Genetic and non-genetic factors affecting body weight traits in Rambouillet sheep
10
Authors
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Dibyendu Chakraborty
Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Jammu
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Deesha Gupta
Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Jammu
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Nishant Kumar
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Aakriti Sudan
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Ishani Sharma
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komal Deep Kour
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Nadiya Tariq
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Vidushi Sharma
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Soshthi Talwar
Keywords:
Body weight, Least-Squares means, Non-genetic factors, Rambouillet sheep, Jammu & Kashmir, IndiaAbstract
Data pertaining to 13717 Rambouillet sheep of different body weight traits collected from the history sheets maintained at Government Sheep Breeding Farm, Zaban, Reasi, J&K, India, over a period of 28 years (1996-2023) were analysed. Body weight traits included in the present study were birth weight (BW), weaning weight (WW), nine-month body weight (NW) and yearling weight (YW). All the traits under present study were normalized. Data were analysed by least-squares analysis. The overall least squares means were 3.300±0.025 kg, 15.950±0.060 kg, 22.708±0.097 kg and 27.386±0.115 kg for BW, WW, NW and YW, respectively. A highly significant effects of Ram and period of lambing (P<0.01) were found on all body weight traits in the present study. The lowest WW, NW and YW were observed during Period 5 which may be due to the inbreeding depression in the farm. Similarly, sex of lamb and season of lambing had highly significant (P<0.01) effect on body weight traits except for season on WW, where it was non-significant. Males were heavier than the females over the different ages. Type of birth had highly significant (P<0.01) effect on BW and YW and significant effect on (P<0.05) NW. Single-born lambs were consistently heavier than twins due to better uterine environment and greater maternal resource allocation, which enhances early expression of growth-related genes. Therefore, it can be concluded that different genetic and non-genetic factors affecting the body weight traits in Rambouillet sheep significantly and future breeding policies should be formulated accordingly.
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