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.

1. Different breeds of sheep and
their characteristics

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

3. Definition
• Sheep
– Quadruped
– Ruminant
– Mammal
– Kept as livestock

4. Domestication of sheep
• Descended from the wild mouflon of Europe
and Asia

5. Scientific classification
• Kingdom – Animalia
• Phylum – Chordata
• Class – Mammalia
• Order – Artiodactyla
• Family – Bovidae
• Sub family – Caprinae
• Genus – Ovis
• Species – O. aries

6. Parts of the body of a sheep

7. Digestive system of a sheep

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

9. Supracervical
horns
Webbed horns
Homonymous
horns
Polyceterate horns
Types of
horns

10. Types of wool
• Fine wool types
• Medium wool types
• Long wool types
• Crossbred wool types
• Fur-types

11. Different breeds
• Jaffna local
• Bikenary
• Bannur
• Red madrus
• Dorset

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)

16. Bikenary

17. Morphological features
• White body with light brown or black
face
• Small body
• Long face
• Small tubular ears
• Polled

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

19. Bannur

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

22. Red madras

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

25. Dorset

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

31. Reference:-
Livestock Statistics (Sri Lanka)
http://www.daph.gov.lk
Animal Husbandary, G.C.Banerjee