On Farm Phenotypic Characterization of Indigenous Sheep Type in Bensa District, Southern Ethiopia

The study was carried out in Bensa district of Sidama Zone, southern Ethiopia; with an objective to characterize indigenous sheep type with respect to morphology characteristics and physical linear traits. A total of 574 sheep were sampled randomly, and stratified into sex and dentition groups (0PPI, 1PPI, 2PPI, 3PPI). Both qualitative and quantitative data were analyzed using SAS versions 9.1.3 (2008). The main frequently observed coat color pattern of sampled male and female sheep populations was patchy (51.9%) while the most observed coat color type was red followed by mixture of red and brown. Sex of the sheep had significant (p>0.05) effect on the body weight and linear body measurements except ear length, pelvic width, tail length and rump length. Dentition classes of sheep contributed significant differences to body weight and the linear body measurements except ear length. The correlation coefficient between body weight and other linear body measurements were positive and significant (p<0.05) both for male and female sheep. The result of the multiple regression analysis showed that chest girth alone could accurately predict body weight both in female and male of sampled population of indigenous sheep with the equation y =‑20 + 0.67x for females and y = ‑29+ 0.8x for males, where y and x are body weight and chest girth, respectively. It was concluded that for breed improvement program and to boost productivity of indigenous sheep population, phenotypic characterization is the baseline so; this preliminary work could be used to support genetic characterization to determine the population. Keywords: Indigenous sheep, Linear body measurement