Effects of Sex and Flock on Growth Traits and Correlations Between Weaning Weight and Body Measurements in Zom and Karakaş Lambs Raised in Diyarbakır Region

Keskin B., Güler S., Atik A., Hevedanlı R.

IV. International Livestock Studies Congress, Antalya, Türkiye, 07 Kasım 2025, (Yayınlanmadı)

  • Yayın Türü: Bildiri / Yayınlanmadı
  • Basıldığı Şehir: Antalya
  • Basıldığı Ülke: Türkiye
  • Dokuz Eylül Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

Zom and Karakaş sheep are two local breeds of Türkiye. In the current study was aimed to determine growth traits including birth weight (BW), weaning weight (WW), average daily weight gain (ADWG), and Kleiber ratio (KR), as well as the correlations between WW and body measurements [Body Length (BL), Witter height (WH), Heart girth (HG), Chest depth (CD), Rump height (RH), Rump width (RW), Head length (HL), Head width (HW), Chest width (CW), Cannon perimeter (CP)]. The study was conducted on 84 Zom and 88 Karakaş lambs, with each breed raised on three distinct farms in the Diyarbakır province. The lambs were weighed using an electronic scale with 50-gram precision. From 75 days of age until weaning (on day 90), water and feed were provided ad libitum. BW, WW, and ten body measurements were recorded, and ADWG and KR were calculated. Statistical analyses were conducted using SPSS 25.0, with GLM used to assess fixed effects and Pearson’s correlation to evaluate relationships between WW and body traits. In Zom lambs, sex significantly affected only BW (P<0.05), while flock had a significant impact on all growth traits (P<0.01). In Karakaş lambs, males had significantly higher BW and WW (P<0.001) and ADWG (P<0.05), while flock influenced BW and KR (P<0.001). Correlation analysis showed that in Zom lambs, WW had weak and mostly non-significant correlations with body measurements, indicating limited predictive value. In contrast, Karakaş lambs exhibited strong and significant positive correlations between WW except for HW (P<0.01). These findings highlight the importance of flock management in lamb growth performance and suggest that body measurements can be used for early selection in Karakaş lambs, but are less useful in Zom lambs. The results provide valuable insights for breeding and management strategies aimed at improving growth traits in local sheep genotypes.

Keywords: Body measurements, Growth, Karakaş lamb, Weaning weight, Zom lamb