This document discusses different breeds of sheep found in Sri Lanka and their characteristics. It identifies the Jaffna local, Bikenary, Bannur, Red madras, and Dorset breeds. The Jaffna local is a small, angular sheep bred for meat and manure. The Bikenary is known for its lustrous wool and is primarily used for carpet production. The Bannur is valued for both its meat and ability to produce excellent crossbreeds with local goats. The Red madras and Dorset are larger breeds reared for meat and wool/skin respectively. The document provides details on the morphological features, products, and breeding characteristics of each breed.
2. Objectives
• To identify different breeds of sheep according
to their characteristics
• To understand the uses that can be obtained
by each different breed types
5. Scientific classification
• Kingdom – Animalia
• Phylum – Chordata
• Class – Mammalia
• Order – Artiodactyla
• Family – Bovidae
• Sub family – Caprinae
• Genus – Ovis
• Species – O. aries
8. Denture arrangement of sheep
• Two types of teeth
– Milk teeth (20)
– Permanent teeth (32)
• No front teeth on the upper pallet
• Can use to determine the age of sheep
12. Jaffna local
• Sheep rearing was based on traditional mixed
crops integration practices and operated
under limited or no input basis.
13. Morphological features
• Small to medium sized
• Angular body covered with short hair of white,
tan and black colours
• Height
– 64.70cm (ram)
– 62.33cm (ewe)
14. More about Jaffna local….
• Male : Female (breeding population) = 1:14
• Age at first lambing – 16 months
• Lambing interval – 6-12 months
• Lifetime production per ewe – 7-9 lambs
• People in Jaffna do not consume meat because of
the belief of having allergies from meat, so the
meat is marketed to other parts of country
• When their rearing areas are flooded during rainy
season, they are moved to another place
15. Purpose of rearing Jaffna local
• Meat
• Faecal material (as biomass)
• Pets (because of the belief of having fortune)
18. More about Bikenary…
• Purebred or crossbred
• Only lustrous carpet wool-producing breed
• Recently, number of crossbreds are increasing
• Flock size – about 150 in a herd
20. Morphological features
• White body with brown colour head and neck
• Convex face
• Medium drooping ears
• Usually polled
• Short legs
• Short tail
• Coarse wool
21. More about Bannur…
• Highly demanded for meat
• Adaptable to all types of climates from hot
tropical to cold climates
• Fast growth and excellent feed conversion
ratio
• High twinning percentage
• Produces very good crossbreds with local
goats
23. Morphological features
• Medium sized well built body
• Broad chest
• Reddish brown colour, varied from tan to dark
brown
• Usually polled
• Ears are pendulous
• Tail of medium length
24. More about Red madras….
• Main breeding time – July to September
• Have excellent feed conversion efficiency
• Native breed of Tamil Nadu in India
• Gives high quality meat and skin
• Flock size – 20-50
26. Morphological features
• White face and body
• Polled
• Curved horned
• Short round ears
• Fully covered with medium length wool
27. More about Dorset…
• Produces 4-5 labs per year
• Gives strong, white fleece
• Has great weight
– 100-120Kg (ram)
– 70-90 (ewe)
28. Main products supplied by different
types of sheep
Meat
• Dorset
• Suffolk
• Cheviot
Hair
• Merino
• Rambouillet
Meat and hair
• Montadale
• Kooka
29. Diseases
• By prions – scrapie
• By virus – foot and mouth disease, sheeppox
• By bacteria – foot rot, fleece rot
• By fungi – facial eczema
• By helminth – flatworms, tapeworms
• Arachnides – ticks, lice, mites
30. Summary
Characteristics Jaffna
local
Bikenary Bannur Red madras Dorset
Body Medium
sized
Small Medium Medium Large
Build Angular Medium Short Well built Well built
Height 62-64cm
Wool type Fur type Medium
type
Fine type Fur type Medium
type
Main products Meat,
manure
Wool, meat Meat, wool Meat, skin Wool, meat