Comparative study of the reproductive and growth performances of the Hamra and Rumbi ovine breeds

Abstract

Growth and reproductive performance traits are important economic indicators for analyzing the overall performance of breeding systems. This study aims to evaluate the comparative performance of two Algerian sheep (Rumbi and Hamra) in terms of growth and reproductive performance, and the effect of factors such as breed, season of birth, mode of birth, dam weight and age on this performance in a semi-intensive breeding system. The reproductive performance of 577 Rumbi ewes and 1328 Hamra ewes bred at the Tiaret and Saïda experimental stations respectively, was analyzed using performance monitoring data. Fertility rates for the Rumbi and Hamra breeds of 87.14% and 78.8% respectively were practically similar (p > 0.05). Litter size at birth and weaning was significantly greater in the Hamra breed than in the Rumbi breed (p < 0.05). Analysis of variance of factors (year, season of birth, and age of mother) on reproductive performance in the Hamra breed had a significant effect on reproductive performance (p < 0.05). Weaning mortality was significantly higher in the Hamra breed than in the Rumbi breed, with an average of 22.60% versus 14.94% (p < 0.05). The results of this study showed that Rumbi lambs were heavier at birth than Hamra lambs. The values observed were 4.86 kg versus 3.10 kg for the Hamra breed, with a highly significant difference (p < 0.0001), so the average daily weight gains before weaning of Rumbi lambs were higher than those of Hamra lambs, at 0.195 kg/day versus 0.113 kg/day for Hamra lambs, with a high significance (p < 0.0001). According to the findings of this study, the Hamra breed had superior reproductive potential and the Rumbi breed had superior growth. Consequently, these results could be used for selective sheep breeding, taking into account the random effects of the environment and the potential of each breed.