Lamb production by FecB heterozygous carrier and non-carrier ewes in smallholder flocks in Maharashtra State of India

A breeding program for the introgression of the FecB (Booroola) prolificacy gene from the small Garole breed into the Deccani breed and a composite has been established at the Nimbkar Agricultural Research Institute (NARI) at Phaltan in the dry monsoonal climate of southern Maharashtra State of India. The new crossbred type with only Deccani and Garole breeds was termed 'Fecund Deccani' (FD) and the type which also comprised Bannur and/or Awassi breeds was termed 'Fecund Composite' (FC) (Nimbkar et al., 2002). Nimbkar (2006) reported that one copy of the FecB gene increased litter size per ewe conceived by 0.37 lambs and per ewe lambing by 0.64 lambs in Deccani and crossbred ewes at NARI. The objective of this program is to increase the efficiency and profitability of lamb production in smallholder flocks in this Deccan plateau region. The FecB gene was introduced into local smallholder flocks of Deccani sheep through introduction of heterozygous rams, artificial insemination using semen of heterozygous and homozygous rams and introduction of heterozygous crossbred ewes. Rams and ewes of both FD and FC types were used for introduction. This paper presents preliminary results of the number of lambs born and weaned per ewe lambing for heterozygous and non-carrier ewes introduced into or produced in those smallholder flocks.