Morphological Traits and Body Indices for West African Dwarf and Yankasa Sheep

Abstract

Linear measurements are relevant for within-herd use but may be influenced by management systems. Objective assessment of body conformation may be easier with the introduction of indices from body measurements. The aim of this study was to evaluate the morphological structure and body indices of West African dwarf and Yankasa sheep. Body weight (BW) and morphological traits of West African and Yankasa sheep were measured. The morphological parameters were used to calculate body indices, traits measured were rump height, chest width, wither height, heart girth, rump width, body length, body depth, neck width, ear length, shoulder width, tail length, head length and face length. Yankasa sheep were heavier and larger in morphological structure than the West African dwarf. The calculated indices indicated both breeds of sheep slightly slope backward. The correlation coefficients amongst the morphological traits in the West African dwarf sheep were all positive and significant (P<0.05−0.01) except the correlation of rump width with Neck Width (r =−0.476) and Ear Length (:r =−0.164). However, the correlation coefficient between all the morphological traits and BW in Yankasa sheep were generally weak. The principal component analysis (PCA) of the morphometric traits extracted one component with total variance of 60.198% in the West African Dwarf and two components with total variance of 58.699% in the Yankasa sheep. It was concluded that there were prospects for the WAD sheep to be improved through cross breeding with the Yankasa sheep because of the variations in body weight and morphometric traits between the two breeds.