/index.php/JAgSE/article/view/1397/1290

FACTORS AFFECTING BIRTH AND WEANING WEIGHTS IN LAMBS OF YANKASA, WEST AFRICAN DWARF BREEDS AND THEIR CROSSES

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