A Genetic Assessment of the Average Daily Gain and Kleiber Ratio in Chokla Sheep Grown in Semi-Arid Rajasthan, India

Abstract

This experiment was conducted to study the genetic assessment of growth efficient parameters viz. average daily gain and kleiber ratio of Chokla sheep by study various inheritable and non-hereditary factors.  In order to conduct a thorough assessment of effectiveness of growth of a semi-arid environment for Chokla sheep, data on 6785 lambs born to 459 sires over a 47-years period (1974–2020) were gathered from the Institute of Central Sheep and Wool Research, Bichwal, Bikaner, Rajasthan. This data was used to determine the sire’s random effect and various determinate effects of birth year, season in which animal born, gender of lamb, and weight of ewe at lambing on the performance of these sheep. According to estimated least-squares averages, the average daily gains ADG1 (birth to weaning stage), ADG2 (weaning stage to 6 months of age), and ADG3 (6 months to 12 months of age) were, in order, 118.69±0.55 g day-1, 64.94±0.70 g day-1, and 30.60±0.49 g day-1. These values corresponded to Kleiber ratios KR1, KR2, and KR3, were 16.42±0.04, 6.79±0.06, and 2.69±0.06, respectively. In terms of sire, period of lambing, season of lambing, and sex of lamb, each factor was highly consequential (p<0.01) for every attribute under study. All age groupings showed that males were heavier than females. With the exception of ADG2 and ADG3, these traits significantly correlated with the ewe ‘s weight at lambing. In which every trait had a positive regression coefficient with the exception of KR2. It should be crucial to guide these significant factors to obtain higher growth performance of lambs for farm management. Significant effect of sire indicates presence of additive genetic variability among different traits by using that sires further enhancement possible in these traits.