AGB 211: Livestock and Poultry Breeding (2+1)

SHEEP BREEDS OF INDIA

There are 40 breeds of sheep in India. A sizeable population of sheep is nondescript due to inter-mixing of breeds. These breeds can be classified on the basis of major product i.e. apparel wool (3 breeds), carpet wool (11 breeds), meat and carpet wool (13 breeds), and meat (13 breeds). Some of the sheep breeds are known for their unique characteristics like Magra for lustrous wool; Changthangi for fine wool; Garole for high fecundity; Chokla and Pattanwadi for best carpet quality wool; Mandya for mutton; and Marwari, Decanni, Hassan, Jaisalmeri and Chokla for their hardiness and capability to travel long distances. Some other population groups like Kheri and Munjal in Rajasthan, Biangi in Himachal Pradesh and Dumba in Gujarat are also available. Bharat Merino, Avikalin, Avivastra, Avimanns, Nilgiri Synthetic, Patanwadinsynthetic, Kashmir Merino and Indian Karakul are synthetic breeds developed in India.

Attempts have been made to define and document some of the important breeds of sheep under ad-hoc research scheme financed by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research. Such efforts were mostly based on the exterior phenotype, shape and length of ears, length and direction of horns, fleece type, body colour and tail length, etc. There was little serious consideration to body weight, body measurements, population and flock size and its structure, prevalent management practices, productivity status and problems associated with their conservation and further development. The efforts of Acharya, R.M. (1982) to define some of the existing breeds are based on consideration of agroclimatic regions and the type of sheep found therein and adult body weights and linear biometry on representative samples of sexes, and production performance, both published and unpublished and personal surveys. Based on variable agro-climatic conditions and over places and type of sheep found in them, the following four different regions regrouped from 15 agro-climatic zones are distinguishable over the country.