The Awassi sheep with special reference to the improved dairy type

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2 FAO ANIMAL PRODUCTION AND HEALTH PAPER 57 The Awassi sheep with special reference to the improved dairy type by H. Epstein FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS Rome 1985

3 The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. P-22 ISBN All rights reserved. Not part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. Applications for such permission, with a statement of the purpose and extent of the reproduction, should be addressed to the Director, Publications Division, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Via delle Terme di Caracalla, Rome, Italy. FAO 1985

4 Bedouin women milking Awassi ewes on the Jordanian steppe. (Photograph courtesy of Dr Ilse Köhler- Rollefson)

5 Acknowledgements I wish to thank my colleagues David Amir, Ezra Eyal, Istvan Fái, Sally Gordin, Kalman Perk, Haim Schindler and Morris Soller, who read and commented upon various sections of the typescript dealing with subjects of which their knowledge is much superior to mine. I am also deeply indebted to that great breeder of the Awassi, Mordechai Livne, for his invaluable information and advice. It is doubtful if the Awassi book would have found a publisher without the active interest taken in it by Professor F. Pirchner of the chair of animal breeding at the Technical University of Munich, who also succeeded in obtaining financial support for its publication. My sincere gratitude is due him for his gracious assistance. The publication of the book has been facilitated by a grant provided by the H. Wilhelm Schaumann Stiftung zur Förderung der Agrarwissenschaften, Hamburg, for which I wish to express my appreciation. For similar support I am indebted to the communal settlement 'Eyn Harod (Ihud) and the Sheep Breeders' Association of Israel. H. Epstein Professor Emeritus of Animal Breeding Hebrew University Jerusalem, Israel

6 Contents Acknowledgements v Explanatory notes x Foreword xi 1 General observations on Awassi sheep 1 Distribution and nomenclature 1 Origin 2 Beginnings of improved Awassi breeding in Palestine 6 Physical characteristics 8 Conformation 8 Size 8 Weight 10 Head and horns 13 Body and legs 15 Fat tail 15 The scrotum 16 The udder 17 Skin and coat 22 Colour 24 Physiological characteristics 25 Hardiness 25 Body temperature 25 Skin and fleece temperatures 28 Pulse rate 30 Respiration rate 31 Water economy and feed intake under different conditions 34 Seasonal changes in the thyroid gland and trachea 39 Haemoglobin types in Awassi sheep 40 Blood serum proteins and lipoproteins 40 2 Flock management 43 Shepherding of bedouin and fellahin flocks 43 Nutrition of the Awassi dairy flock 46

7 3 A day's work with a large, high-yielding dairy flock October 52 February 55 June 56 November 53 March 55 July 56 December 53 April 55 August 56 January 54 May 55 September 56 Diseases, parasites, poisoning and hygiene in Awassi flocks Adenomatosis 57 Sheep pox 64 Anthrax 57 Tetanus 65 Bluetongue 58 Urinary calculi 65 Brucellosis 58 Vaginal and uterine prolapse 65 Contagious agalactia 58 Vibrionic abortion (ovine genital vibriosis) 66 Contagious ecthyma 59 Virulent foot-rot 66 Dysentery in Awassi lambs 60 Blowfly (screwworm) 66 Enterotoxaemia 61 Leeches (Hirudinea) 67 Enzootic virus abortion 61 Nose bot 67 Foot-and-mouth disease 61 Scabies 67 Hypocalcaemia 62 Sheep ked 68 Mastitis 62 Sucking and biting lice 68 Ophthalmia 63 Tick diseases 69 Paratuberculosis 63 Worms 69 Pregnancy toxaemia 64 Poisoning 72 Pseudotuberculosis 64 Buildings for Awassi dairy flocks Biology of reproduction, suckling regimes, growth and development 81 Sexual maturity of Awassi ram lambs 81 Management of Awassi rams 84 Seasonal variations in sexual activity of Awassi rams 84 Management of the female lamb 90 The sexual season of the Awassi ewe 91 Artificial insemination of Awassi ewes 96 Reproduction 99 Gestation period 99 Fecundity 100 Sex ratio 102 Barrenness 103 Still birth and lamb mortality 103 Birth weights 106 Suckling regimes 111 Growth 112 Effect of sex 119 Single- and twin-born lambs 130 Effect of docking 131 Development

8 4 5 6 Milk and milking 141 Milk 141 Milk yields of unimproved Awassi Specific gravity, freezing point, sheep 141 acidity, viscosity, flavour and fat Increase of milk yields in composition of Awassi milk 158 improved Awassi 142 Colostrum 160 Milk yields of improved Awassi The milk flow of the Awassi ewe 160 sheep in Cyprus, Iran, Spain and Primary and secondary milking: Yugoslavia 144 milk yields 161 Length and course of lactation Primary and secondary milking: period 147 milk composition 164 Maximum daily milk yields 151 Effect of secondary milking on Lifetime milk yields 151 persistency of milk yield 166 Influence of age on milk 152 Retention of milk by the Awassi 167 production ewe Body size and milk yield 153 Milk consumption by lambs under Fat content of Awassi milk 153 different suckling regimes 169 Changes in fat content of Awassi Effect of suckling on persistency of milk in the course of a lactation milk yield 172 period 155 Solids-not-fat in Awassi milk 156 Proteins and lactose in Awassi 158 milk Ash content of Awassi milk 158 Awassi milk products 173 Fresh milk and butter 173 Sibdeh and samneh or deehin 173 Lebben and labneh (lebbeniya) 174 Cheese production from Awassi milk 175 Composition of Awassi whey 177 Relation between Awassi milk fat and cheese fat 177 Milking 178 Milk and butterfat recording 184 Meat 189 Lamb 189 Mutton 202 Wool 205 Early evolution of wool in the present breeding area of the Awassi 205 Awassi fleece 206 Yield 206 Fibre types 207 Staple and fibre lengths 209 Fineness 210 Medullation 214 Crimp 215 Tensile strength and elasticity 216 Yolk 216 Colour 217

9 7 Flock book and computer registration and selection 219 Flock book/computer registration 219 Selection 223 APPENDIXES: AWASSI CROSS-BREDS 227 A Awassi Baluchi. Awassi Barki. Awassi Chios. Awassi Cyprus Fat-tailed. Awassi Finnish Landrace. Awassi Hungarian Combing Wool Merino, French Merino and German Mutton Merino. Awassi Kurdi. Awassi Mancha, Talavera, Churro and Castilian. Awassi Ovce Polje and Kosovo. Awassi Ovis ammon ophion. Awassi Romanov. Awassi Shal. 228 B Awassi East Friesian 253 Acclimatization difficulties of East Friesian sheep in the range of the Awassi 253 Biology of reproduction in East Friesian-Awassi cross-bred ewes 254 Oestrous cycle 254 Gestation period 254 Fecundity 254 Birth weight 257 Growth 257 Live weight of ewes 260 Milk 261 Butterfat 263 Meat (lamb) 263 Tail development 268 Udder 269 Wool 270 Mortality 271 WORKS CITED 275 AI DP FSH LH mosm osmolality PMS SD SPG TDN YCGF Explanatory notes artificial insemination digestible protein follicle-stimulating hormone luteinzing hormone milliosmoles the cosmotic pressure of a solution expressed in osmoles or milliosmoles per kilogramme of water pregnant mare serum standard deviation specific gravity total digestible nutrients yolk-citrate-glycine-fructose

10 Foreword Effective decision-making in animal breeding and genetics requires accurate knowledge combined with sound experience. FAO has issued a number of publications over the years, which seek to bring together such knowledge and experience in one volume. These publications have often been devoted to the livestock of certain countries or regions. They seek to bring to light information which has been published but which is often inaccessible to potential users because of language barriers or the limited distribution of scientific journals in some developing parts of the world. Additionally, there is often a wealth of information which has never been adequately documented in a formal way. The Awassi sheep is a widely distributed type in many countries of the Near East Region and is known in other parts of the world. It is an animal genetic resource with special adaptability and performance characteristics which should be even more widely known. This publication seeks first to offer to the person already familiar with the Awassi sheep the integrated knowledge which draws together known facts and experience. Second, it seeks to bring to those unfamiliar with the Awassi the special qualities it offers for specific environments. The author, Professor H. Epstein, is an internationally known scholar who has published widely on the subject of animal genetic resources, from both the point of view of origin and domestication, and also from the point of view of current distribution and use. He has used the ability of the dedicated scholar to study the extensive publications and unpublished reports on Awassi sheep thoroughly, and has combined this with his own years of experience in this authoritative text. FAO is pleased to publish this book in the interests of international cooperation and believes it will contribute to improving the understanding and use of this valuable genetic resource. H.A. Jasiorowski Director Animal Production and Health Division Rome, July 1985