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Reproductive performance and genetic parameters in first cross ewes from different maternal genotypes
R A Afolayan1, N M Fogarty, A R Gilmour
1The Australian Sheep Industry Cooperative Research Centre, NSW Department of Primary Industries, Orange Agricultural Institute, Orange, New South Wales 2800, Australia.
Crossbreeding ewes with different sire breeds significantly impacts reproductive performance, including fertility and litter size. Genetic variation among sire breeds offers potential for improving ewe reproduction, with further gains possible by selecting sires within breeds.
Area of Science:
- Animal Science
- Reproductive Biology
- Quantitative Genetics
Background:
- Crossbreeding is a common strategy in sheep production to leverage heterosis and combine desirable traits.
- Understanding the impact of different sire breeds on crossbred ewe reproductive performance is crucial for optimizing flock productivity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the reproductive and lamb production performance of crossbred ewes sired by various breeds.
- To identify the influence of sire breed, environment, and breeding number on key reproductive traits.
Main Methods:
- Utilized mixed linear models to analyze reproductive data from 2,846 crossbred ewes.
- Assessed traits including fertility, litter size, lamb survival, number of lambs born (NLBj), number of lambs weaned (NLWj), and total weight of lamb weaned (TWWj).
- Estimated heritability and repeatability for reproductive components and composite traits.
Main Results:
- Significant effects of ewe sire breed (P < 0.01) were observed for all reproductive traits, with substantial variation in breed means.
- Heritability estimates for reproductive components ranged from 0.03 for lamb survival to 0.19 for litter size.
- Significant environment x breeding interactions influenced reproductive outcomes, with considerable overlap between breeds and potential for within-breed sire selection.
Conclusions:
- Significant variation among sire breeds of crossbred ewes can be exploited to enhance reproductive efficiency.
- Further genetic improvement in ewe reproductive traits can be achieved by utilizing genetic variation between individual sires within breeds.
- The ranking of sire breeds varied across different reproductive traits, highlighting the complexity of crossbreeding strategies.
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