Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-jn8rn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-25T02:15:46.687Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Reproductive performance and milk production of the improved Awassi breed as compared with its crosses with the Booroola Merino

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2010

E. Gootwine ,
A. Bor ,
R. Braw-Tal  and
A. Zenou
E. Gootwine
Affiliation:
Institute of Animal Science, Agricultural Research Organization, The Volcani Center, FOB 6, Bet Dagan 50250, Israel
A. Bor
Affiliation:
Institute of Animal Science, Agricultural Research Organization, The Volcani Center, FOB 6, Bet Dagan 50250, Israel
R. Braw-Tal
Affiliation:
Institute of Animal Science, Agricultural Research Organization, The Volcani Center, FOB 6, Bet Dagan 50250, Israel
A. Zenou
Affiliation:
Institute of Animal Science, Agricultural Research Organization, The Volcani Center, FOB 6, Bet Dagan 50250, Israel
Get access

Abstract

Ovulation rate, embryo survival, lamb production, lamb survival and milk production of Awassi and BooroolaAwassi crossbred ewes, kept indoors, were compared. Awassi were non-carriers while Booroola × Awassi (F1) and about half of 3/4 Awassi-1/4 Booroola (BQ) ewes were heterozygous at the FecB gene. Mean ovulation rate increased by 1·5 to 1·6 corpora lutea per ewe ovulating and prolificacy by 0·7 lambs born per ewe lambing in Fj and BC1 (B+) ewes as compared with Awassi. Embryo survival rates in BC1 ewes with two, three and four ovulations were 0·83, 0·68 and 0·71, respectively. Lamb survival rates at 1 day of age were 0·93, 0·90 and 0·77 and average birth weight was 4·9, 4·0 and 3·0 kg for lambs born as singles, twins and triplets, respectively. Average milk production of the Awassi was 506 I per ewe per lactation. F1 and BC1 ewes produced respectively, proportionately 0·48 and 0·63 of the Awassi milk production and there was no significant difference in milk production between BC1,(B+) and BC1(++) ewes. The relatively low milk production of the Booroola Awassi crosses suggests that heterosis and recombination effects on milk production were negative. It is concluded that incorporation of the B allele per se can increase lamb production in the Awassi without affecting its milk production.

Keywords

AwassiBooroolamilk productionreproductive performance
Type
Research Article
Information
Animal Science , Volume 60 , Issue 1 , February 1995 , pp. 109 - 115
Copyright
Copyright © British Society of Animal Science 1995

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Aboul-Ela, M. B. and Aboul-Naga, A. M. 1987. Improving fecundity in subtropical fat-tailed sheep. In New techniques in sheep production (ed. Fayez, I., Marai, M. and Owen, J. B.), pp. 163–171. Butterworths, London.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Butler, W. R., Fullenkamp, S. M., Cappiello, L. A. and Handwerger, S. 1981. The relationship between breed and litter size in sheep and maternal serum concentrations of placental lactogen, estradiol and progesterone. Journal of Animal Science 53: 1077–1081.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cunningham, E. P. and Syrstad, O. 1987. Crossbreeding Bos indicus and Bos taunts for milk production in the tropics. Animal production and health paper no. 80. Food and Agriculture Organization, Rome.Google Scholar
Davis, G. H., Montgomery, G. W., Allison, A. J., Kelly, R. W. and Bray, A. R. 1982. Segregation of a major gene influencing fecundity in progeny of Booroola sheep. New Zealand journal of Agricultural Research 25: 525–529.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Davis, G. H., Elsen, J. M., Bodin, L., Fahmy, M. H., Castonguay, F., Gootwine, E., Bor, A., Braw-Tal, R., Greeff, J. C., Lengyel, A., Paszthy, A. and Cummins, L. 1990. A comparison of the production from Booroola and local breed sheep in different countries. In Major genes for reproduction in sheep (ed. Elsen, J. M., Bodin, L. and Thimonier, J.), pp. 315–323. Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, Paris.Google Scholar
Epstein, H. 1985. The Awassi sheep with special reference to the improved dairy type. Animal production and health paper no. 57. Food and Agriculture Organization, Rome.Google Scholar
Gootwine, E. 1985. [Assessment of sheep breeding policy in Israel.] Hassadeh 65: 1451–1455.Google Scholar
Gootwine, E., Braw-Tal, R., Shalhevet, D., Bor, A. and Zenou, A. 1993. Reproductive performance of Assaf and Booroola Assaf crossbred ewes and its association with plasma FSH levels and induced ovulation rate measured at prepuberty. Animal Reproduction Science 31: 69–81.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gootwine, E., Bor, A., Braw-Tal, R., Ofir, R., Yossefi, S., Zenou, A., Stijn, T. C. van, Penty, J. M. and Montgomery, G. W. 1994. Identification of FecB carriers among BooroolaAwassi crosses using the OarAElOl microsatellite marker. Proceedings of the fifth world congress on genetics applied to livestock production.Google Scholar
Hanrahan, J. P. 1980. Ovulation rate as the selection criterion for litter size in sheep. Proceedings of the Australian Society of Animal Production 13: 405–408.Google Scholar
Hanrahan, J. P. 1987. Genetic variation in ovulation rate in sheep. In Nezv techniques in sheep production (ed. Fayez, I., Marai, M. and Owen, J. B.), pp. 37–46. Butterworths, London.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hayden, T. J., Thomas, C. R. and Forsyth, I. A. 1979. Effect of number of young born (litter size) on milk of goats: role of placental lactogen. Journal of Dairy Science 62: 53–57.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hinch, G. N., Crosbie, S. F., Kelly, R. W., Owens, J. L. and Davis, G. H. 1985. Influence of birthweight and litter size on lamb survival in high fecundity Booroola Merino crossbred flocks. New Zealand journal of Agricultural Research 28:31–38.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kleemann, D. O., Walker, S. K., Walkley, J. R. W., Smith, D. H., Grimson, R. J. and Seamark, R. F. 1990a. Fertilization and embryo loss in Booroola Merino × South Australian Merino ewes: effect of the F gene. Thcriogenology 33: 487–498.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kleemann, D. O., Walker, S. K., Walkley, J. R. W., Smith, D. H., Ponzoni, R. W. and Seamark, R. F. 1990b. Factors influencing lamb survival in a high fecundity Booroola Merino × South Australian Merino flock. Theriogenology 33: 965–976.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Landau, S. and Leibovich, H. 1992. [Nutritional requirements of sheep.] Israel Ministry of Agriculture, Extension Services, Tel Aviv.Google Scholar
Montgomery, G. W., Crawford, A. M., Penty, J. M., Dodds, K. G., Ede, A. J., Henry, H. M., Pierson, C. A., Lord, E. A., Galloway, S. M., Schmack, A. E., Sise, J. A., Swarbrick, P. A., Hanrahan, V., Buchanan, F. C. and Hill, D. F. 1993. The ovine Booroola fecundity gene (FecB) is linked to markers from a region of human chromosome 4q. Nature Genetics 4: 410–414.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Piper, L. R., Bindon, B. M. and Davis, G. H. 1985. The single gene inheritance of the high litter size of the Booroola Merino. In Genetics of reproduction in sheep (ed. Land, R. B. and Robinson, D. W.), pp. 115–125. Butterworths, London.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Statistical Analysis Systems Institute 1985. SAS user's guide. SAS Institute, Cary, NC.Google Scholar