1. Genetic parameters and genetic trends for growth traits of the Red Maasai sheep and its crosses to Dorper sheep under extensive production system in Kenya
- Author
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James O. Audho, Raphael Mrode, AM Okeyo, Julie M.K. Ojango, Edwin P. Oyieng, and Chinyere Ekine-Dzivenu
- Subjects
Animal science ,Food Animals ,biology ,Season of birth ,Genetic gain ,Dorper sheep ,Birth weight ,Maternal effect ,Animal Science and Zoology ,biology.organism_classification ,Breed ,Red Maasai ,Production system - Abstract
The Red Maasai are indigenous sheep breeds known for their adaptability in arid and semi-arid environments while the Dorper is known for its good mutton production. A field experiment cross breeding program for the two breeds was set up in 2003 to exploit these traits. In this paper, we present the genetic parameters for birth weight (BWT), weaning weight (WWT) and weight at nine months (MWT) for pure Red Maasai (RRRR), pure Dorper (DDDD), 75% Dorper (DDDR) and 50% Dorper (DDRR) breeds. The genetic parameters were estimated by fitting four different multivariate animal models while ignoring or including maternal effects. The model with the lowest Akaike’s Information Criterion (AIC) was chosen as the best model for the estimation of genetic parameters. The average annual genetic gain of the studied traits for each breed group was estimated by regressing the estimated breeding values on year of birth. Records from 5442 lambs recorded over a period of 17 years (2003-2019) were used in this analysis. The breed group, sex, type of birth, season of birth and age of the dam significantly (P
- Published
- 2022
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