Phenotypic Characterization of Fulani Sheep Subtypes

Abstract

The objective of this study was an attempt to study some field management practices adopted by shepherds and sheep owners and to describe and characterize different Fulani sheep local subtypes in natural habitat in South Darfur State. A fitted form of detailed structured questionnaire was used to gather information from two hundred Fulani sheep owners in Tolus villagers and its surrounding villages in South Darfur state. The results revealed that more than 68% of sheep owners had above 15 years of experience in rearing their animals reflected in their educational level where about 80% of them were either illiterate or had basic or “Khalwa” education. It revealed also the respondents reared mainly sheep beside other farm animals and the Umsaen sheep was the most raised sheep ecotype. The results showed that most Fulani ecotypes were similar in many morphological features, also it showed that there were local Sudanese names for different Fulani sheep ecotypes (Alabiad – Balami), (Umgaba – Uda) and (Umkehail – Yankasa). The majority of sheep owners adopted semi sedentary and open range system (98.5%) and fed their animals with different kinds of agriculture by-products such as groundnut cake and millet bran. The major priority selection criteria of ewes and rams were size – feature while the main culling criteria were diseases and overage for both ewes and rams. Three to four months was the most weaning age. The most frequent diseases among adults and lamb of Fulani sheep were bacterial diseases and unspecific diarrhea for adults and lambs respectively; also they showed that the main production handicaps of Fulani were diseases. The study concludes that Fulani sheep had different colours represented in various ecotypes and that sex and ecotype had slightly affected many body measurements.