Effect of Non-Genetic Factors on Reproductive and Growth Performance of Abera Sheep under Community Based Breeding Program in SNNPRS Ethiopia

The study was conducted in Sidama Zone, Dara District Southern Ethiopia. The intention was to investigate the effect of non-genetic factors on reproductive and growth performance of Abera sheep in the District. For this study three years (2013-2015) performance data were obtained from Hawassa research center, Dara sub-site. Study identified age at first lambing (AFL) and lambing interval (LI) of the sheep were 9.6 and 12.9 months, respectively; while annual reproductive rate and litter size of the ewes were 1.9 and 1.5 heads. Average birth weight, weaning weight and 6 month weight of Abera sheep were 2.8, 12.3 and 18.5 kg, respectively; while pre and post weaning average daily weight gains were 106 and 40 g/day, respectively. Birth type, sex and year had significant (p<0.05) effect on birth weight (BWT), weaning weight (WWT) and six-months weight; whereas season and parity had significant (P<0.05) effect on BWT and WWT only. Sex and birth type had significant (p<0.01) effect on pre-weaning average daily gain whereas year, season and parity had significant effect on both pre and post-weaning average daily gain. There was within breed variability in growth traits, which were significantly influenced by non-genetic factors like birth type, sex, year, season and parity. Selection for further improvement to achieve higher lamb crop with superior growth performance should be prioritized as within population variability is raw material for improvement through selection. Molecular characterization should also be carried out to identify uniqueness of Abera sheep.