PERFORMANCE OF GROWTH TRAITS IN BANDUR SHEEP UNDER FIELD CONDITION

Siddalingamurthy H. K 2* , Manjunatha S. S 3 , Sreesujatha R.M 1 , Santhosh Talwar 1 , Remyashri B. Y 1 and Namratha M. J 1 . 1. Livestock Research and Information Centre (Sheep), Karnataka Veterinary Animal and Fisheries Sciences University, Mandya district, Karnataka. 2. Associate Professor and Head, Livestock Research and Information Centre (Sheep), Mandya district, Karnataka. 3. Assistant Professor, Livestock Research and Information Centre (Sheep), Mandya district, Karnataka. ...................................................................................................................... Manuscript Info Abstract ......................... ........................................................................ Manuscript History


ISSN: 2320-5407
Int. J. Adv. Res. 5(3), 790-794 791 harvested fields. No supplemental feed is given to sheep maintained by the farmers. Lambs were allowed to suckle and remain with their mothers up to three months of age and weaned thereafter. Breeding rams were maintained under stall feeding conditions. Selective breeding was practiced in a limited way followed by flock mating system. Breeding is carried out throughout the year.
The animals were weighed using sensitive dial type (Salter) weighing balance before allowing for grazing and watering. Body measurements were recorded nearest to centimeter. All the measurements were taken using measuring tape after making the animal to stand squarely on an even surface. The animal was secured by an attendant with its head held a little high in a normal position as suggested by Turner et al., (1953) and measurements were taken. The whole operation was carried out by a single operator to minimize possible errors. The data on body weight and body measurements were classified into five age groups such as, milk teeth, two teeth, four teeth, six teeth and eight teeth groups. The pooled data again classified into two sex groups i.e. male and female.
The least squares mean and the standard error of various traits of growth were computed by adopting Harvey's least squares method of fitting constants using the mixed model least squares and maximum likelihood computer programme (Harvey, 1990). Data used in the present study comprised of unequal subclass frequencies, thus leading to non-orthogonality. To overcome non-orthogonality of data, the least square analysis of variance technique was adopted to detect the significant sources of non-genetic variation if any (Harvey, 1987). The following fixed model was used for analysis of body weight and body measurements, Y ijk = µ + A i + S j + e ijk Where Y ijk = the record of the k th individual belonging to the i th age group and j th sex group. µ = population mean A i = fixed effect of the i th age group (I = 1,2,3,4,5) S j = Fixed effect of j th sex group (j = 1,2) E ijk = Random error associated with Y ijk and assumed to be identically, independently and normally distributed with mean zero and the unit variance The effect of age on body weight was found to be significant. Significant difference in body weights due to age were also reported by Taneja et al. (1993) in Magra sheep and Swarnkar and Arora (1996) in Malpura sheep, Dayananda (1998) in Tumkur strain and Siddalinga Murthy (2001) in Bandur Sheep. The increase in body weight is being noticed with advancement of age might be due to physiological phenomena of growth.
The body weight recorded for males (34.66±0.49 kg) was higher compared to the females (25.63±0.24 kg) indicating sexual dimorphism with respect to growth. This observation confirms the reports of Singh and Mathur (1971) in Coimbatore breed, Nimbkar (1993) Singh and Singh (1974) in Bikaneri breed.

Body measurements:-
The least squares mean body measurements at different ages in Bandur sheep is shown in table.1.

Height at withers:-
The least squares mean of height at wither recorded 53.48±0.24 cm (Fig.3, table. 1). The present result was closely related with the values reported by Mahajan and Bahra (1977) in Gaddi, Taneja et al. (1993) in Magra, Dayananda (1998) Vasundradevi (2013) in Bandur sheep. The height at withers of milk teeth group sheep differed significantly from all other age groups. Age had a Significant differences in height at withers as reported by Mahajan and Bahra (1977) in Gaddi, 792 Taneja et al. (1993) in Magra, Dayananda (1998) in Tumkur stain and Siddalinga Murthy (2001) in Bandur sheep. In contrast, Basu Thakur and Negi (1967) in Rampur Bushair reported non-significant effect of age on height at wither. The variation in height at withers between age groups appears to be a normal physiological function. The height at withers recorded for males (56.96±0.24 cm) was higher compared to that of females (52.51±0.11 cm) and the difference was significant (P<0.01). Similar observations were made by Nimbkar (1993) in Decanni, Taneja et al. (1993) in Magra, Dayananda (1998)

Body length:-
The least squares mean of body length measured was 61.64± 0.15 cm (Fig.2, table 1). The present result was similar to the reports of Nagaraja et al. (1996) in the same breed. The present observation was lower than the values reported by Basu thakur et al. (1967) in Rampur Bushair and Kalra et al. (1987) in Nali breed. However, body length recorded in the present study was higher than the values reported by Taneja et al. (1993) in Magra and Dayananda (1998) in Tumkur strain. Body length in milk teeth and two teeth age groups had significantly lower than all other age groups. The effect of age on body length was significant (P<0.01). Significant differences in body length due to age were also reported by Taneja et al. (1993) in Magra, Dayananda (1998) in Tumkur strain and Taye et al. (2010) in Washera Sheep. The mean body length recorded for males was more (63.70±0.27 cm) compared to females (59.54±0.13 cm) and the difference was found to be significant. Similar reports were also made by Taneja et al. (1993) Sharma et al. (1977) in Muzaffarnagari breed reported no significant effect of sex on body length.

Chest girth:-
The least squares mean chest girth recorded was 72.62±0.20 cm (Fig.1, table.2), which closely tallied with the values reported by Basu Thakur et al. (1967) in Gaddi, Kalra et al. (1987) in Nali and Siddalinga Murthy (2001) in Bandur sheep. The chest girth was lower than the values reported by Taneja et al. (1993) in Magra (80.03). However, the chest girth was higher than the values reported by Dayananda (1998) in Tumkur strain and Siddalinga Murthy (2001) in Bandur sheep. The chest girth of milk teeth and two teeth age groups varied significantly from other age groups. Significant differences in chest girth due to age were also reported by Taneja et al. (1993) in Magra, Dayananda (1998)

Paunch girth:-
The least squares mean paunch girth measured was 74.99±0.23 cm (Fig.4, table .1) which was tallied with the reports of Nagaraja et al. (1996) in Bandur breed. This value is lower than the values reported by Taneja et al. (1993) in Magra. However, it was higher than the value reported by Bhadula et al. (1979) in Muzzarffarnagari breed. The paunch girth of milk teeth and two teeth groups were lowest and differed significantly from those of remaining 4, 6, and 8 teeth age groups. Age had a significant effect on paunch girth which was in agreement with Taneja et al. (1993) in Magra, Dayananda (1998) in Tumkur strain and Siddalinga Murthy (2001) in Bandur sheep. The paunch girth recorded for males was more (78.99±0.48 cm) compared to the females (73.78 ± 0.23 cm) and the difference was found to be highly significant (P<0.01). Significant effect on paunch girth due to sex was also reported by Nimbkar (1993) in Decanni, Taneja et al. (1993) in Magra, Nayak et al. (2008)

Conclusion:-
The growth performance of Bandur sheep is quantified under field conditions in the home tract area. The study concludes that the Bandur sheep breed maintained by farmers under grazing system were equally efficient as those maintained at organized farms. Further the body weights and body measurements recorded in Bandur sheep were found similar to other recognized breeds found in southern peninsular India.