BODY FEATURES OF WETHER LAMBS OF THE ROMANOV BREED AND ITS CROSSES WITH THE EDILBAEV BREED

Abstract

In commercial sheep breeding, the main method of breeding should be crossbreeding, which will allow a significant increase in the productivity of crossbred young animals due to the heterosis manifestation. Nowadays, in order to increase the meatiness of sheep, the Edilbaev breed is used as a paternal breed when crossing. A common method of determining the meatiness of young sheep during their lifetime is to determine the characteristics of their body. The purpose of the study was to establish the body features of wether lambs of the Romanov breed and its crossbreeds of different generations with the Edilbaev breed. In order to achieve this goal, 3 groups of young rams were formed. There were 15 animals in each group: I – purebred animals of the Romanov breed, II – crossbreeds of the first generation ½ Romanov × ½ Edilbaev, III – crossbreeds of the second generation ¼ Romanov × ¾ Edilbaev of the lambs of the February lambing. When calculating the body indices, a more significant manifestation of meatiness was revealed in crossbred young animals. It should be noted that in the final period of rearing, the wether lambs of group I (purebred) were inferior to the crossbreeds of groups II and III in terms of length indices by 2,06% and 3,17%, respectively, massiveness – by 2,11% and 3,12%, breast – by 1,13% and 1,32% and exceeded them in terms of long-legged indices – by 1,09% and 1,27 %, blockiness – by 1,76 % and 2,01%. Thus, the wether lambs of all genotypes were distinguished by a balanced body and well-defined meat qualities. At the same time, the degree of their manifestation was greater in crossbred wether lambs, especially in second-generation crossbreds.