Growth performance appraisal of Malpura and Kheri sheep under field conditions

Malpura is one of the heavy mutton type sheep breeds of semi-arid region of Rajasthan. A field study was conducted to record and analyse the growth performance of Malpura and Kheri and morphometry of Malpura sheep. The least squares means for birth, 3 and 6 month weights in Malpura field flocks were 3.01±0.05, 15.08±0.21 and 24.44±0.50 kg and in Kheri they were 2.97±0.05, 14.76±0.22 and 17.49±0.29 kg respectively. The present results on body weights were on the higher side than previous reports, signifying improvement in the body weights of animals. The study also reports morphometric measurements of Malpura sheep (male, female) in field flocks for various traits such as face length (27.96, 25.73 cm), face width (14.08, 12.04 cm), heart girth (86.18, 78.27 cm), withers height (80.37, 70.28 cm), body length (74.91, 68.21 cm) and tail length (37.22, 29.13 cm). Average scrotum circumference and scrotum length in males were 28.68±0.79 and 17.75±0.72 cm, respectively. The implications of crossing Malpura with Kheri and Kheri x Patanwadi (Desi) genotypes are discussed.