The Awassi sire can be used to crossbred with low-productive Tikur local ewes to produce export-marketable weight at yearling under farmer's management in the Ethiopian highlands
Mekonnen Tilahun | Belay Deribe | Mesfin Lakew | Solomon Abreha | Negus Belayneh | Abiy Shenkute | Desalegn Ayechew | Solomon Tiruneh | Uchenna Y. Anele | Jianchu Xu
A community-based sheep cross breeding project was conducted in Ethiopia with exotic Awassi crossbred rams and less productive indigenous Tikur ewes. Fifty-five Awassi crossbred rams having 46, 48, 56 and 65% Awassi blood levels were purchased and distributed to the participating 84 farmers which had 2,884 breeding ewes. The overall least square mean weights for F1 and F2 generation lambs at birth, day 90, 180, 270 and yearling weight were 3.10 ± 0.01, 13.04 ± 0.07, 16.95 ± 0.08, 20.84 ± 0.11 and 24.42 ± 0.14 kg, respectively. Body weight traits were significantly affected by lambing year for birth weight (P < 0.05), 180-day(d) weight (P < 0.05), 270-d weight (P < 0.001) and 360 d (yearling) weight (P < 0.001) but no effect (P > 0.05) was noted for 90-d weight (weaning weight). Season of lambing had significant effect (P < 0.01) only for birth weight. There was a significant difference (P < 0.001) among the different villages for birth weight, and for day 90, 180, 270 and 360 body weights. The study showed that crossing Awassi crossbred rams with Tikur ewes can improve birth weight by 71.27%, 90-d weight by 76.78%, 180-d weight by 63.45% and yearling weight by 76.06% under farmer management practices. Results revealed that crossing Awassi crossbred rams with blood level of 56% and above with local Tikur ewes resulted in superior progenies that can fulfill export live weight standard of 25 kg at yearling weight. The future of Awassi-Tikur sheep farming must focus on feed supplementation strategies and on establishing cooperatives for farmers to improve their livelihoods.
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