Year: 2021 | Month: June | Volume 11 | Issue 3
Phenotypic Characterization of Macherla Sheep- A Lesser-Known Sheep Breed of Andhra Pradesh
P. Panduranga Reddy
R. Vinoo
M. Muralidhar
Ch. Venkatasesaiah
K. Aswani Kumar
Krovvidi Sudhakar
DOI:10.30954/2277-940X.03.2021.13
Abstract:
The status of lesser-known sheep cannot be ignored as they comprise 75 Per cent of the total Indian sheep population. The Macherla sheep is one of the lesser-known sheep breeds of Andhra Pradesh with medium to heavy sized body. Because of superior performance over Nellore and the characteristics such as good resistance and adaptability to local climatic conditions, the Macherla sheep attained considerable importance among sheep herders. A stratified random sample survey was conducted in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana states populated with huge number of Macherla sheep. The data was measured on 1279 sheep from 27 villages of nine mandals in four districts of two states. The predominant colour pattern in Macherla sheep was bicolour with combinations of white and black or brown and white. Rams are horned and ewes are polled. A gradual increase in the body measurements was observed from milk tooth to full mouth stage. Males recorded significantly higher body measurements than females. District has significant influence on the body measurements with higher recordings in Guntur district. The influence of district on body weight of Macherla sheep are found to be significant at all ages studied except for two-toothed and six-toothed ages. Among sexes, males recorded heavier body weights compared to females. The reproductive performance of Macherla sheep was ideal and within the range of species. The lambing Percentage was quite good in Macherla sheep. The Phenotypic correlations of body weight with the linear body measurements were positive and high.
Highlights
- Macherla sheep breed has superior performance compared to Nellore sheep breed of Andhra Pradesh.
- Guntur district recorded higher body weight during birth, three months, six months, and four-toothed age.
- The lambing percentage observed in Macherla sheep (97.4 per cent) was higher than the other hairy sheep.
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