INHERITANCE OF THE MAIN TRAITS BY FIRST-GENERATION CROSSES FROM CROSSING FINE-WOOL EWES WITH STUD RAMS OF MEAT AND WOOL TYPE

Abstract

The rapid growth in demand for high-quality meat and wool is stimulating the search for new approaches to breeding and creating highly productive sheep breeds that combine high meat and wool productivity. One of the promising areas is the use of interbreeding methods, in particular, the crossing of fine-wool and semi-fine wool ewes with stud rams of meat and wool type. The authors present a comprehensive study of heritable traits in first generation of crossbred lambs, which were obtained by crossing fine-wool and semi-fine wool ewes with stud rams of meat and wool type. This includes not only the analysis of live weight, but also the quality of wool. The work was carried out with a selected flock of ewes based on the experimental production farm “Sadovskoe”. The selection of animals was carried out on the basis of strict criteria, taking into account the origin, productivity of ancestors, and the absence of hereditary diseases. Four groups of ewes were used for the study: purebred fine-wool, purebred semi-fine wool, and two control groups, which were characterized by different productivity parameters within the breeds. Fertilization was carried out using stud rams of meat and wool type, which also underwent careful selection. The results of the study showed that crossbred lambs had some advantages over purebred animals indeed, in particular, an increase in live weight was noted in lambs from crossing semi-fine wool ewes with meat and wool rams. It was due to the genes, which were responsible for muscle growth and were inherited from the fathers. The wool quality also improved: in some groups of crossbreeds the same fiber fineness was observed (58 quality). It corresponds to the semi-fine wool, which is in demand on the market. The expected benefit of this study is the development of new recommendations for the selection and breeding of Siberian type of sheep of the Soviet meat and wool breed. The results can also be used in other regions of Russia, taking into account local climatic and geographical conditions, ensuring the adaptation of selective breeding methods to different regions.