EVALUATION OF PRE-WEANING GROWTH PERFORMANCE AND SURVIVAL RATE OF SHEEP IN HULET EJU ENESIE DISTRICT, EAST GOJJAM ZONE, ETHIOPIA

Abstract

The study was conducted in Hulet Eju Enesie District, East Gojjam Zone, Ethiopia, with the main objectives of evaluating pre-weaning growth performance of sheep. The study district was stratified in to Dega, Weina dega and Kolla agro-ecologies. A total of 48 (16 from each agro-ecology) late pregnant sheep flocks were selected purposely for monitoring. The data were collected from sampled households using semi-structured questionnaires and through monitoring. Birth weight and 90 days weight were taken using 50kg weighing balance with 200g precision. Collected data monitoring of lambs were subject to GLM analyzed by using SPSS software (version 20.0). The average birth weight, 90 days weight and average growth rate of lambs were 2.46 ± 0.07 kg, 10.26 ± 0.12 kg and 89.66 ± 1.28 g/day which were significantly different (P<0.05) among agro-ecology, breed, parity, types of birth and sex of lambs. Survival rate of lambs was 91.67%. Therefore, birth weight, pre-weaning growth weight, pre-weaning growth rate and survival rate were significantly affected by agro-ecology, parity, litter size and sex.