GROWTH, REPRODUCTIVE PERFORMANCE, MEAT PRODUCTION AND SOME SOLUTIONS TO ENHANCE MEAT PRODUCTION OF PHANRANG SHEEP

Reproductive performance of Phanrang sheep in Ninhthuan and Bavi and some factors affecting reproductive performance.. Scientific values of study Results of study partly contributed to

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION

AND TRANING

MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE

& RURAL DEVELOPMENT

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OFANIMAL SCIENCE

============

NGO THANH VINH

GROWTH, REPRODUCTIVE PERFORMANCE, MEAT PRODUCTION AND SOME SOLUTIONS

TO ENHANCE MEAT PRODUCTION OF

The thesis was completed at: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF

ANIMAL SCIENCE Supervisors:

1 Associate Prof Dinh Van Binh

2 Associate Prof Nguyen Kim Duong

Thesis can be found at:

1 National Library

2 Library of National Institute of Animal Science

ii

SCIENTIFIC PUBLICATIONS

1 Ngo Thanh Vinh, Trinh Xuan Thanh, Đinh Van Binh, Pham Thi Thu Thuy, Le Đinh Phung and Nguyen Kim Duong 2013 Growth and development of Phanrang sheep in Ninhthuan Province and Bavii district-

Ha Noi capital Journal of Animal Science and Technology, National

Intitute of Animal Science, Issue 42, July 2013, pp: 9-12

2 Ngo Thanh Vinh, Trinh Xuan Thanh, Đinh Van Binh, NguyEn Kim

DUOng.2013 Reproductive performance of Phanrang sheep in Ninhthuan

and Bavi and some factors affecting reproductive performance Journal of Animal Science and Technology, National Intitute of Animal Science,

Issue 42, July 2013, pp: 21-35

iii

1 Background and retionale

Phan Rang sheep is a sheep breed, which were imported into our countryhundreds of years ago and most of them are kept in Phan Rang, Ninh ThuanProvince, South Central of Vietnam Phan Rang is a hot area, the averageannual temperature is 270C-290C around the year and cold season is not socommon Average rainfall in this area is very low, only 717mm/year, thehighest rainfall per year is 1300mm

In recent years, the number of sheep in Vietnam has increased Before

1975, total population was approximately 14000-15000 heads, in 2004 and

2012 these figures more than 47000 and 87743 heads, respectively(Department of Livestock, 2012) The population of sheep in 2012 wasalmost as two times as the population of sheep in 2004 Phan Rang sheep ischaracterized by a small body size, low performance, good meat quality,disease resistance Phanrang sheep also gentle, can live well in hardconditions and eat many kinds of feed available Therefore, Phanrang sheepstill exists in this area and is widely adopted in small and medium sizedfarms in Ninhthuan, Binhthuan Provinces In the North of Vietnam, most ofPhanrang sheep is raised in Goat and Rabbit Research Center and smallholder farms in: former Hatay, Hanam, Ninhbinh, Phutho So far, sheepproduction in Northern provinces had been developing well because sheep

is easily managed

It can be said that sheep production is the strengtheness of Ninhthuanprovince, as it adapted well to the sunny, and dry climate year-round.However, inbreeding of Phanrang sheep seemed to be high because ofuncontrolled mating for many years (Le Viet Ly, 1991; Doan Duc Vu,2006; Dinh Van Binh, 2009) Inbreeding appeared to lead to a reduction ingrowth, reproductive performance of sheep over many generationstherefore it gave the risk of degeneration, fecundity, growth of sheep tended

to decrease (Le Viet Ly, 1991; Doan Duc Vu, 2006; Dinh Van Binh, 2009).Therefore, implementation of ram rotation from one flock to another andcrossbreeding program to minimize inbreeding status and improveperformance would be a viable solution

In order to have a holistic view of Phanrang sheep production and also tocomplete a data base of Phanrang sheep for further development of sheepfarming, Phanrang sheep needs to be carrefully and fuly evaluated For theabove purposes, a study on growth, reproductive performance, meatproduction and some solutions to enhance meat production of Phanrangsheep was undertaken

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3 Scientific and practical values of study

3.1 Scientific values of study

Results of study partly contributed to a national data base on growth,reproductive performance, meat production of Phanrang sheep inNinhthuan and Bavi and F1 crossbred sheep (Dorper x Phanrang) as well.Results of study from thesis were valuable references for students,post-graduated students, lecturers, researchers at universities and researchinstitutions

3.2 Practical values of study

The thesis provided us with overall data on current situation ofPhanrang sheep and factors affacting growth, reproduction, meat quality ofPhanrang sheep

The thesis also provided us with evident that crossbreeding of Dorperrams with Phanrang ewes was an alternative to increase meat production ofsheep in Ninhthuan

4 New contribution of the thesis

Although there have been some studies on sheep, this was the first time,when growth, reproduction and meat production of Phanrang sheep inNinhthuan and Bavi and of F1 crossbred sheep (Dorper x Phanrang) as wellwere systematically and logically studied

5 Structure of the thesis

The thesis included 153 papers, 5 chapters, 32 tables, 01 figure and 328references, 2 scientific articles related to the thesis and appendixes

For more than 100 years, Phanrang sheep has been intergrated in mixedfarming systems of farmers Phanrang sheep is a meat type sheep,originated from tropical regions, where climatic condition is charaterised

by a high ambient temperature Existence of Phanrang sheep indicate thatthey adapt well to hot areas Therefore, Phanrang sheep is a valuablegenetic resources, which need to be conserved and developed

Growth of sheep depends considerably on age, weight, purity and sex Eachdifferent sheep breed has difference body weight at adult Live weight atbirth is affected by litter size and weight of ewe at lambing (Gonzalez,1972; Combellas et al., 1979)

Martinez, (1983) showed that there are relationship between birth weightand development of body of sheep in next phase According to Gatenby,(1986) body weight at birth is one of the important factors, a newborn

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heavier sheep is not from twin lambing or is delivered by a heavier ewe.With a good feeding systems, newborn heavier sheep grow faster than anewborn sheep with a normal live weight As a result, live weight ofnewborn heavier sheep is higher than that of others.

Live weight at birth has a significant effect on live weight at weaning, at 6months and at slaughter (Khan and Bhat, 1981) According to Laes-Fettback and Peters, (1995); Petrovice et al (2012) sheep with higher liveweight at birth has more opportunities to be survival Growth of sheep inthe first phase of breastfeeding was affected by milk yield of ewe andavailability of feed resource in terms of quantity and quality

Nutrition is also an important factor affecting reproductive performance ofsheep, especially before mating Supplementation of nutrients to ewessignificantly increased ovulation rate (Branca et al., 2000) There are twobasic approaches to improve productivity of sheep They are breedselection, crossbreeding of local breed with exotic breeds and improvement

of environmental conditions, feeding management and quality of feeds(David and Thomas, 2006) Crossing has been applied to maximize geneticdiversity of sheep Crossing combines the desired traits in offsprings,overcome weaknesses of a particular trait in ewe or rams breeds

The study results reported in this thesis come from four experiments (Exp):Exp 1: Comparison of the growth of Phanrang sheep in Ninhthuanprovince and Bavi district - Hanoi Capital

Exp 2: : Comparison of reproductive performance of Phanrang sheep inNinhthuan province and Bavi district - Hanoi Capital and some factorsaffecting reproduction of Phanrang sheep

Exp 3: Influence of rations on fattening performance of Phanrang sheep Exp 4: Investigation of growth and meat production of crossbred sheep(Dorper x Phanrang) in Ninhthuan

2.2 Methods

2.2.1 Methods used for all experiments

- The Exp 1 and 2 was conducted in sheep at different ages such as at birth;3; 6; 9 and 12 months of age Number of animals used at different ages inGoat and Rabbit Research Centre in Bavi, Sontay and in Station forLivestock Research and Technology Transferee in Ninhthuan were: 320;301; 276; 252; 226 and 258; 216; 201; 176, 153 sheep, respectively.Number of ewes used for our Exp 1 and 2 in Bavi and Ninhthuan were 53and 49, respectively On average, ages at first mating of ewes in Bavi andNinhthuan were 8-9 and 7.5-9 months of age Total litters observered inBavi and Ninhthuan was 209 (first litter: 53; second litter: 51; thirst litter

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3: 50; fouth litter: 37; fifth and sixth litters: 18) and 215 (first litter: 49;second litter: 48; thirst litter: 45; fouth litter 4: 39; fifth and sixth litters 5;6:

34 lứa0 Number of rams used for our Exp 1 and 2 in Bavi and Ninhthuanwere 12 and 8, respectively

- Feeding standard used in all study was Feeding standard for tropical sheep

of Kearl (1982) - University of Utah (USA)

- Feed was sampled and analyzed for chemical compositions according to

the Vietnam standards (TCVN) for animal feed

2.2.2 Methods for four experiments.

Exp 1: Comparison of the growth of Phanrang sheep in Ninhthuan

province and Bavi district - Hanoi Capital

- Sheep was managed individually based on their information such as: birthdate, sire and dam

- In Ninhthuan, sheep was grazed 6-7 hours per day and supplemented with0.15 kg concentrate feed and 0.5-1 kg grass per day

- In Bavi, sheep was grazed 3 hours per day and supplemented with 2.5 kg elephant grass and 0.15 kg concentrate feed per day

2-In the case of raining days, sheep was housed in cages, and fed 5 kg forage(3 meals per day), 2 kg concentrate (twice a day Mineral blocks wereavailable at any time in pens Water was given freely via a water nipplesystem

Sheep both in Ninhthuan and Bavi were dewormed and vaccinatedperiodically

- Measurements taken: Body weight, average daily gain, body size

Exp 2: Comparison of reproductive performance of Phanrang sheep in Ninhthuan province and Bavi district - Hanoi Capital and some factors affecting reproduction of Phanrang sheep.

- Management for sheep in this experiment was similar to that in Exp.1

- Factors to be investigated in this experiment included influence of places(Bavi, Ninhthuan), parties, rams, mating and lambing seasons onreproductive performance of Phanrang sheep

- Measurements taken: all parameters of reproduction of sheep wasrecorded and calculated

Exp 3: Influence of rations on fattening performance of Phanrang sheep

The Exp 3 was conducted at Bavi Goat and Rabbit Research Center, SơnTay, from March to May in 2013 The experiments 3 included 2experiments called Exp 3.1 and Exp 3.2

In Exp 3.1 Fifteen male sheep, (initial weight: 15.2 to 15.7 kg, nearly 6months of age) were used in a completely random arrangement with 3treatments and 5 replications Three treatments in this Exp were three

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rations with of 3 ratios of forage to concentrate (70:30 – treatment 1; 60:40:treatment 2 and 50:50: treatment 3)

Sheep was fed individually and were adapted to the experimental rationsfor 10 days before data collection

Experiment 3.2 was designed similar to experiment 3 1 However 15 malesheep (initial weight: 18.3 to 18.5 kg, nearly 9 months of age) were used.The layout of Exp 3.1 and 3.2 was presented in Tables 2.1 and 2.2

Table 2.1 Layout of experiment 3.1

Experimental period

Concentrate feed was made from different ingredients and its ingredients,chemical composition and nutritive value were presented in table 2.3.Elephant grass used in experiment was cut at 40-45 days old The grass wasfinely chopped (1-3cm long) for easily mixing with concentrate feed.Before feeding to animals, chopped elephant grass and concentrate wascarefully mixed according to layout of each treatments based on DM (%) Table 2.3 Ingredients, chemical composition and nutritive value of

concentrate feed and elephant grass

Ingredient of

Chemical composition and nutritive value of

Nutritive value of rations for each treatment was presented in Table 2.4.

Table 2.4 Nutritive value of rations for each treatment

Exp 4: Investigation of growth and meat production of crossbred sheep (Dorper x Phanrang) in Ninhthuan.

Number of F1 crossbred sheep (Dorper x Phanrang) in Ninhthuan farm usedfor this experiment was 130; 110; 86; 64 and 42 heads for different ages: atbirth, 3, 6, 9 and 12 months of age, respectively Data collection was from1/2009 to 12/2012 Mating program include 63 Phan Rang ewes and 4Dorper rams Sheep was grazed for 6-7 hours/day and fed in houses 0.2 kgconcentrate and 0.7 to 1.2 kg grass/day In the case of raning weather,sheep were housed in barns and fed on rations containing 6 kg of forages (3meals/day) and 0.25 concentrate kg/head/day

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Measurements taken were similar to experiments 1 and 2 Meat productionans quality were determined similar to experiment 3.

2.2.3 Data analysis

Data obtained in Exp.1, 2 and 4 were statistically analysed usingdescriptive statistics procedures with Minitab software 16.0 (2010) Meanswas compared using a paired test procedure also with Minitab software16.0 (2010)

Data obtained in Exp.3 were statistically analysed using GLM (General Linear Model) procedures with Minitab software 16.0 (2010) Difference

in treatmen means was analysed using Tukey's method

Chapter 3: RESULT AND DISCUSSION

3.1 Live weight and body size at birth to 12 month ages of Phanrang sheep in Ninhthuan and Bavi

Chest girth was the most important indicator related to the growth ofanimals There was a difference in chest girth of sheep in Ninhthuan andBavi at 3, 6, 9 and 12 months of age (P <0.05) Chest girth of sheep inNinhthuan was longer than that of sheep in Bavi However, live weight atdifferent ages in two places did not differ (P>0.05) Chest girth and liveweight of sheep of our result was similar to these of sheep in Philippine.Faylon, (1989) indicated that live weight of sheep could be predicted byusing chest girth, cross body length and whither height of sheep However,the most used parameter in predicting live weight of sheep was the chestgirth (Benyi, 1997)

Table 3.1 Live weight, chest girth, cross body length and whither height atbirth – 12 months of Phanrang sheep in Ninhthuan and Bavi

Age Parameter (Mean ± SE)Bavi (Mean ± SE)Ninhthuan (Mean ± SE)Both places P

At birthLive weight (kg)n (head) 2.32 ± 0.016320 2.41 ± 0.085258 2.36 ± 0.039578 0.212

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months

Live weight (kg) 12.43± 0.083 12.65 ± 0.098 12.52 ± 0.063 0.080 Chest girth (cm) 58.77 a ±0.127 59.27 b ± 0.149 58.98 ± 0.097 0.012

Cross body length

(cm) 56.83 ±0.137 57.18 ± 0.162 56.97 ± 0.105 0.101 Whither height (cm) 54.16 a ±0.152 53.53 b ± 0.179 53.89 ± 0.117 0.008

6

months

Live weight (kg) 17.17 ±0.767 17.29 ± 0.089 17.22 ± 0.058 0.323 Chest girth (cm) 62.17 a ±0.143 63.17 b ± 0.168 62.59 ± 0.111 0.000

Cross body length

(cm)

60.19 ±0.137 60.43 ± 0.160 60.29 ± 0.104 0.256

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Whither height (cm) 56.99 ±0.141 57.36 ± 0.165 57.15 ± 0.107 0.089

9months

Live weight (kg) 22.10 ±0.122 22.47 ± 0.146 22.25 ± 0.094 0.054 Chest girth (cm) 66.79 a ±0.153 68.13 b ± 0.182 67.34 ± 0.121 0.000

Cross body length

(cm) 62.99 ±0.117 63.16 ± 0.140 63.06 ± 0.090 0.335Whither height (cm) 59.55 ±0.128 59.83 ± 0.153 59.66 ± 0.098 0.159

12

months

Live weight (kg) 27.45 ±0.193 27.17 ± 0.234 27.33 ± 0.149 0.361 Chest girth (cm) 72.02 a ±0.245 73.41 b ± 0.298 72.58 ± 0.192 0.000

Cross body length

(cm) 66.43 ±0.168 66.12 ± 0.204 66.31 ± 0.130 0.233Whither height (cm) 62.61 a ±0.150 63.24 b ± 0.182 62.86 ± 0.117 0.008

Note: a, b, means within row with different superscripts differ significantly (P<0.05).

3.2 Live weight of Phanrang sheep at different ages

The result in Table 3.2 showed that live weight at birth of Phanrangsheep in Bavi and Ninhthuan was 2.32 and 2.41kg, respectively Thesefigures was in the range of live weight at birth of Phanrang sheep reported

by Le Viet Ly et al (1994), Đoan Đuc Vu, (2006) in Ninhthuan, Đinh VanBinh, Nguyen Kim Lin, (2007) in Bavi Live weight of male and femalelamb from 3 to 12 months of age was different Male lambs were heavierthan female lambs A similar trend was also observed by Le Viet Ly(1994), Đinh Van Binh and Ngo Thanh Vinh, (2010)

Table 3.2: Live weight of Phanrang at different ages (kg)

Sex Place Parameter At birth 3 months 6monthsAge 9months 12 months

Note: a, b, means within columns with different superscripts different significantly (P<0.05).

It seemed that live weight of male lambs at 12 months of age in Bavi waslower than that of male lambs in Ninhthuan (29.19 vs.29.76kg) (P<0.05).However, there was no deference in live weight of female lambs at 12

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months of age This result was similar to works of Dinh Van Binh and NgoThanh Vinh, (2010).

3.3 Average daily gain of Phanrang sheep in Bavi and Ninhthuan

Daily gain of Phanrang sheep from birth to 3 months of age was the highest(male: 118.14 and female: 107.74g/ head/day, on average) From 3 months

of age to 12 months of age, average daily gain of sheep gradually reducedboth in male and female sheep Daily gain of Phanrang sheep from 9 to 12months of age was the lowest As normal, average daily gain of male sheepwas higher than that of female ones It seemed that average daily gain(ADG) of male sheep in Bavi was significantly higher than that inNinhthuan The reason for this difference may be due to feedingmanagement The finding was similar to works reported by Hoang The Nha(2003); Dinh Van Binh and Ngo Thanh Vinh, (2010)

Table 3.3a ADG of Phanrang sheep in Bavi and Ninhthuan (g/head/day)Sex Place Parameter

Age From birth -

3months

3-6months

6- 9Months

9-12months

n

Mean ± SE 108.64 ± 2.57 48.01± 1.88 49.03± 2.39 26.64 ± 3.07Both

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Our findings were consistent with findings of several works done ontropical sheep (Abdul Wahid, 1989; El-Fadili et al., 2003; Berhanu Belaand Aynalem Haile, 2011; Lavvaf Noshari and Farahvash, 2012).

Table 3.3b: Relative growth rate of Phanrang sheep in Bavi and

Ninhthuan (%)Sex Place

Age (month) Parameter At birth -3

months months3-6 months6- 9 months9-12

Male

Bavì n (head) 150 142 136 125

Mean ± SE 34.47 ± 0.15 7.71 ± 0.26 6.51 ± 0.21 7.09 a ± 0.24 NinhthuanMean ± SE 34.41 ± 0.16n (head) 105 7.86 ± 0.30101 6.42 ± 0.1991 6.28b80 ± 0.26Both

places

n (head) 255 243 227 205 Mean ± SE 34.45 ± 0.11 7.77 ± 0.19 6.46 ± 0.15 6.77 ± 0.18

places

n (head) 262 234 201 174 Mean ± SE 33.93 ± 0.22 7.97 ± 0.20 5.48 ± 0.16 2.65 ± 0.19

3.4 Index of body structure of Phanrang sheep

The result in table 3.4 showed that at 3 age months, indexes of body

structure of Phan rang sheep in two places were significantly (P<0.05)

BLI, BRI, BWL of male sheep in Ninhthuan at 6, 9 months of age werehigher than these of male sheep in Bavi P<0,05) It seemed that grazingsystems may be a factor for these differences in indexes of body structure

At 9- 12 age months, there was a difference in BRI of female sheep in Bavìand Ninhthuan (P<0,05)

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However, BLI and BWI of sheep in Bavi and Ninhthuan were notsignificantly different.

Table 3.4: Index of body structure of Phanrang sheep in Bavi and NinhthuanAge

(month) Index Parameter Bavì Ninhthuan Both places P

BLI

Mean ± SE 104.08 ± 0.39 104.81 ± 0.47 104.39 ± 0.30 0.230BRI 106.44 a ± 0.38 105.05 b ± 0.53 105.85 ± 0.32 0.032

BWI 110.70 ± 0.45 110.01 ± 0.59 110.40 ± 0.36 0.340 9

Note: BLI: Body length index, BRI: body round index,BWI:body weigh index, a, b, means within rows with different superscripts differ significantly (P<0.05).

3.5 Reproductive performance of Phanrang sheep in Bavi and

Ninhthuan

Results in Table 3.5 indicated that there were some differences inreproductive performance of Phanrang sheep in two places First estrus,first mating of Phanrang ewes in Ninhthuan were earlier than these of

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