Some genetic and non-genetic factors influencing number of growth characteristics of local and Turkish Awassi ewes

Abstract

The study included 300 records of 130 Awassi ewes (75 local Awassi and 55 Turkish Awassi ) of the Agricultural Research Station in the AL-Duar (Anbar province) for the period from 01.01.2009 till 31.12.2010 . The aim was to study the effect of some factors as breed , age of mother , type of birth , sex and year of birth on growth to estimate heritability . Overall average of the weight at birth , weaning and the growth rate between birth and weaning 3.57 and 24.70 and 21.13 kg respectively. The sequence of birth significantly effect studied growth traits . The Turkish Awassi exhibited significantly higher performance than local Awassi . Age of the dam significantly affected in weights at birth and weaning growth rate . they improved with the progress of dam age . Males exceeded females significantly in all studied growth traits . The year of birth has not significantly affected in any of the growth traits . Most studied factors a effected of Awassi sheep growth which requires need to study and determine their impact on herd to raise the level of performance and maximize economic returns, as well as to adjust their impact when estimating the genetic parameters.